A psychologist working in Kibble will be given the chance to learn about ground breaking techniques being used to help vulnerable young people across the world. Senior Forensic Psychologist Dan Johnson will travel to America and Scandinavia thanks to the support of The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.
The Trust, first established in 1965, awards Fellowships to over 100 British citizens every year. The ‘Fellows’ are selected due to their vision and motivation to improve their profession and are given financial support to travel and share best practice from across the globe.
Dan Johnson said:
“This will be a great chance for Kibble to expand its learning from experts and practitioners across the world. For example, in America there is a long history of study into childhood trauma and creating new ways to help those who have had adverse experiences as a young person.
“In Scandinavia there are government schemes that put added resources into young people compared with the UK. It will be interesting to see what knowledge can be applied here in Scotland to help our vulnerable young people.
“Young people who have experienced adversity and trauma have some of the greatest difficulties, my hope is that by taking this journey we will be able to learn new effective ways to help them.”
The original Winston Churchill Memorial Trust endowment of £2.75m was raised from a public appeal by the Duke of Edinburgh to create a legacy for Britain’s war time Prime Minister and would be worth over £50m in today’s money. Their motto ‘travel to learn, return to inspire’ has extra significance for Kibble.
Chief Executive of Kibble Education and Care Centre Graham Bell said:
“We are delighted that Dan has achieved this Fellowship, and look forward to discussing the findings and recommendations from his report following his visits.”
“For many decades we have been building a culture of continuous learning as an organisation to improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable young people in Scotland. Shared learning from across the globe helps us put into practice new methods that will give these young people a chance of succeeding.”