Dr Sandra Ferguson- Consultant Clinical Psychologist
My current role is Associate Director for Psychology at NHS Education for Scotland (NES), within this I have overall leadership role for the National Psychological Trauma Training Programme (NTTP). This is the national education, training and implementation approach to support the Scottish ambition of a trauma informed and responsive workforce.
I have a career long focus on the impact of trauma and how we can effectively and safely support recovery and enhance prevention of future harm. For instance, I am the author of ‘Survive and Thrive,’ an evidence-based psycho-educational programme to support self-management and understanding of the impact of all complex trauma, which is now run in most health boards in Scotland. For 15 years, I provided psychological therapies to people who have significant, complex needs arising from their experiences of trauma but have increasingly focussed on education as a way of being able to improve access and quality of services for more people affected by the traumatic experiences they live through. As lead for the National Psychological Trauma Training Project, the team and I have produced key documents such as NES (2017) Transforming Psychological Trauma: A Knowledge and Skills Framework for the Scottish Workforce and NES (2019) National Trauma Training Plan as well as a range of resources www.transformingpsychologicaltrauma.scot/ .
I am a member of UK Trauma Council and have published in the field over the years.
