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Professor Dennis Ougrin

Dennis

Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Global Mental Health MBBS, MRCPsych, PGDip (Oxon), PGCAPHE, PhD

Email: d.ougrin@qmul.ac.uk

Profile

I am Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Global Mental Health at Queen Mary University of London and lead the Youth Resilience Unit within the Wolfson Institute of Population Health. I graduated from medical school in Ukraine in 1998 and completed my postgraduate and higher specialist training in child and adolescent psychiatry at Guy’s and Maudsley Hospitals in London. I am also a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist at East London Foundation Trust and a visiting professor at King’s College London.

My research focuses on self-harm in young people, the prevention of borderline personality disorder, resilience, and the development and evaluation of innovative mental health services. I developed Therapeutic Assessment, an engagement-focused intervention for adolescents who self-harm, and led the development and evaluation of Supported Discharge Service, the first intensive community care model for young people in the UK to be tested in a randomised controlled trial. My work has informed the development of community-based alternatives to inpatient care nationally and internationally. 

I have led and collaborated on major NIHR, MRC and charity-funded studies and have extensive expertise in clinical trials, service evaluation and global mental health research. My current work includes developing interventions to strengthen youth resilience and expand community mental health services in Ukraine and other low- and middle-income countries. I previously served as Editor-in-Chief of Child and Adolescent Mental Health and continue to contribute to policy, education and service development nationally and internationally. 

Research

Research Interests:

  • Self-harm in children and adolescents
  • Prevention and early intervention for borderline personality disorder
  • Youth resilience and emotional regulation
  • Intensive community care services
  • Alternatives to psychiatric inpatient admission
  • Mental health service development and evaluation
  • Global mental health
  • Mental health systems strengthening
  • Randomised controlled trials and implementation science
  • Mental health responses to conflict and humanitarian crises
  • Mental health care in Ukraine and low- and middle-income countries
  • Therapeutic Assessment
  • Digital and scalable mental health interventions 

Publications

Outstanding Publications

  • Ougrin D, Tranah T, Stahl D, Moran P, Asarnow JR. Therapeutic Interventions for Suicide Attempts and Self-Harm in Adolescents: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2015.

     

  • Ougrin D et al. Supported Discharge Service versus Inpatient Care Evaluation (SITE): A Randomised Controlled Trial comparing effectiveness of an intensive community care service versus inpatient treatment as usual for adolescents with severe psychiatric disorders: self-harm, functional impairment, and educational and clinical outcomes European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2021.

     

  • Ougrin D et al. Trial of Therapeutic Assessment in London: Randomised Controlled Trial of Therapeutic Assessment versus Standard Psychosocial Assessment in Adolescents Presenting with Self-Harm. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 2011.

     

  • Weisz JR, Steinberg JS, Sun J, Mair P, Fitzpatrick OM, Karapata N, Yusyn M, Sood G, Danese A, Ougrin D. Effects of a brief digital problem-solving intervention on depression and anxiety symptoms in Ukrainian children and adolescents displaced by war: a crossover, randomised controlled trial. The Lancet Primary Care, 2025

     

  • Ougrin D, Corrigall R, Poole J, Zundel T, Sarhane M, Slater V, Stahl D, Reavey P, Byford S, Heslin M, Ivens J, Crommelin M, Abdulla Z, Hayes D, Middleton K, Nnadi B, Taylor E. Comparison of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of an intensive community supported discharge service versus treatment as usual for adolescents with psychiatric emergencies: a randomised controlled trial. The Lancet Psychiatry. 2018

     

Supervision

First Supervisor:

  • Lauren Jerome, a digital version of solution-focused therapy for young people who self-harm.
  • Megan Tjasink, art therapy to address burnout and psychosocial distress in hospital clinicians.
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