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Academics from the School of Psychological Sciences & Health developed a training day on Trauma Awareness in the Railway Industry. The training took place at the Insight Institute on Wednesday 15 January 2020 and was facilitated by Dr Nicola Cogan and Dr Liza Morton. The training was an initial pilot that was funded by Scottish Union Learning.
The training was developed following British trade union ASLEF (Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen) highlighting a need to raise awareness of the latest evidence base of supporting people following a traumatic incident. This also goes in hand with a study which recently stated that someone will attempt to take their own life on the UK rail network every 31 hours. The training, which was an initial pilot funded by Scottish Union Learning, was developed in collaboration and consultation with the railway industry and this included interviews with railway drivers, also known as "experts by experience", who have a lived experience of driving a train and experiencing "person under a train".
The aim of the training was both to provide train drivers with an understanding of trauma, its impact, practical strategies for coping as well as advice as to when to seek professional help.
Following the training, Dr Nicola Cogan said: "we are also in ongoing discussions with a view to looking at developing policies and protocols to look at workplace practices to reduce the likelihood of train drivers going on to develop more severe mental health difficulties following an incident, such as PTSD".
The training was headed up by Dr Nicola Cogan and Dr Liza Morton, who are HCPC registered practitioner psychologists, as well as academics at Strathclyde. They were also supported by Hilary Harrison-Milan, a MSc Research Methods in Psychology student, who helped with preparing for the event and assisted on the day.