Thomas Henning

My way into medical ethics began during my early days in medical school, when I undertook a placement on an old-age psychiatry ward. Seeing patients there raised important questions about autonomy, identity, and the person behind the illness. During my medical studies, I was involved in research projects in neuroscience and clinical psychiatry, in the field of dementia, psychosis, and personality disorders. This work helped me understand particular functions of the brain and how they can go wrong, but also brought up challenges to our ethical concepts of personhood, autonomy, and responsibility, and about the ethics of research itself.

At the Institute of Medical Ethics, I have contributed to projects on research ethics and to a report to the UKHSA. My current work explores ethical challenges in psychiatry, particularly in end-of-life care and emerging areas like autoimmune psychosis. At the heart of my work is the use of ethical reflection to foster compassionate, patient-centred care. I hope to undertake training in psychiatry after my foundation training.