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, 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 c ...

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-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 Prof The Honourable Bishnodat Persaud CHB, Ph.D, FRSA (1933 – 24 July 2016) was a Guyanese economist who served as Alcan Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of the West Indies, and Director of Economic Affairs, Commonwealth S ...

. He was educated at Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School and at University College London, 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 (1984) * MB BS Degree in Medicine, The School of Medicine, University College London (1985) * DHMSA, Diploma in the History of Medicine, Worshipful Society of Apothecaries (1988) * Dip Phil (Diploma in Philosophy) Extra-Mural Department,

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public university, public research university, located in Bloomsbury, London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the federal Universit ...

(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 health ...

(1990) * MPhil Master of Philosophy, Institute of Psychiatry (1992) * Dip Hlth Econ, Diploma in Health Economics, Planning and Management, with Distinction, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (1993) * MSc Social Research Methods and Statistics, City University London (1995) He was a psychiatric trainee at the

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

and Maudsley Hospital in London, a research scholar and post-doctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins Hospital 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 Worshipful Society of Apothecaries. In 2002 he was voted one of the top ten psychiatrists in the UK by a survey of the Institute of Psychiatry and the

, published in the '' Independent on Sunday'' newspaper. He is a Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry at the University of London and has a Visiting Professor role at Gresham College 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'' and '' The Independent'', Persaud also had columns in the '' Times Educational Supplement'', ''

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 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 broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

. He is the joint editor of the

"discover psychiatry podcasts". Persaud has appeared on talk shows such as ''

Richard and Judy Richard and Judy is the name informally given to Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan, a British married couple who are both television presenters and columnists. They presented the daytime television programme '' This Morning'' from 1988 until 2 ...

'' 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 Francis James Baird Wheen (born 22 January 1957) is a British journalist, writer and broadcaster. Early life and education Wheen was born into an army familyNicholas Wro"A life in writing" ''The Guardian'', 29 August 2009 and educated at two ind ...

, 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, Unite ...

'' 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 t ...

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. 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 and visited Bangladesh 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. They have a son and daughter.

Awards

* John Jepson Prize, Special Commendation (1986) * Osler Medal, Worshipful Society of Apothecaries (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 (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