Rajendra 'Raj' Persaud FRCPsych (born 13 May 1963) is an English consultant

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

, broadcaster and author of books about psychiatry. He is known for raising public awareness of psychiatric and mental health issues in the general media, has published five books and received numerous awards. In October 2008, Persaud resigned from his position as consultant psychiatrist at the

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, also known as SLaM, is an NHS foundation trust based in London, England, which specialises in mental health. It comprises four psychiatric hospitals (Bethlem Royal Hospital, Lambeth Hospital and ...

, following a three-month suspension by the

General Medical Council The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public" by ...

for dishonesty in plagiarising other sources in his book ''From the Edge of the Couch''.

Early life and academic career

Persaud is the son of

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

-born author

Lakshmi Persaud Lakshmi Persaud is a Trinidad-born, British-based writer who resides in London, England. She is the author of five novels: ''Butterfly in the Wind'' (1990), ''Sastra'' (1993), ''For the Love of My Name'' (2000), ''Raise the Lanterns High'' (2004) an ...

and Professor Bishnodat Persaud. He was educated at

Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School Haberdashers' Boys' School (also known as Haberdashers', Habs, or Habs Boys), until September 2021 known as Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, is a Independent school (United Kingdom), public school for pupils age 4 to 18 in Elstree, Hertfo ...

and at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, where he read for his degrees in medicine and psychology, and wrote for the student newspaper '' Pi''. In his first year at UCL he had to re-sit the examinations in anatomy, which he attributed later to availing himself too freely of the other educational opportunities there. He told the ''

British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal, published by the trade union the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Origi ...

'' that this left him "traumatised" and he compensated by virtually taking up residence in the college library, eventually achieving at least three degrees, four diplomas and a membership examination, including: * BSc Degree in Psychology with First Class Honours, Department of Psychology,

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

(1984) * MB BS Degree in Medicine, The School of Medicine,

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

(1985) * DHMSA, Diploma in the History of Medicine,

Worshipful Society of Apothecaries The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London is one of the livery companies of the City of London. It is one of the largest livery companies (with over 1,600 members in 2012) and ranks 58th in their order of precedence. The society is a m ...

(1988) * Dip Phil (Diploma in Philosophy) Extra-Mural Department,

Birkbeck College , mottoeng = Advice comes over nightTranslation used by Birkbeck. , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £4.3 m (2014) , budget = £10 ...

(1990) * MRCPsych Membership of

Royal College of Psychiatrists The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the main professional organisation of psychiatrists in the United Kingdom, and is responsible for representing psychiatrists, for psychiatric research and for providing public information about mental healt ...

(1990) * MPhil Master of Philosophy,

Institute of Psychiatry The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN) is a research institution dedicated to discovering what causes mental illness and diseases of the brain. In addition, its aim is to help identify new treatments for them and ways ...

(1992) * Dip Hlth Econ, Diploma in Health Economics, Planning and Management, with Distinction,

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a member institution of the University of London that specialises in public health and tropical medicine. The inst ...

(1993) * MSc Social Research Methods and Statistics,

City University London City, University of London, is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, and a member institution of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute, and became a university when The City Univ ...

(1995) He was a psychiatric trainee at the

Bethlem Royal Hospital Bethlem Royal Hospital, also known as St Mary Bethlehem, Bethlehem Hospital and wikt:bedlam, Bedlam, is a psychiatric hospital in London. Its famous history has inspired several horror books, films and TV series, most notably ''Bedlam (1946 fil ...

and

Maudsley Hospital The Maudsley Hospital is a British psychiatric hospital in south London. The Maudsley is the largest mental health training institution in the UK. It is part of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and works in partnership with the ...

in London, a research scholar and post-doctoral fellow at

Johns Hopkins Hospital The Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. It was founded in 1889 using money from a bequest of over $7 million (1873 ...

in the USA in 1990 and a research worker at the Institute of Neurology at UCL. In 2000 he was awarded a UCL Fellowship, and in 2005 he was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. He is also a Fellow of the

. In 2002 he was voted one of the top ten psychiatrists in the UK by a survey of the

and the

, published in the ''

Independent on Sunday ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'' newspaper. He is a Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry at the University of London and has a Visiting Professor role at

Gresham College Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in Central London, England. It does not enroll students or award degrees. It was founded in 1596 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham, and hosts ove ...

for Public Understanding of Psychiatry.

