Research Support

In 1988 I qualified as a mental health nurse and headed off from Ireland with my new found insights to change the world. Spending most of my early career in England with some brief sojourns in Australia and the Middle East. As a practitioner I have pretty consistently worked with people whom some would classify as having a serious psychotic illness, others as ‘having extraordinary experiences’ and more specifically concentrating on acute mental health care. Other roles over time have varied with the common grounding of practice and healing at the centre of each one: as a researcher/practitioner; in practice/service development; in community development; and as a community activist. Since my return to Ireland with my family in 2001 I now find myself somewhere between an ivory tower and lived experiences, as a lecturer in practice. I practice on an acute psychiatric admission ward and am consistently involved in developing interesting innovative courses and programmes to meet practice needs. My methodological preferences lie in Participatory Inquiry, as generally my purpose is to both understand and transform the systems I research with. My substantive research programme is around ‘transforming dialogues in mental health communities’. The contribution of this programme of research to community development was recognised with the DCU Presidents Award for Civic Engagement in 2011 for one project Mental Health Trialogue Network Ireland www.trialogue.co Much of this work centres around people reconciling their own experiences, perceptions and practices with other people/groups associated with mental health and using different approaches to improve these at individual, group, organisational and community level. Examples of relevant areas include; where people have extraordinary experiences and beliefs; when people are disenfranchised by society and community; and in the area of Trauma and responses to traumatic events. Approaches include cooperative learning, participative action, open dialogue and systemic family constellations work. I recognised earlier on that one way to push the boundaries of health care practice was to seek academic pursuits in other areas. Beginning with grounding in Health Studies for my first degree and then going on to complete a Masters in Sociology of Health and Health Care. For my sins, returning to nursing and completing my Doctorate in Nursing Science. Thankfully I have found new insights, lost some along the way and am still trying to change the world.