Dr Matthew Gould is a Consultant Chartered Clinical Psychologist with international, public and private sector experience of assessing and managing psychological performance, risk and health in hazardous settings. Dr Gould has particular expertise in leading on psychological governance to ensure organisations meet their Duty of Care and regulatory obligations. Dr Gould is a registered practitioner psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), a Chartered member of the British Psychological Society (BPS) and a full member of the Division of Clinical Psychology.
In 2020, Dr Gould was appointed by ITV Plc to a newly created role to provide independent expert advice about potential harms to programme participants and audiences, and steps that ITV and production can make to mitigate these risks. Dr Gould established and runs a global peer mentoring network for mental health advisors consulting to high-consequence productions. He provides clinical case consultation for individuals in the public eye and facing press and social media intrusion. Dr Gould is a member of the ITV Duty of Care Operating Board chaired by the Chief Executive.
Dr Gould has extensive experience of occupational mental health having provided clinical risk assessments at selection (‘role-fit’) and for special issuance medical certification (‘preexisting vulnerability’) for personnel employed in challenging roles. He has worked for the UK Armed Forces providing occupationally-focused mental healthcare and been a consultant psychologist on a range of specific risks for specialist military programmes such as hostage survival training and exposure to graphic content. He has extensive experience of working with trauma and other mental health disorders especially those arising within an organisational context. Dr Gould has completed advanced training in workplace threat assessment which seeks to identify and manage vulnerable employees with a grievance that present as a serious threat.
Dr Gould has extensive experience working in the aviation sector. He was the Head of Clinical and Aeromedical Psychology for Emirates Airlines and a designated Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) in Psychology. In this role, based in Dubai, he designed and delivered a global clinical psychological risk and wellbeing strategy for Emirates Airlines. Matt was also a member of an expert advisor group following the tragic Germanwings Flight 9525 air accident in 2015. The clinical risk assessment guidelines that Dr Gould developed for Emirates Airlines continue to be used by the United Arab Emirates aviator regulator as best practice. He has also managed survivors following a major aircraft accident and consulted on contingency planning to an airport ground handling provider following a terrorist attack. Dr Gould is an accredited aviation psychologist with the European Association for Aviation Psychology (EAAP).
As well as having completed specialist training in aviation neuropsychology and addictions management, Dr Gould has extensive experience of applying cognitive psychology to treat a wide range of psychological conditions as well as to improve decision-making and performance in leadership and challenging settings. He has worked with a number of major organisations as a consultant and coach including providing resiliency coaching to senior staff of a major UK bank and fitness-to-work evaluations for a global newsgathering organisation. Dr Gould also consults to a Government agency on compensation and disabling mental injury as a result of violent crime and terrorism.