Aberdeen-born Professor Frank McPherson, the first clinical psychology director of NHS Tayside, has died aged 83 after a brief illness.
Frank, who was a pioneer in his field, also delivered services following three national disasters.
He provided psychology and mental health services after the Piper Alpha disaster in 1988, the disaster at Ibrox stadium in 1971 and the tragedy at Dunblane Primary School.
International profile
Frank was twice elected president of the European Federation of Professional Psychologists’ Associations, and was an advisor to the World Health Organisation.
An elected Fellow of the British Psychological Society and chairman of both the Society’s Professional Affairs Board and Division of Clinical, he was one of the first clinical psychologists to be trained in Scotland, qualifying in 1962.
War years
Born in Aberdeen to Frank, a grocer, and Ethel, a seamstress, Frank spent much of the Second World War as an evacuee with his mother in north Wales while his father was away on active duty with the RAF.
He won a scholarship to Aberdeen Grammar School, but his dreams of becoming a fighter pilot were dashed on medical grounds and he instead studied psychology at Aberdeen University, graduating in 1960.
Frank studied under Rex Knight, the first professor of psychology at the university who along with his wife and fellow eminent psychologist, Margaret Horsey was a huge influence on his belief in the potential of psychology to improve people’s lives.
Pioneer
He worked as a lecturer at Edinburgh University from 1960 until 1971 when he left to set up what became Tayside Area Clinical Psychology Department, the first such area-wide service in the UK.
Developed from a single member of staff in 1971, it became the largest clinical psychology department in Scotland.
Vital services
It provided services in adult mental health, primary care, child and adolescent services, learning disabilities, older adults, clinical health, neuropsychology, addictions, forensics and HIV.
The latter two services were respectively the first prison-based clinical forensic psychology service in Scotland and the country’s first clinical psychology service for HIV/Aids patients.
During his 28 years at Tayside, Frank maintained his clinical practice in adult mental health services and forensic work and developed a particular expertise in eating disorders.
Edinburgh
In the 1960s while at Edinburgh University, Frank had established the first psychology course for medical students that was examined and was a fully integrated part of the curriculum.
He subsequently went on to set up the first Royal College of Nursing-approved training for nurses in psychological therapies in Tayside in 1975
Frank maintained a keen interest in training and teaching and worked to develop closer partnerships between the NHS and universities.
Professorship
He also taught at the University of Abertay in Dundee and was appointed professor of clinical psychology in 1990.
As president of the European Federation of Professional Psychologists’ Associations between 1982 and 1990, he advised the clinical psychology associations of Spain and Portugal as they emerged from dictatorships.
On retiring from NHS Tayside in 1999, Frank worked as a clinician in the area of occupational health, developing expertise in dealing with industrial accidents and, as psychology advisor to Scottish Coal, mining accidents.
Witness
In 2009, when the Crown Office Sexual Crimes Prosecution Unit was set by the Scottish Government (the first such unit in Europe), Frank was invited to be their main psychologist expert witness, dealing with victims of sexual crime.
During his eight years’ involvement with the unit, he prepared legal reports and advised on the prosecution in over 500 cases, giving evidence in court on many of them.
Sportsman
He was a keen rugby player in his youth and continued to enjoy hobbies such as hillwalking, reading, politics, aviation and supporting Aberdeen FC, whom he had first watched at Pittodrie at the age of four.
He is survived by his second wife, Dr Frances Baty, the NHS director of psychology in Fife, a son, Colin and daughter, Katrina from his first marriage to Karin Langenheim, and five granddaughters.