Aboriginal Healing,
Sharing Culture |
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David's Journey, Part 1The journey I have taken during my career has been long and varied. It's seen me work in different disciplines and in different parts of the world. I hope this description of my journey gives you an insight into what motivates me to do what I do.
In the third year of my psychology degree at university in the mid-1970s, I did not know whether I wanted to go on to study clinical psychology or do a PhD in neuroscience. I decided to do the latter and ended up spending 25 years as a neuroscientist, studying the relationship between the brain, in particular the neurotransmitter dopamine, and human behaviour. And then I changed…
I enjoyed my time as a neuroscientist. I was lucky enough to spend three years (1981-84) as a postdoctoral fellow with Arvid Carlsson, the ‘father’ of dopamine and recipient of the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2000. Arvid inspired me greatly and I loved my three years living and working in Goteborg, Sweden. Our research was very exciting and we developed a new theory of drug-receptor interactions with potential important clinical implications. After spending two years in the US, I returned to the UK to take up a prestigious five-year Research Council Award and set up my own neuroscience laboratory at the University of Reading. One of our main projects was studying brain mechanisms underlying addiction. I was lucky enough to win another five-year Personal Award six-years later, and moved my laboratory to the University of Swansea in South Wales. I lived on the beautiful Gower Peninsula (please see photo, taken over ten years ago) and my office had the best view in British academia - overlooking the sea. Truly, I was very lucky! However, despite all my scientific publications (including a number of seminal review articles) and research grants, I eventually became disillusioned with neuroscience. In 2000, around the time I was awarded my Personal Chair (Professorship), I decided that focusing on brain chemistry and using drug treatment was NOT the answer to helping people overcome addiction and mental health problems. I now knew that:
‘It is not what is wrong with a person, but what is happening or has happened to that person that influences their wellbeing.’ And I wanted to help people! I therefore closed my laboratory and started working in the community. I continued teaching students at University and conducting research. > Part 2 > Part 3 |
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