Exciting news: our NIHR-funded COLLAGE study is now officially underway at @imh-uob.bsky.social, exploring how care-experienced young people in England seek mental health support. We’re also thrilled to welcome @errwallace.bsky.social to the research team! 🌈🧠 www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2025/na...

🚨 New research out today in BMC Public Health reveals concerning mental health disparities among LGBTQA+ higher education students in Northern Ireland & Republic of Ireland. Link to study: doi.org/10.1186/s128... 🗣️Read more about our findings below:

If you are attending the International Society of Critical Health Psychology conference this week in Galway, come along to the O’hEocha Theatre on Friday at 2:30pm. I'll be discussing the impact of 'negotiating multiple minoritised identities' with trans and gender-diverse youth in N.Ireland👇

Trans+ legal experts warn Supreme Court ruling could breach human rights as 60+ attend Parliament briefing www.attitude.co.uk/news/trans-l...

NEW: The Cass Review into UK trans healthcare is 'deeply flawed', containing biased research, outdated data, and manipulated evidence, an international team of experts has said Read more on this story: www.thenational.scot/news/2516682...

Paper accepted at BMC Public Health this week 🙂 'Mental health disorders, childhood adversities, and recent stressors as risk factors for non-suicidal self-injury and suicidality among LGBTQA+ higher education students'. Thanks to co-authors - paper coming soon! 👀

I’ll tell you what I see when I look at the #RainbowMap 2025, which was published this morning, an absolute failure of government. The UK once stood proudly at the top of Europe on LGBTI legal equality. Now we’ve slipped into the yellow. Well done to all the countries continuing to make progress.

New Publication Alert 📢 I am proud to share my latest publication where we explored how school practices across 13 European countries impact the mental health of sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth. 🔗 Read the full article: link.springer.com/article/10.1... #lgbtqi #mentalhealth #inclusion

Practical things you can do as a Cis ally: - Write to your MP - Protest - Give funds to Trans led advocacy groups - Use whatever social capital you have to support your workplace, your kids schools, your communities to resist the erasure of Trans people from public life.

Another update to the map of protests against the Supreme Court judgement (Green markers for completed demos, red for upcoming) www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/e... I make that 72 protests and counting now Keep following and supporting @whatthetrans.com for updates

There is still plenty of time to apply for our FUNDED #PhD opportunities in the School of Health Sciences at @uniofsurrey.bsky.social If you are interested in women nurses experiences of #Whistleblowing or #Bullying take a look. Closing date 11th May. www.surrey.ac.uk/fees-and-fun...

Funded PhD opportunity about LGBTQ+ people & adult social care with an incredible supervisory team at the University of Bristol consisting of Profs @jasonschaub.bsky.social & David Abbott. Applications due 15/05/25 with PhD starting September 2025. More info here: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DMP621/p...

We’ve just published our first paper with @psyarxivbot.bsky.social Our qualitative (IPA) paper explores the complex intersection of sexual orientation, gender identity, and suicidality among transgender and gender-diverse young people in Northern Ireland. Read it here: doi.org/10.31234/osf...

Thanks so much for highlighting this Madi. Protective factors, particularly individual and community strengths and resiliency are so often over-shadowed. Glad we could emphasise this in our scoping review. Of course, we wish LGBTQ+ young people did not need this resiliency in the first place! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

The Executive Ban isn't just about puberty blockers but about the systemic failure of Stormont to cater to LGBTQ community needs... Not one single mention of LGBTQ people in the new Programme for Government. PRIDE IS A PROTEST! And we will continue to use it to call their failures out!

A heartfelt thank you to Professor Latu at Queens University, for inviting me to give a 2-hr guest lecture on LGBTQA+ suicide prevention. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ We discussed gender and sexuality norms, heteronormativity, minority stress, intersectionality, queer theory, healthcare needs, and some research findings.

Today marks five years since the first same-sex marriages took place in N.Ireland 🥳 I love my wife so much, I married her twice. Only joking, we were just being discriminated against the first time 😉 #NorthernIreland #Equality 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

Doing a PhD is hard, but never underestimate the value of doing work that you are passionate about, to feel seen and heard, and like you belong somewhere. The past two years have changed my life immeasurably, and I will always be so grateful. Keep going! 😊 #phdlife

Delighted to have been invited back to Queens University to give a guest lecture on 6th Feb. Massive thanks to Professor Latu. We will be discussing sexuality and gender norms in suicide research, some research findings, and theories inc. minority stress, intersectionality and queer theory. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Day 14: Book challenge ‘Queer data: Using gender, sex, and sexuality data for action’ - Kevin Guyan @kevinguyan.bsky.social

