Warning: Your browser doesn't support all of the features in this Web site. Please view our accessibility page for more details.

Quick Search [?]WHAT IS THIS?
Searches this and other areas of the Web site as you type. Results appear on this page.
Also searches the entire Web site (with results on a new page) if you press enter or click on 'Go'.

School of Psychology

News & Events

Contents

Student on MSc in Health Psychology Awarded 1st place for postgraduate oral presentations
PhD in Child and Youth Research
Undergraduate Awards 2012
NUI, Galway Researcher Founding Member of EROS
Conference on Well-being in Ireland, 8th June 2012

Student on MSc in Health Psychology Awarded 1^st place for Postgraduate Research at the 35^th Annual PSI-NIBPS Student Congress (April, 2013)

Ms. Orla Richardson, who is currently completing a Masters in Health Psychology degree in NUI Galway School of Psychology, was awarded first place in the postgraduate research category for her presentation at the 35th PSI-NIBPS Annual Student Congress, held this year in Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT).

The presentation outlined Ms. Richardson’s ongoing research programme which is investigating the effect of an online program of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) as an intervention for people newly diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), T2DM is a rising global epidemic. Sufferers of the illness experience a huge lifestyle change, including diet, exercise and medication, which can be very difficult to manage. The prospective intervention, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), has already proven beneficial for behaviour management across a wide range of areas of application, including chronic pain, smoking cessation and stress. The online version of ACT used in this research focuses on providing participants with the psychological tools needed to cope with difficult thoughts and feelings around diabetes management. The programme is delivered over four sessions through the medium of animations and related activities.

The research supervisor for the project, Dr. Ian Stewart, stated that “ACT has been shown to be an effective psychological intervention in a range of different contexts. With regard to diabetes, we have empirical evidence that it works in guiding effective self-management for patients. With this study, we’re examining whether it can be as effectively delivered via the internet as it has been face to face with a therapist. It’s important to examine this as making interventions available online is practical and cost-effective and could mean much better access for people. If our research shows it is effective then we can roll it out to those who might benefit from it that much faster. If it shows that it’s not quite as effective in an online context as we might have predicted then we need to work on improving it in that respect.”

The programme is designed to be accessible to people with T2DM who have web/computer access and a fluent level of English. GPs, friends and family are encouraged to refer interested individuals to participate. For those who volunteer, in addition to the potential health benefits of the intervention, there will also be a chance to win a prize worth €100.

For those interested in learning more about the project or in participating, further information is available from Orla Richardson, at o.richardson1nuigalway.ie and at the website http://www.yourdiabetesmanagement.net/.

PhD in Child and Youth Research

Applicants are invited for the next intake of the cross-institutional, structured PhD in Child and Youth Research programme scheduled to commence in September, 2013. This programme is a collaboration between NUI Galway and Trinity College Dublin. At NUI Galway, the host Centre and Schools are the School of Psychology and the Child & Family Research Centre (CFRC) and the School of Political Science and Sociology. At TCD, the host Centre and Schools are the Children’s Research Centre (CRC), the School of Psychology and the School of Social Work and Social Policy. Unlike traditional, thesis-only PhDs, this programme incorporates a suite of taught modules in key areas of child and youth research. The programme which combines thesis and taught modules, can be taken on a full-time basis over four years or on a part-time basis over six years.

The PhD programme aims to:

prepare programme participants to conduct high quality policy and practice-relevant research and programme evaluation with children and young people
develop programme participants’ knowledge and skills in key theoretical, methodological, policy and practice areas relating to children
provide graduates with the set of generic work-skills to facilitate their successful entry into the full range of employment settings

Entrants will be expected to have an upper second class honours degree in a social science. If applicants do not have a degree of that kind, they must have demonstrated high ability by some other means (e.g. through publications or achievement in a higher degree). Applications are welcome from individuals with strong policy and practice experience in relation to children.

Full details on the programme and information on how to apply are available on our website: http://www.childandyouthresearch.ie/ or by reading the document here.