Plagiarism and suspension

In 2008, Persaud was suspended from practising psychiatry for three months by the General Medical Council, having admitted being guilty of nine cases of plagiarism. He subsequently left his consultant position with the South London and Maudsley NHS trust. His book ''From the Edge of the Couch'' contained material plagiarised from four academic articles written by nine authors. Four of his articles also contained plagiarised passages from an article and book by Thomas Blass, ''The Man Who Shocked the World''. The case against him began after a complaint by the Church of Scientology.

Media career

Persaud regularly appeared on radio and TV programmes, as either interviewee or presenter and was resident psychiatrist on the daytime television programme '' This Morning''. In addition to writing regularly for ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' and ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', Persaud also had columns in the ''

Times Educational Supplement ''Tes'', formerly known as the ''Times Educational Supplement'', is a weekly UK publication aimed at education professionals. It was first published in 1910 as a pull-out supplement in ''The Times'' newspaper. Such was its popularity that in 19 ...

'', ''

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

'' and Canary Wharf City Life magazine. He is a former presenter of the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

psychology and psychiatry programme '' All in the Mind''. He was a presenter for ''Travels of the Mind'' for

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the British Government through the Foreign Secretary's office. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception a ...

. He is the joint editor of the

"discover psychiatry podcasts". Persaud has appeared on talk shows such as '' Richard and Judy'' and '' Good Morning with Anne and Nick'', promoting psychiatric treatments for mental health issues. With the general practitioner Mark Porter, he co-presented the live medical talk and phone-in TV programme '' Doctor, Doctor'' on Channel Five. Persaud's media work has earned him a mixed reception. Francis Wheen, then a ''

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...

'' columnist, wrote that he is "paid a lot of money for stating the obvious". In contrast, the comedian, GP and columnist

Phil Hammond Philip James Hammond (born 1 January 1962) is a British physician, broadcaster, comedian and commentator on health issues in the United Kingdom. He is best known for his humorous commentary on the National Health Service. He first came into ...

applauded Persaud for his populist appeal, saying Persaud is a "good media communicator" for the psychiatric industry, albeit lacking the sophistication of the late

Anthony Clare Anthony Ward Clare (24 December 1942 – 28 October 2007) was an Irish psychiatrist and a presenter of radio and television programmes. He was the presenter of the radio series ''In the Psychiatrist's Chair'', an interview and discussion show, w ...

. Persaud has worked in the NGO sector. He is a patron of OCD-UK, a British charity for people affected by Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). He also works with

ActionAid ActionAid is an international non-governmental organization whose stated primary aim is to work against poverty and injustice worldwide. ActionAid is a federation of 45 country offices that works with communities, often via local partner organis ...

and visited

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

with the charity.

Personal life

He lives in

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

and is married to Francesca Cordeiro, an eye surgeon of Goan descent who works at

Moorfields Eye Hospital Moorfields Eye Hospital is a specialist NHS eye hospital in Finsbury in the London Borough of Islington in London, England run by Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Together with the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, which is adjacen ...

. They have a son and daughter.

Awards

* John Jepson Prize, Special Commendation (1986) * Osler Medal,

(1991) * Denis Hill Prize,

(1991) * Young Scientist Award, Biennial International Schizophrenia Workshop, Badgastein, Austria (1992) * Research Prize and Medal,

(1993) * Fellow of

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

(2000) * Fellow of the

(2005) * Morris Markowe Prize,

(2005) * Tony Thistlethwaite Award Commendation for Excellence, Medical Journalists' Association (2005)

Publications

* ''Staying Sane: How to Make your Mind Work for You''. September 1997 (Metro). * ''From the Edge of the Couch''. March 2003 (Bantam Press). * ''The Motivated Mind''. March 2005 (Bantam Press). * ''Simply Irresistible: The Psychology of Seduction – How to Catch and Keep Your Perfect Partner''. January 2007 (Bantam Press). * ''The Mind: A User's Guide''. July 2007 (Bantam Press).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Persaud, Raj 1963 births Living people People educated at Haberdashers' Boys' School Alumni of University of London Worldwide Alumni of the University of London Alumni of University College London English psychiatrists Medical journalists People from Reading, Berkshire English people of Indian descent English people of Indo-Trinidadian descent English Hindus Fellows of the Royal College of Psychiatrists People involved in plagiarism controversies