LPP author Emma Farrell has arranged a seminar on the subject of supporting higher education students with mental health difficulties which is bringing together leading scholars, student support experts, policy makers, and government officials from Ireland and abroad.
Dr. Lucy Johnstone is delivering the keynote address, Dr. Farrell will be participating in an expert panel discussion, and the even will conclude with the launch of the Dr. Farrell’s Open Access book, Irish University Students with Mental Health Difficulties: Opportunities, Challenges and Supports.
About this event
Join us at the Royal Irish Academy for a day of insightful presentations, panel discussions, and networking opportunities. This event aims to explore the experiences, needs and resources of students, staff, support services and policy makers in supporting students with mental health difficulties in higher education. It seeks to bring together a diverse range of expertise to develop an understanding of the opportunities and challenges as they currently stand, and propose an effective way forward in the context of increasing student need and limited resoruces. This event will include a keynote address from Dr Lucy Johnstone and will conclude with the launch of the Open Access book, Irish University Students with Mental Health Difficulties: Opportunities, Challenges and Supports.
- Date/time: Mon, 31 Mar 2025 14:00 – 18:00 GMT+1
- Location: Royal Irish Academy, 19 Dawson Street D02 HH58 Dublin 2 Ireland
Please contact the event host for online options and/or recordings.
Program
14.00 Welcome address: Minister James Lawless, Minister for Further and Higher Education; Dr Siobhán O’Sullivan, Executive Director, Royal Irish Academy.
14.15 Keynote address: Dr Lucy Johnstone, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and co-author of the ‘Power, Threat, Meaning Framework’
15.15 Break
15.30 Expert panel discussion: moderated by Dr Shane Bergin. Extended panel (in alphabetical order):
- Dr Cian Aherne – Clinical Manager, Jigsaw Limerick
- Dr Shane Bergin (moderator)
- Prof. Barbara Dooley – Full Professor of Psychology UCD, PI My World Survey
- Dr Emma Farrell – Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, MU
- Joanna Harney – Deputy Director TCD Student Counselling Service
- Dr Maeve Houlihan – Dean Lochlan Quinn School of Business UCD
- Sarah Hughes – Union of Students of Ireland, Mental Health Programme Manager
- Dr Eithne Hunt – Lecturer in Occupational Therapy, UCC
- Dara Ryder – CEO Ahead
- Dr Ross Woods – Higher Education Authority
- Prof. Phoebe Young – Chair and Professor, Department of History University of Colorado
16.30 Concluding remarks
17.00 Book launch: Professor Michael Shevlin (TCD) and Professor Deirdre Desmond (MU)
Dr Lucy Johnstone is a consultant clinical psychologist, author of ‘Users and abusers of psychiatry’ (3rd edition Routledge 2021) and ‘A straight-talking guide to psychiatric diagnosis’ (PCCS Books, 2nd edition 2022); co-editor of ‘Formulation in psychology and psychotherapy: making sense of people’s problems’ (Routledge, 2nd edition 2013); and co-author of ‘A straight talking introduction to the Power Threat Meaning Framework’, 2020, PCCS Books) along with a number of other chapters and articles taking a critical perspective on mental health theory and practice. She is the former Director of the Bristol Clinical Psychology Doctorate in the UK and has worked in Adult Mental Health settings for many years, most recently in a service in South Wales. She is Visiting Professor at London South Bank University, an Honorary Fellow of the BPS, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Lucy was lead author, along with Professor Mary Boyle, for the ‘Power Threat Meaning Framework’ (2018), a British Psychological Society publication co-produced with service users, which outlines a conceptual alternative to psychiatric diagnosis and has attracted national and international attention. Lucy is an experienced conference speaker and lecturer, and currently works as an independent trainer. She lives in Bristol, UK.
How can universities better support students who are struggling with their mental health?
Drawing on hours of in-depth interviews, this book examines the lived experiences of students with mental health difficulties in higher education. Author Emma Farrell aims to illuminate the experience of navigating the transition to university, accessing support, managing coursework and expectations, while also forming relationships, identity, and a sense of belonging.
Read or download: https://livedplacespublishing.com/book/isbn/9781916704879
This book is published under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license as defined by Creative Commons. You are free to download, copy, and redistribute these materials in any medium or format as long as you follow the license terms. View All LPP Open Access Titles.
We want our books to be available to as many people as possible. If you’d like to purchase an individual copy of the printed book, please email us and we’ll give you a discount code:
HEADER IMAGE CREDIT: Royal Irish Academy
