Maria Grazia Turri

Dr. Maria Grazia Turri is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Arts and Mental Health at Queen Mary University of London, co-directing the MSc program collaborating between the Centre for Psychiatry and the Department of Drama. Affiliated with the Wolfson Institute of Population Health, she holds dual expertise as a psychiatrist, psychoanalytic psychotherapist, and theatre scholar. Her roles include teaching, research, and clinical practice.

Educated in Padova (Italy) for medicine, she earned a DPhil in Psychiatry from Oxford and a PhD in Drama from Exeter. She trained in medical psychotherapy and practised for 15 years in the NHS, including as a Consultant Psychiatrist in Medical Psychotherapy. Her research bridges psychoanalytic theory with theatre studies, focusing on processes like identification in performance and the role of laughter in Commedia dell’Arte. She also explores creative arts in mental health interventions, including social prescribing and arts-based therapies.

Her teaching spans critical mental health, psychoanalysis, and theatre practice, with supervision of MSc and PhD students. Public engagement includes the annual 'Mad Hearts' conference and collaborations with arts organizations to enhance mental health through the arts. She co-founded the MadHeartists collective and advocates for integrating artistic practices into mental health care systems.