Dr. Tania Gergel

Biography

Tania Gergel is an Honorary Professor in the Division of Psychiatry at University College London and the Director of Research at Bipolar UK. She has built a significant academic career that began in Ancient Philosophy and gradually transitioned into Philosophy of Medicine. In 2013, she joined the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IOPPN) at King’s College London, specializing in mental health issues, including ethics, law, and phenomenology of severe mental illness. Her primary focus has been on the clinical, legal, and ethical aspects surrounding the creation and use of advance directives for individuals with severe episodic mental health conditions. She has partnered with the Department of Health and Social Care to advise on introducing statutory provisions for advance choice documents under the Mental Health Act in England and Wales. In 2023, she launched an initiative to create internationally accessible resources on advance choice documents. Gergel's research emphasizes the importance of incorporating lived experiences into mental health research and policy, and she is recognized internationally for her contributions to bipolar disorder, advance directives, and innovations in electroconvulsive therapy and coproduction.

Research Interests

Experience