Dr Ciaran Mulholland

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School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences

Dr Ciaran Mulholland

School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences

1. First Episode Psychosis and At Risk Mental States (ARMS): I have a research interest in the impact of childhood trauma on mental health outcomes in young adulthood and have published widely in this area. I am a Principle Investigator on the Northern Ireland First Episode Psychosis Study (NIFEPS). Currently I have a number of studies in the ARMS field, including studies of: inflammatory markers; neuropsychological deficits; RCTs of a new psychotropic; VR technology; EEG technology; epidemiology of the ARMS in educational and population settings.

2. Exploring the Impact of the "Troubles" on mental health: I have a particular clinical and research interest in the impact of violence in the local context of Northern Ireland on mental health outcomes, including studies of: complex grief; RCT of TF-CBT for children.

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Research Interests

Open to PhD applications in the fields of mental health in general, and most specifically applications relevant to fields of psychological trauma, psychosis, "at risk mental states".

I also have experience of supervising studies in: Mental Health and Documentary Film; Medical Education Research: resilience training the impact of previous negative life experiences on mental well-being and resilience in medical and other students; Rural Mental Health; Social and Clinical History of Psychiatry.

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Public outreach & key achievements

Dr Ciaran Mulholland is a consultant psychiatrist with the Northern Health and Social Care Trust and a Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry at Queen’s University. He is co-lead for an innovative psychosis prevention service for young people in the Northern Trust and is Clinical Director of the Northern Ireland Regional Trauma Network.

He has provided advice to the Commission for Victims and Survivors (CVS) on the needs of those affected by the Troubles and sits on a working group tasked with the delivery of the new Victims Payment.

He is a member of the Contact Armed Forces group which co-ordinates clinical services for veterans of the armed services with mental health problems across Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales.

In the last months Dr Mulholland has been involved in the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, sitting on the Mental Health and Well-Being Surge Cell and writing a widely utilised review of the impact of the pandemic on mental health. He is also a member of the Regional Ethics Forum and with others drafted the recently published Covid-19 Ethical Guidance Framework document.