Dr. Manaan Kar Ray is an internationally recognised leader in suicide prevention, mental health innovation, and values-based care. He is the founder of Progress Guide, an organisation dedicated to evidence-based suicide prevention training and mental health transformation. Within the public sector, he is the Director of Adult Mental Health at Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane. He is a psychiatrist by background. He trained in Oxford and previously led Adult Mental Health Services in Cambridge for a decade, pioneering radical redesigns of mental health pathways to improve access and care for those in crisis.

At the heart of Dr. Kar Ray’s work is the belief that values shape resilience, particularly in young people. He has authored 20 children’s books in the Sunny’s Values Scouts series, designed to help children develop emotional strength and character through engaging narratives and real-world values. His work extends to professionals as well—he has written 7 books on embedding values-based care into mental health practice, guiding clinicians in using values to foster hope, meaning, and recovery.

Dr. Kar Ray is the architect of PROTECT (PROactive deTECTion), an internationally recognised suicide prevention training framework, and has developed LIFE Suicide Prevention Training, which equips schools, universities, and educational institutions with the skills to support students in distress. He is also the creator of the Safe Life Guide app, a digital tool that combines safety planning with values-based conversations, empowering young people and their supporters to navigate mental health challenges with strength and purpose.