I qualified as an occupational therapist from Trinity College, Dublin in 2003, and worked in various fields of mental health until 2010. I worked for the HSE, on community mental health teams and in inpatient units, carrying out a wide variety of occupational therapy assessments and interventions. I worked for an assertive outreach team with high-risk individuals for the Department of Corrections, British Columbia, Canada, for 11 months also.I joined the National University of Irelandin 2010 asthe practice education coordinatorfor the Discipline of Occupational Therapy, where I had responsibility for arranging clinical placements for occupational therapy students, andassisting clinical educators with the assessment of competency of the students on their clinical placements.I moved to the post oflecturer in the Discipline of Occupational Therapy in August 2012.I am module lead for four modules in Mental Health, Group-work and Occupational Science for undergraduateoccupational therapy students. I also contribute to teaching on various modules relating to occupational therapy theory and practice, and supervise undergraduate research.I completed my PhD exploring the feasibility and mechanisms of change of an Occupational Therapy programme called Redesigning Daily Occupations (ReDO)for women with stress in a primary care context. My research interests are in the design, implementation and evaluation of mental health occupational therapy interventions. I supervise undergraduate and postgraduate students in the area of mental health occupational therapy, occupational science, particularly using qualitative methods.

My current research interests include;- mental health, particularly the impact of mental health difficulties on occupational performance and participation, and the exploration of evidence-based, occupation-focused interventions for mental health occupational therapists. This may include researching the efficacy of mental health occupational therapy interventions to strengthen the evidence base for the field.- anxiety and depression, particularly the relationship with occupation, the socialeconomicpoliticalcultural issues and the exploration of potential therapeutic approaches for mental health occupational therapists- occupational science and the wider exploration ofhuman participation in meaningful activity- exploration of occupation in the wider context e.g. modern life, work, society, relationship with health and wellbeing, and participation in unusual and emerging occupationsI supervise both undergraduate and postgraduate research PGR and taught MSc students.

I teach two modules relating to the practice of occupational therapy with people with mental health difficulties. We look at the most prevalent mental health conditions and explore socioeconomic and environmental factors in mental health. Then we look at how an occupational therapist might assess, set goals and work with someone experiencing a mental health challenge. We also look at topics like the Recovery philosophy and the Mental Health Act 2001. I also teach a module designed for students to develop skills in designing and facilitating therapeutic groups. Students plan and run a group and take part in in therapeutic groups themselves. I teach a module on occupational science - a philosophical theory-base for occupational therapy. Students use problem-based learning to debate issues such as social justice, marginalisation and deprivation of particular social groups.