Cycle Against Suicide Newman Fellowship in Youth Mental Health

Closing date: Friday 22nd March, 5pm. As part of its programme to provide postdoctoral research opportunities for scholars of proven academic excellence, University College Dublin is pleased to announce the Cycle Against Suicide Newman Fellowshipin Youth Mental Health. About the project: There are concerns as to increased prevalence of mental illness among young people in Ireland. There has been chronic underfunding of young people’s Mental Health services and demand for services dramatically outstrips availability. Mental ill-health in young people is associated with increased stress within families and parents in particular. This can have a negative impact on a young person’s recovery. Frequently parents identify their lack of understanding of mental illness and a sense of lack of knowledge and powerlessness about how to best help their child as significant sources of stress. Providing information to parents about their child’s mental illness and how best to help (called ‘psychoeducation’) is known to be very beneficial to parents, empowering them, reducing stress and aiding their child’s recovery journey. This proposed research is to develop and pilot a psychoeducation package for parents covering the most common mental illnesses that occur in children and teenagers. The post is based in UCD Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department of UCD School of Medicine, and supervised by  Assoc Prof Blánaid Gavin and Prof Fiona McNicholas. UCD Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department has been delivering free psychoeducation to thousands of parents for over 20 years. Both Prof McNicholas and Dr Gavin have contributed to Cycle Against Suicide events designed to increase awareness of mental illness in young people. The study aims to develop a psychoeducation package for parents, based on international literature and to make this available nationwide. Candidate Details: Applications are invited from candidates who hold a doctoral degree in Psychology. The successful applicant will have a strong track record of high-quality research and publication. Candidates must have completed and passed their doctoral examination before commencement of the post. The Fellowship is designed for a creative thinker, writer and researcher with a strong interest in children’s Mental Health. Interest/experience in conducting empirical qualitative and/or quantitative research is desirable. Competition Details: UCD supports an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy for all its recruitment competitions. The Newman Fellowship comes with a tax-free stipend of €35k p.a. and is tenable for two years. How to Apply: The candidate must complete the Newman Fellowship Candidate Form and supply a CV and covering letter outlining how their qualifications and experience match the requirements of the position. Email to: newmanfellowship@ucdfoundation.ie with ‘Cycle Against Suicide Newman Fellowship’ in the subject line. Two nominated referees must separately submit their confidential reports using the Newman Fellowship Referee Form and send to: newmanfellowship@ucdfoundation.ie with ‘Cycle Against Suicide Newman Fellowship’ in the subject line. Informal enquiries: newmanfellowship@ucdfoundation.ie  Deadline: The closing date for receipt of completed applications is 17:00 on Friday, March 22nd 2024. The Fellowship start date will be arranged with the successful candidate and will ideally commence no later than April 2024.