Heike Schmidt-Felzmann
dr.phil., Dipl.Psych., MA

Contact details

• Email: heike.felzmann nuigalway.ie
• Office: Room 201 Philosophy Department (Morrisroe House, 19 Distillery Rd)
• Phone:                353 (0)91 495043        

Personal information

I studied philosophy and psychology in Hamburg, Oxford, Marburg and SUNY Stony Brook and received a MA degree in Philosophy and a “Diplom” in Psychology from Hamburg University and a doctorate in Philosophy from Phillips-University Marburg. I also received extensive training in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy at AWKV Marburg, including clinical experience and supervision at outpatient psychotherapy clinics as AWKV Marburg and Kassel and PAM at University of Marburg.

Teaching

I contribute to undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in philosophy, health care ethics, professional ethics and research ethics, including:

• Philosophy, Meaning and Human Values: Personal Identity (PI115)
• History of Ethics (PI 230)
• Moral Theory (PI335)
• Feminist Ethics (PI 522)
• Practical and Professional Ethics (PI531)
• Nursing and Midwifery Ethics
• Professionalism in Medicine
• Engineering Ethics
• Research Ethics in Humanities and Social Sciences
• Research Ethics in Clinical Sciences

I am also running a Service Learning module in the MA in Ethics, Culture and Global Change where students combine philosophical study with practical experience in organisations outside the University. I have an active record of student research supervision in Philosophy at the postgraduate level.

Research

My primary research fields are bioethics (especially health care ethics), research ethics, moral philosophy and its intersections with psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience. My doctoral dissertation addressed the conceptualisation of ethical issues in psychotherapeutic practice, which raised more general issues about ethics in professional relationships and the question of the nature of ethical reasoning in practice contexts. I have an ongoing interest in the significance of empirical research for moral philosophy. My primary research activities more recently are in the area of research ethics. From 2006-2008 I was leader on a national review of Irish Research Ethics Committees with special focus on children’s research for the Office of the Minister for Children (partly conducted in collaboration with the HSE).

Professional Activities

I am an active member of COBRA, NUI Galway’s ethics centre. With the support of the COBRA team, I have organised regular conferences and workshops at the centre since 2005, including international conferences on Moral Theory and Clinical Practice (2006) and Issues in Research Ethics (2008, in collaboration with Sorcha Ui Chonnachtaigh). More generally, I am part of a team in COBRA that is engaged in the creation of information and networking opportunities for Irish researchers and practitioners in the field of ethics, which includes keeping a register on Irish Research Ethics Committees. We are also currently exploring opportunities for further engagement in ethics outreach. I provide trainings and lectures on research ethics, health care ethics and clinical ethics in academic and health care contexts in Ireland and abroad, and I am actively involved in furthering curriculum development in these areas within the institution and in the broader Irish context.

• Disclaimer
• Privacy
• Copyright
• Accessibility