Public Lecture – answers

1 That he is going to take a critical look at Child Mental Health Services by examining the evidence, practice and future of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
2 It indicates that a new period of office has begun – the professor must have only just taken up his post, and is something of a special ceremony.
3 He says ‘particularly on such a glorious evening‘ so we realise he thinks it must have been a temptation to spend it out of doors, not indoors listening to a talk.
4 He says it is firstly a celebration, and b) secondly an opportunity to share an area of research with a broad audience in and beyond the university; c) thirdly it provides an opportunity to reflect on some work and consider future developments and d) fourthly it is an important milestone in an academic career
5 He says it is a milestone he never imagined he would ever achieve.
6 He describes himself as very much a disaffected student at school – he was unmotivated and drifted through school doing as little as he could.
7 He left with 3 A levels, all Grade Ds. (‘A’ level grades go from A to E).
8 He says he ‘scraped‘ into university through Clearing. (This shows he only just managed to get the basic minimum of qualifications.)
9 It was called ‘Behavioural Science’.
10 He clearly wasn’t either – he paid limited attention to his studies, because he found the attractions of the freedom of university life too distracting.
11 He had a work placement.
12 He worked as a nursing assistant.
13 For emotionally and behaviourally disturbed children (in Birmingham).
14 Because he saw at first-hand how psychology could make such a real difference to the lives of children and young people, some of whom were very distressed and disturbed.
15 That he returned to his studies after this work placement with a new determination, feeling that his future was now clear.
16 In clinical psychology
17 That he has worked in the field of children’s and young people’s mental health ever since – ie all his working life.
18 That trying to discover how to intervene effectively in this work continues to interest, excite and challenge him.
19 That he has been very fortunate to have had a family who have been supportive and encouraging about his ‘wild ideas’ and his involvement in activities.
20 The people he has worked with who have contributed – directly or indirectly – to the ideas he is about to share with his audience –
a) experienced and skilled colleagues – many of whom are at the lecture and
b) a number of young people and their carers from whom he has also learned a great deal

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