School of Medicine
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People

Nigel Hunt

Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences

Contact

  • workRoom B19 International House
    Jubilee Campus
    Wollaton Road
    Nottingham
    NG8 1BB
    UK
  • work0115 8415315
  • fax0115 846 6625

Biography

After working as a bricklayer and HGV Class 1 lorry driver (the very big ones), I became a mature student, obtaining O levels, A levels, a degree, and finally my PhD (The Long Term Psychological Effects of War Experience). Apart from being an associate professor at Nottingham I am a Docent in Social Psychology in the Swedish School of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki. Professionally I am a Chartered Health Psychologist (HCPC Practitioner), an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. I am also an honorary member of the Ministry of Welfare and Social Security, Iran.

Expertise Summary

My key interest is in trauma and stress, particularly narrative approaches to understanding the responses to difficult events. The narrative approach is useful theoretically, methodologically and practically. It helps explain why people react as they do, how they appraise the situation, how they cope and how they can be helped. I have expertise in methods, particularly but not solely qualitative methods, and systematic reviews.

I have supervised to completion more than 25 PhD students, along with a number of forensic and clinical doctoral students.

Teaching Summary

My teaching is mostly with MSc students and with medical students Research methods Traumatic stress MSc project supervision I am also Docent at the University of Helsinki, where I teach… read more

Research Summary

The focus of my research is on the impact of traumatic events and how to deal with the problems that may arise. .

While my approach is eclectic, one of my main foci is on the role of narrative and narrative development in dealing with traumatic stress. The role of interpersonal and social factors is particularly important. My research is outlined in my book, Memory, War and Trauma (Cambridge, 2010). I am also concerned with the cultural factors, and have been involved in research across a number of countries, including research with Bosnian civilians and refugees, Chinese earthquake survivors, the longer term problems of dealing with communism in Eastern Europe, widowed women in India, firefighters in Saudi Arabia, helping civilians in Iraq,and the impact of humanitarian crises on humanitarian aid workers. I was part of the Centre for Hidden Histories, an AHRC-funded series of projects that examined various aspects of World War One experience.

I have supervised (first or joint first) over 25 PhD students to completion, along with a number of forensic and clinical doctoral students. I am currently supervising a number of PhD students:

Selected Publications

Noteworthy Conference speeches

  • Owen and Craiglockhart - Craiglockhart, Edinburgh - 2018
  • CS Myers 100th Anniversary Lecture, University of Cambridge - 2015
  • Alopecia and Health Psychology-University of Santiago - 2015
  • 1st Congress of Social Security, Tehran, Iran- Invited Keynote Speaker- 2007
  • International Conference on Aging, St Petersburg, Russia- 2007

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Workshops and Seminars

  • Remembrance and Re-remembering: Trauma, History and Design- Organises seminars at the National Memorial Arboretum (2008-2013)
  • International workshop on the future of political conflict, Washington DC, USA, sponsored by USAAF- 2008

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Editorial Roles

  • Member of Editorial Board, Journal of Traumatic Stress Disorders and Treatment
  • Guest Editor, special issue of War and Culture- 2010
  • Book editor, Lest We Forget (History Press, 2011)
  • Assistant Editor, The Psychologist
  • Reviewer for numerous journals

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Books

  • Staff Appraisals (book, 7th Edition), How To Book
  • Memory, War and Trauma, Cambridge University Press
  • Understanding Trauma, Sheldon Press- Won The Medical Journalist's Association Book Prize
  • Lest we forget- History Press
  • Landscapes of Trauma - Routledge

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  • My teaching is mostly with MSc students and with medical students
  • Research methods
  • Traumatic stress
  • MSc project supervision
  • I am also Docent at the University of Helsinki, where I teach a course on traumatic stres

Past Research

My initial PhD research was on the impact of the Second World War on older veterans. This expanded to veterans of other wars (eg Falklands, Gulf War), and then to other kinds of traumatic events, and events that may not be classified as traumatic under DSM, but are nevertheless potentially very stressful. This research has been conducted in many countries around the world.

I have also conducted research on the impact of alopecia (hair loss).

Future Research

I am currently working on a book, Applied Narrative Psychology, to be published by Cambridge University Press.

School of Medicine

University of Nottingham
Medical School
Nottingham, NG7 2UH

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