Hope Christie
Hope Christie
Let’s meet Dr Hope Christie, Teaching Fellow and mixed-methods researcher with an interest in parental trauma and the impact on parenting.
What do you currently do?
Currently, I am a Teaching Fellow within the Department of Clinical Psychology at the University of Edinburgh. I have a particular interest in parents who have experienced a trauma and developed PTSD and understanding how parental mental health can affect them as an individual, as well as their parenting behaviours and the wider family dynamic.
However, I will soon be moving on to a new position with a company called Tooled Up Education, as their Head of Research. Exciting!
How would you explain that in ten words or fewer?
I teach, supervise dissertations, and do some research as well.
Tell us about a typical working day.
At the moment, I organise and run two courses for the Children and Young People Masters course at Edinburgh: ‘Parenting: Theory and Practice’; and ‘Inferential Statistics in Applied Psychology’. This involves creating lecture and tutorial material, delivering this, and meeting with/responding to student queries. I also supervise Masters dissertation students, which involves working on multiple research projects and supervising the students while they do this.
And then if I have the energy, I will work on grant applications for research and/or working on publications. I try my hardest to keep up-to-date with any seminars, talks or forums going on within my fields of interest, as these are fantastic ways to engage with like-minded people and to build networks and connections.
How and why did you end up working in trauma?
I actually credit my interest in the field of trauma to a wonderful lecturer I had when I was studying for my BSc in Psychology. Her name was Dr Choudhary and she was fantastic; so knowledgeable about the subject and you could tell she had a real passion for it. I just wanted to learn more from her. I ended up doing my Bachelor’s dissertation with her as my supervisor, and then we worked together again on my Masters thesis.
I then have to credit my PhD supervisor, Prof Sarah Halligan for continuing my love and interest in trauma research. Sarah gave me so many wonderful opportunities to build my research career and develop a number of skills during my PhD
What are you currently working on?
I have several things on the go at the moment:
I am working with colleagues through the International Traumatic Stress Society and Global Trauma Collaboration on a group paper looking at transdiagnostic trauma-related symptoms across the world, which has been great!
Colleagues and I are working on doing some mental health workshops alongside a Scottish charity
I am also working on trying to get some work published that I carried out during the pandemic as part of a Global Challenges Research Fellowship – where we wrote and directed a radio drama (all remote) for air on the community radio in South Africa, as a method to communicate mental health messages and education around trauma experiences and PTSD symptoms.
And finally, I am transitioning into my new role from March 2023 as Head of Research at Tooled Up Education, which is very exciting!
Where can we find your most recent publication or work?
, , , & (2022). Examining harmful impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and school closures on parents and carers in the United Kingdom: A rapid review. JCPP Advances, 2(3), e12095. doi:10.1002/jcv2.12095
Marlow, M., Christie, H., Skeen, S., … Tomlinson, M. (2021). Alcohol use during pregnancy in rural Lesotho: ‘There is nothing else except alcohol’. Social Science & Medicine, 291, 114482. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114482
Christie, H., Hamilton-Giachritsis, C., Alves-Costa, F., … Halligan, S. (2020). Associations between parental trauma, mental health, and parenting: A qualitative study in a high-adversity South African community. Social Science & Medicine, 265, 113474. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113474
What excites you most about the field of traumatology?
I think that it is constantly growing and changing. I really love the shift and importance being placed on actively engaging with audiences beyond the academic community, so that it is not all just about publishing papers or going to conferences, but also about giving back to the community who will benefit from your work (e.g., public talks, community workshops, working with third sector orgs, etc).
I also am really exciting to see the field of parental trauma growing exponentially, I’m biased because it is my area, but I think it is so important and more work needs to be done, so it is great to see this happening in real time!
Outside work, what’s your secret passion?
I actually really got into Strongman/Strongwoman training in January 2022 and I absolutely love it! It is a brilliant way to switch off after work, or to start my day before work!
What are you currently reading?
The book I am currently reading is The God Instinct: the Psychology of Souls, Destiny and the Meaning of Life, by Jesse Bering. He’s a brilliant author and I always learn a lot from his books.
Honestly, in general I really don’t enjoy reading – shocking for an academic I know(!), but I feel literature and books are very different for me. If a book doesn’t ‘grab me’ in the first 10 pages, I’ll usually put it down and never think about it again.
Who, or whose work, do you particularly admire?
It is cheesy, but I really admire my PhD supervisor, Prof Sarah Halligan for her work but also just her whole ethos as an academic and her approach to work-life balance. I think it is so inspiring as a young female academic to have such a successful role model who actively practices and preaches work-life balance in such a healthy way.
Another woman I have been fortunate enough to work with is Dr Jackie Stewart who is based in South Africa. I also really admire her, her work ethic, and her way with people she managed and worked with. Again, as a young female academic, I feel so privileged to know and work with Jackie. She really is a great role model for me.
If you didn’t do what you do, what would you have done?
I actually really wanted to be a farm/equine vet when I was younger, up until I was about 16 or 17! However, circumstances at that time of my life meant I had to choose a different path, and I went on to study psychology at university instead.
Where would we typically find you at 3pm on a Saturday?
In the gym, haha! I have a particularly heavy training schedule at the moment preparing for upcoming competitions, which usually means about a 4+ hour session in the gym (not constantly working out, I should add!). It is great mix of exercise and social time. My ideal Saturday!
Where would you rather be right now?
I’m still in the office as I write this, so can’t wait to get home!
If you’d like feature in, or nominate someone for five minutes with… please contact admin@ukpts.co.uk