Closing date for receipt of completed applications is Tuesday 30th April 2013

If you have any further questions, please contact us:

Trinity College Dublin: Dr. Lorraine Swords: swordsltcd.ie
NUI Galway: Ms Nuala Donohue: nuala.donohuenuigalway.ie

Undergraduate Awards 2012

Congratulations to Marek Bohacek whose essay "Process Timing and its Relations to the Perception of Tonal Harmony: an EEG study" has won an award in the Psychology category of the 2012 Undergraduate Awards. Marek’s essay was among the top 10% of the 2,890 that were sent into the awards this year from nearly 100 third level institutions in Ireland and around the world. As a winner in his category Marek will attend the UA Summit on November 7th-10th held in Dublin, Ireland.

Congratulations also to Ruth Howard, whose essay "Comparative Clinical Utility of Play Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Bereaved Children and Adolescents" was highly commended in the Psychology category of the 2012 Undergraduate Awards meaning it was in the top 10% of essays in the competition.

NUI, Galway Researcher Founding Member of EROS

Attending the 1st meeting of EROS were (from left):
Philip Moons (Belgium) ; Molly Byrne (Ireland);
Tialda Hoekstra (Netherlands); Tiny Jaarsma (Sweden);
Nina Kolbe (Germany); Sally Doherty (Ireland); Jan Martensson (Sweden)

The first meeting of the EROS (European Research Network on Sexuality in Cardiovascular Disease) group was held in Norrköping, Sweden on 24th & 25th September 2012. The meeting was hosted by Prof Tiny Jaarsma of Linköping University. The research network brings together leading researchers in the area of sexuality and sexual wellbeing in the context of cardiovascular diseases in Europe.

Sexual function and intimate relationship problems are common among people with heart disease. Sexual counselling and education are recommended in recent guidelines as an important component of cardiac rehabilitation for both cardiac patients and their partners. Research indicates that sexuality is rarely, if at all, addressed in health services.

Dr Molly Byrne of the School of Psychology, NUI, Galway is a founding member of this group. Dr Byrne has recently completed the CHARMS study: a Health Research Board funded study exploring views of cardiac rehabilitation staff, general practitioners and cardiac patients about how sexuality impacts wellbeing of cardiac patients in Ireland and how these issues are addressed in health services.

The EROS group aims to identify and address gaps in research in sexuality and cardiovascular disease. By taking a European perspective, they hope to standardise data collections tools for research in the area, develop an evidence base for sexual counselling interventions in cardiovascular health services and improve health professional training in cardiovascular sexuality across Europe.

Conference on Well-being in Ireland, 8th June 2012

Above: Attendees at the NUI, Galway Wellbeing Conference, 2012

Scientists, community organizations and policy-makers come together to discuss the latest advances in well-being research and policy. Helen Johnson, author of the Well-being in Ireland Report (NESC, 2009) and Alex Zautra, Arizona State University, delivered keynote papers on well-being. In advance of the workshop, conference participants also reflected on the broad issue of well-being in Ireland and generated a list of barriers to well-being in Ireland. Interactive Management, a software supported collaborative design process, was used to structure interrelationships between barriers (see figure 1). In response to critical drivers of negative influence in the system (i.e., the barriers to the left of figure 1), including Lack of trust/dissatisfaction with the system, government, and decision-makers in general, and A national sense of gloom due to emphasis on austerity, conference participants agreed that high-impact, feasible options that could help to overcome these barriers include (a) Focus on what can be done despite the economic environment, (b) Encourage people to get involved in/take control of well-being initiatives, and (c) Building on community spirit through organising support groups and local initiative.

Sona Systems Research Participation

Research participants and researchers click here to access the Sona website.

Visiting students

Visiting students will find the selection of courses in our discipline listed in the Visiting Student Handbook on the overseas students webpage. Please note that it is not safe to select courses from the departmental website, which displays courses from various programmes.

School of Psychology
National University of Ireland, Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland.
Phone: +353 (0)91 493101 | Fax: +353 (0)91 521355 | E-mail: Psychology or Webmaster
This page was last updated Friday, April 19, 2013