This was a real highlight of my summer; forming a symposium on LGBTQ+ inclusion at the BPS Social Psychology section conference, with Dr Phoebe McKenna-Plumley, Dr Stephanie Burns, Dr Liadh Timmons, and Dr Lorraine McDonagh. Lovely to see a photo of us all together 🙂

Day 13: book challenge Who’s afraid of gender? Judith Butler

Day 12: book challenge “Nineteen eighty-four” 👀 George Orwell #bookchallenge

Day 11: book challenge Girl, woman, other - Bernardine Evaristo #bookchallenge

Day 10: book challenge “Invisible women” - Caroline Criado Perez

In a story sent out to newsrooms around the world, AP calls puberty blockers a 'common approach' to treatment for trans kids and highlights how the UK ban goes against 'standards held by medical groups elsewhere, including the European and World Professional Associations for Transgender Health'

In August, a Sinn Fein spokesperson said decisions around puberty blockers should be left to medical professionals, not politicians. Sinn Fein & Alliance ministers then implement a ban without publishing any evidence, so what has changed? Where are the allies within those parties to call this out?

Day 9: book challenge “Nothing special: Living Zen” - Charlotte Joko Beck #bookchallenge

For an overview of over 30 peer reviewed studies on Puberty blockers over 40 years see Dr Cal Horton's excellent summary @fiercemum.bsky.social growinguptransgender.com/2020/06/10/p...

Gender affirming care is suicide prevention. And, there is plenty of evidence if only people would stop wilfully ignoring it to suit their agenda. #TransRightsareHumanRights 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️

A Joint Statement from LGBT+ Lib Dems, Out for Independence, LGBTIQA+ Greens and Rainbow Greens on the UK Puberty Blockers ban.

Very concerned about the consequences of this decision on the quality of life, and mental wellbeing of trans and gender diverse young people in Northern Ireland. Assurances that this wouldn’t happen seemingly out the window.

Northern Ireland Executive backs indefinite ban on puberty blockers with England to follow transwrites.world/northern-ire...

Day 8: book challenge “The body keeps the score” - Bessel Van Der Kolk

Day 7: book challenge “The god delusion” - Richard Dawkins #bookchallenge

Day 6: book challenge “I know why the caged bird sings” Maya Angelou #bookchallenge

Day 5: book challenge ‘Queer theory now’ 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ #bookchallenge

Book challenge: day 4 Moved into the hallway now… “Hardcore Zen” - Brad Warner 🪷

Day 3: book challenge “Clarity and connection” 👥 - Yung Pueblo #bookchallenge

Day 2: Book challenge “When it is darkest” 💡 - Professor Rory O’Connor #bookchallenge

Be disruptive! What queer history tells us about confronting Trump

Day 1: Book challenge “The seven necessary sins for women and girls” - Mona Eltahawy ✊🏻✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿 #bookchallenge

Finally, University of the Year 2024: it’s Ulster University! The judges were wowed by Ulster’s progress in research, particularly in medical technology and quantum computing, in teaching, student experience & graduate outcomes, as well as helping foster peace and prosperity. Congratulations! 🕊️

Do read my latest paper out today on the nuances of “trauma informed care” that may be under-appreciated in mental health services: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

🏳️‍🌈 Understanding Suicidality in LGBTQ+ Youth A review explores the risk and protective factors affecting suicidality in LGBTQ+ youth (14-25), using a socio-ecological model. It highlights personal, social, and systemic influences. Here's a breakdown.👇 #LGBTQ #MentalHealth

Follow me for a flurry of initial posts which taper off over the next few weeks as the novelty wanes and then sporadic announcements when I have something to boast about like a publication or finally submitting my thesis.

Delighted to see Ulster Uni Psychology coming in at 7th out of 116 courses in the UK. Rankings aren’t perfect, but it is a fantastic endorsement of our excellent BSc Psychology programme and all my lovely colleagues.

What are your research interests? Some of mine 👇🏻 Creative Writing Studies. Hybrid & experimental CW. Queer Studies. Bi Studies. Gender Studies. Disability Studies. Queering narrative. Disability poetics. Accessibility. Inclusive & embodied pedagogy. Research-creation. Public humanities.

What are your research interests? Some of mine 👇 Self-injury, mental healthcare policy and provision, bodily autonomy, queer theory, trans and non-binary lives, Foucauldian discourse analysis, phenomenology, mixed-methods, and evidence synthesis.