We are saddened to learn of the death of Professor William Yule, Emeritus Professor of Applied Child Psychology at King’s College London Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience. Professor Yule made enormous contributions to the field of child clinical psychology and was a long-time member and contributor to the work of ACAMH. A true scientist-practitioner, he was also a kind and thoughtful humanitarian.
He was renowned for many accomplishments, including his work in epidemiology and his expertise in the area of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among children. Following the sinking of the Herald of Free Enterprise ship in 1987, he began working as a prominent psychologist and researcher further specializing in youth mental health. He served as an advisor to UNICEF during the civil war in the former Yugoslavia and soon after was a founding trustee of the Children and War Foundation dedicated to improving children’s lives in wars and disasters. In 2005 he was given the lifetime achievement award by the International Society for the Study of Traumatic Stress for his work with children. More recently he taught Teaching Recovery Techniques (TRT) to a group of Ukrainian mental health professionals during the ongoing war in Ukraine, and it has since helped thousands of children with war-related trauma, becoming a recommended intervention by the Ukrainian Ministry of Science and Education.
Additionally, he was a member of the British Health Expert Group, helping to identify therapeutic approaches for treating trauma stemming from the Sri Lankan civil war. Throughout his career, Professor Yule’s research on epidemiology, his clinical practice and his contributions as a leading authority on paediatric PTSD stood out as significant achievements.
Professor Yule was previously a member of the editorial advisory board for JCPP and served as Treasurer for the Association.
He will be deeply missed, and our thoughts are with his family at this time.