Dimitrios Panayotopoulos-Tsiros leads research on men’s mental health in North East England

A research project led by Dimitrios Panayotopoulos-Tsiros (UCL / Territoire Europe) and Prof John Tomaney (UCL) has been exploring the role of community-led, non-clinical interventions in supporting men's mental health in the North East of England.

The project involves a wider team of researchers at UCL is being developed in partnership with Space North East (Sunderland, UK), the Chopwell Regeneration Group (Chopwell, Gateshead, UK), and the Woodshed Workshop (Sacriston, County Durham, UK). It responds to a context marked by rising male suicide rates, persistent regional inequalities, and the limited reach of traditional clinical approaches.

By working directly with community-led groups, the study aims to understand what makes these non-clinical interventions effective. Whether through shared routines, informal support, or a sense of belonging and how they might be better recognised and supported through policy. These initiatives are often hyper-local, relational, and built on lived experience. They are also frequently under-funded and under-evidenced.

The research adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining immersive fieldwork, interviews, and descriptive analysis. It explores how place, identity, and routine shape the impact of support, and how these can be meaningfully captured beyond clinical metrics. Rather than creating a new evaluation tool, the project pilots a way of evidencing value that is grounded in the perspectives of those delivering and using these interventions.

Funded by UCL Grand Challenges, the project seeks to inform future strategies at local, regional, and national levels by contributing to a broader understanding of mental health infrastructure one that recognises the importance of community, belonging, and care rooted in place.