Overview

Four CAST PhD studentships at the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work (SSESW)

The School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work (SSESW) is delighted to advertise four PhD studentship opportunities commencing in October 2023. All four projects are funded by the Department for the Economy Northern Ireland (DfE) via the co-operative studentship awards in science and technology (CAST) scheme.  Applicants can apply for more than one project but separate applications are required for each project.

The studentships offer tuition fees and an annual stipend TBC (the 22/23 rate was £17,668) to support living costs for a maximum of 3 years. For further details about eligibility criteria (including academic, citizenship and residency criteria) please click on the DfE Research Eligibility Guidance Notes: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/co-operative-awards-science-and-technology.   While successful candidates are expected to undertake full time working hours on the project, there may be scope to further supplement their income through teaching or research activities should opportunities arise.

Project 1 [Reference: CAST23GD]

Implementing Trauma Informed Care within Services for People with Psychosis.

Contact: Prof Gavin Davidson g.davidson@qub.ac.uk

Project summary

Early Intervention Services (EIS) facilitate prompt access to high-quality care following first episode psychosis and have demonstrated improved outcomes (Adamson et al., 2018). However, trauma and adversity have been found to predict poorer outcomes in those accessing EIS (Schäfer & Fisher, 2011). Services integrating Trauma Informed Care (TIC) are those where all members of an organisation understand the impact of trauma, aim to promote recovery and limit the potential for re-traumatisation. A review of TIC demonstrated benefits for service users in reduced posttraumatic stress and general mental health symptoms, enhanced coping skills and greater treatment retention (Sweeney et al., 2016).

Research Aims

• To determine the extent that Early Intervention Services (EIS) worldwide have adopted the principles of trauma-informed care
• To explore the barriers and drivers of implementing trauma-informed care within psychosis services
• To evaluate training in trauma-informed care to EIS throughout Ireland

A recent Delphi study reached a consensus (of experts including experts by experience) on the principles of TIC in EIS (Mitchell et al., 2021). This project will build on that work to evaluate how EIS implement trauma informed practice and explore the experience of those implementing TIC in psychosis services. It will also pilot training in TIC in EIS in throughout the island of Ireland.

The project will be conducted in collaboration with the Northern Trust, including an external supervisor who manages an EIS and a Mental Health Research Centre. It will also be linked to the PSI-STAR project, a network of psychosis-focused PhD projects within the Island of Ireland. This PhD project will be an important component of further developing this network and its impact on policy, services and outcomes.

Supervisory Team

Professor Gavin Davidson, Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, Queen’s University Belfast

Professor Ciaran Mulholland, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast

Professor Ciaran Shannon, Northern Health and Social Care Trust