A study tour to London and Birmingham for Ukrainian mental health professionals

From 6 to 10 July 2026, a delegation of Ukrainian mental health professionals travelled to the United Kingdom for the second RETURNING study tour, organised by GlobalInMind on behalf of the Victor Pinchuk Foundation.

Over five intensive days, the group met with leading clinicians, researchers, and service providers to explore how the UK supports the mental health of veterans and armed forces personnel — insights that are increasingly urgent as Ukraine works to scale up its own systems of care for those affected by war.

The tour began in London at the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), where delegates examined how national clinical guidelines are developed and how quality standards are set for veteran-specific services through the Quality Network for Veterans Mental Health Services.

At King's College London and the Maudsley Hospital, historical and contemporary perspectives converged: sessions on frontline psychiatry drew on lessons from the First and Second World Wars, while a visit to an acute inpatient ward showed how today's NHS balances clinical safety, patient rights, and person-centred care.

A day at Combat Stress, the UK's leading charity for veteran mental health, offered a close look at how residential and community-based treatment for complex trauma has evolved — from short respite stays in the 1990s to today's multidisciplinary, evidence-based, and increasingly digital models of care. The visit to Bethlem Royal Hospital placed this evolution in a longer historical arc, tracing the shift from institutional to community-based psychiatry.

At the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, representatives from the Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Defence outlined how mental health legislation, military psychiatric services, and dedicated veteran programmes such as Op COURAGE and Op RESTORE fit together within a broader system of care.

The tour concluded in Birmingham, where the delegation engaged with the substance use treatment sector — examining harm reduction, prescribing practices, workforce development, and specialised support for veterans — before visiting the BAC O'Connor residential rehabilitation facility.

Key Takeaways

Several themes ran through the week:

Structural coordination matters. Effective veteran care depends on the ongoing collaboration between the NHS, the Ministry of Defence, and the charitable sector — each playing a distinct but connected role.

Evidence-based standards, locally adapted. From NICE guidelines to Combat Stress's phasic treatment model, robust clinical frameworks work best when tailored to context, resources, and culture.

Peer support and lived experience are central, not peripheral, to recovery — a principle echoed across nearly every organisation visited.

Transition is a high-risk period. Whether from active service to civilian life or from crisis to stability, the months immediately following a change in status carry particular vulnerability and deserve dedicated support.

System change takes time and sustained leadership. Several UK speakers stressed that lasting reform is built gradually, through wide consultation and a mix of early, charismatic leadership and later, steady, "boring" leadership.

Looking Ahead

Perhaps the most important outcome of the week was not a specific clinical technique or policy model, but a shift in perspective: delegates returned with a renewed sense that they are active agents in Ukraine's long-term mental health reform process, equipped with concrete tools and a broader professional network to support that work.


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What is the Victor Pinchuk Foundation?

The Victor Pinchuk Foundation, an international, private and non-partisan philanthropic foundation based in Ukraine, was established in 2006 by businessman and philanthropist Victor Pinchuk.