Dr. Jenny Groarkeis a Lecturer in the School of Psychology. Prior to this appointment she was a Lecturer in Health Psychology at Queens University Belfast, where she maintains an Honorary Lecturer title.She is a Chartered Psychologist and full member of the British Psychological Society Division of Health Psychology. Jenny graduated with a BA and HDip from NUIG, where she also completed her PhD in Psychology under the supervision of Dr Michael Hogan on the functions and effects of music listening. Jenny was a postdoctoral researcher with the mHealth research group working on an Irish Cancer Society funded project to design and evaluate a mobile health behaviour change intervention for cancer survivors with overweightobesity.Her research examines emotional experiences, such as loneliness, stress, and distress as well as designing and evaluating interventions to reduce negative emotions and improve wellbeing. The benefits of creative activities music, in particular -- is an important focus of her work. Jenny is the Northern Ireland Representative for the Arts Health Early Career Researcher Network, and sits on the research committee for the National Association of Social Prescribing Link Workers.

Research Areas:Emotions and affective experiences (stress, distress, loneliness) Creative activities, everyday music listening, group singing Psycho-Oncology, cancer-related loneliness, post-traumatic growth Mental Health and Wellbeing Research Methods:Qualitative methods Experience Sampling Creative methods and Participatory Action Research PsychometricsScale development Quantitative modelling ExperimentalRCT designs Systematic reviews (qualitative evidence synthesis and mixed-methods)