Professor Neil Greenberg, Professor of Defence Mental Health

BM, BSc, MMedSc, FHEA, MFMLM, DOccMed, MInstLM, MEWI, MFFLM, MD, FRCPsych

Professor Neil Greenberg is a clinical and academic psychiatrist based at King’s College London UK. He is a specialist in adult, occupational and forensic psychiatry. Neil served in the United Kingdom Armed Forces for more than 23 years deploying as a psychiatrist and researcher to a number of hostile environments including Afghanistan and Iraq. At King’s, Neil is a senior member of the military mental health research team and a principal investigator within a nationally funded Health Protection Research Unit which investigates the psychological impacts of trauma on organisations. Neil also runs March on Stress (www.marchonstress.com) which is a psychological health consultancy and also chairs the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCP) Special Interest Group in Occupational Psychiatry as well as leading on the World Psychiatric Association’s Position Statement on Mental Health in the Workplace.

Neil studied medicine at Southampton University and graduated in 1993. He served as a general duties doctor in warships, submarines and with two Royal Marines Commando units. Whilst serving with the Royal Marines he completed his arctic warfare qualification and the All Arms Commando Course, earning the coveted Green Beret.

Neil provided psychological input for Foreign Office personnel after the events of September 11^th 2001 and in Bali after 12^th October 2002 bombings and has provided psychological input into the repatriation of UK nationals who have been kidnapped. He has also assisted with the aftermath management of number of other significant incidents including assisting the London Ambulance Service in the wake of the London Bombings in 2005 and oil workers after the 2013 In Amenas terrorist incident in Algeria. During the 2020/21 Covid-19 crisis, Neil was a member of the Public Health England expert reference panel and an advisor for NHS People wellbeing/recovery team. He also established, and ran, mental health support at the 2020 London Nightingale Hospital.

In 2008 he was awarded the Gilbert Blane Medal by the Royal Navy for his work in supporting the health of Naval personnel through his research work. He also led the team that won a military-civilian partnership award in 2013 for carrying out research into the psychological health of troops who were deployed and was shortlisted for The RCP Psychiatrist of the Year in 2015. He was awarded an RCP Presidential Medal for his work with trauma and veterans in 2017 and he led the mental health team that won the RCP Team of the Year award for Working Age Adults in 2021.

Neil has published more than 350 scientific papers and book chapters and regularly presents to national and international audiences on matters concerning occupational mental health, the psychological health of Armed Forces personnel and the organisational management of traumatic stress. He has been the Secretary of the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, the President of the UK Psychological Trauma Society and Specialist Advisor to the House of Commons Defence Select Committee. He was the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Lead for Trauma and the Military for 10 years and is currently a trustee with the Society of Occupational Medicine and Faculty of Occupational Medicine as well as being a principal advisor for Hostage International. Neil was also part of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence team which produced the 2018 PTSD guidelines.