Episode #49: Dr. Warren Larkin - Trauma Informed Educators Network Podcast

Prior to founding Warren Larkin Associates in 2017, Warren spent 24 years in the NHS, working predominantly with individuals and families experiencing serious mental health difficulties. First as an assistant working on the long-stay psychiatric wards at Prestwich Hospital and then as Clinical Psychologist in Manchester working in a service created to provide and research the impact of CBT and Family Interventions for people experiencing psychosis. Warren went on to lead one of the two national centres of excellence in psychological care for psychosis – chosen to share and disseminate innovative practice in first episode psychosis services (FEP). This initiative contributed to a case for change which led to increased funding and the introduction of the two-week referral to treatment time in FEP services in England. Warren then spent 5 years as Network Clinical Director, responsible for Children and Families Services across Lancashire. Warren was responsible for the quality and safety of care and for research and innovation. This experience led to Warren’s passion for public health and prevention work. Warren is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and is also Visiting Professor at Sunderland University where he is working with the Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing, to develop their research programme and training curricula for a broad range of health care professionals. Warren completed a 2-year tenure as the Clinical Lead for the Department of Health Adverse Childhood Experiences programme and is now working with NHS Health Scotland to implement routine ACE inquiry in GP practices in some of the most deprived areas in Scotland. He has a long-standing interest in the relationships between childhood adversity and outcomes later in life and has published numerous research articles on the topic of adverse childhood experiences, trauma and psychosis and published an edited book in 2006 (now commissioned for a second edition) exploring this theme. Warren has also been involved in policy development and has acted as an advisor to a number of UK and foreign government agencies. He was a member of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services National Task Force, the NICE expert reference group on first episode psychosis, the ‘Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation’ advisory group and was a contributing author of the recently published Personality ‘Disorder’ Consensus Statement. He is currently supporting UNICEF in the Western Balkans to develop trauma- informed policy and practice. Warren developed the routine enquiry about adversity in childhood (REACh) approach as a way of assisting organisations to become more trauma-informed and to train professionals to ask routinely about adversity in their everyday practice. He is currently writing a book about trauma, adversity, and resilience and why we urgently need to focus on prevention in order to improve health and wellbeing for future generations.