Five Minutes With… David Turgoose

What do you currently do?

I currently work as a Lecturer in Clinical Psychology at the University of Leeds. I act as an academic tutor to trainee clinical psychologists completing the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology Programme. This mostly involves research supervision and teaching, although I get involved all aspects of the DClinPsy programme. I recently acted as Deputy Lead for Postgraduate Research Studies in Leeds Institute of Health Sciences and do some PhD supervision too. 

I also have a role as Principal Clinical Psychologist for Bradford District Care NHS Trust. I am leading a project called Pathways to progression in the Psychological Professions (P2P3). The project aims to develop and provide equitable access to high-quality training to aspiring psychological professionals (e.g. assistant psychologists) across West Yorkshire.

How would you explain that in ten words or fewer?

A mixed bag! Research, academia, leadership and occasional clinical work.

How and why did you end up working in trauma?

I did Psychology at A-level and then at undergraduate. I was interested at that age in why people behave in the ways they do, what’s going on in people’s minds, that kind of thing – nothing very sophisticated!  As I grew a bit older I started to learn about my grandad’s mental health, particularly the impact on him of being in World War Two. He was so young when he experienced that and was affected for the rest of his life. Without knowing what it was then, I guess that was my first experience of the impact of trauma.

Clinically, my first post as an assistant psychologist was in a brilliant team working with Looked After Children. My supervisor was so passionate and knowledgeable, I learned so much from working with her, not least the impact of developmental trauma, but also about the role of attachment. Academically, I attended a lecture on PTSD by Deborah Lee during my doctoral training at UCL. This was a lightbulb moment for me as it was the clearest and most exciting application of psychological theory to real-world practice that I’d seen. From that point, I knew that I wanted to work in trauma.

What excites you most about the field of traumatology? 

The best part of this work is seeing how the combination of psychological theory, research and clinical practice can lead to real-world changes for people affected by trauma. I also think as a profession we are only scratching the surface in our understanding of the role trauma plays on both an individual and societal level. This is interesting as it means we have a lot more work to do, but also disheartening because all the while people and communities everywhere and coping with the burden and impact of trauma in so many ways.

Who or whose work do you particularly admire?

I have been lucky to work in a lot of different services and teams, particularly in CAMHS settings. Within those, I’ve worked with some brilliant colleagues who work extremely hard, usually in very difficult circumstances. Those teams are packed with unsung heroes who are very earnest and compassionate, who carry out complex, challenging work without fuss or recognition. Those are the kind of folk I admire the most.

What are you currently working on?

The most exciting thing I’m working on now is organising the 2025 UKPTS conference. I’ll happily use this opportunity to promote it! The conference will be in Leeds and there is a brilliant line up of speakers. I really want the conference to highlight the importance of childhood trauma but also to focus on groups that perhaps are less well represented or marginalised in some way. It should be a brilliant day.

I’m also working on an eclectic range of research projects, although they all focus on trauma and/or children and families in some way. One of the best things about my current role is the chance to supervise doctoral students. There’s a whole range of topics, e.g. psychological adjustment to major trauma, adolescents’ management of diabetes, ACEs in construction workers, parental stress and attachment in foster carers, resettlement experiences of young asylum seekers- to name just a few.

Where can we find your most recent publication or work?

Have a look at my profile at the University of Leeds.

What are you currently reading?

I quite like old Alfred Hitchcock films and watched Rear Window recently. I hadn’t seen it before but loved it as it reminded me of the work of a painter I like called Edward Hopper. Anyway, the film is based on a short story by an American author Cornell Woolrich, so recently I bought a collection of his short stories, which suits me because I don’t get much time to read these days!

What are you Where would we typically find you at 3pm on a Saturday?

Probably at home or out on a day trip with the family, whilst keeping an eye on the football scores.

Where would you rather be right now?

Is that an offer? How about watching cricket in Barbados?

And finally, if you didn’t do what you do, what would you have done?

I have absolutely no idea! I dread to think.