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Dr. Meg Ryan

Assistant Professor (Public Health & Primary Care)
Assistant Professor (Psychology)
 (3531896)
      
Profile Photo

Dr. Meg Ryan

Assistant Professor (Public Health & Primary Care)

 ryanm89@tcd.ie

 

Assistant Professor (Psychology)

 (3531896)


Dr. Meg Ryan (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in Global Health, and Director of the MSc in Global Mental Health. Her research interests are broadly focused on reproductive justice, gender based-violence, global mental health, and LGBTQIA+ healthcare, with a particular focus on qualitative methodologies. Currently Meg is PI for a research partnership with the Rotunda Perinatal Mental Health team, funded by the HSE Women"s Health Fund and the Rotunda Board. The project aims to develop and implement trauma-informed care training for maternity settings. She is also leading a TCD ASSBF funded project which seeks to explore the healthcare experiences and needs of trans and gender diverse people in an Irish context. Meg's previous project's as PI include a partnership with International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and the Moroccan Family Planning Association (AMPF), funded by the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) to explore the experience of reproductive violence among women in Morocco. She was also PI for an IRC New Foundations funded project in collaboration with the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre which developed stakeholder informed understandings of the intersections of reproductive coercion and intimate partner violence in an Irish context. After receiving a BA (Hons) in Psychology from TCD, Meg completed the Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology in TCD. Her doctoral research was conducted under the supervision of Dr. Frédérique Vallieres, and explored the experience of providing crisis pregnancy counselling in Ireland during a period of legislative changes regarding abortion provision. Meg is a practicing Chartered Counselling Psychologist and works from a feminist psychotherapy perspective incorporating both humanistic and psychodynamic principles. She is as a founding member and interim Secretary of the Professional Association for Trans Health Ireland (PATHI). This a national body representing, supporting, and connecting those working to strengthen the health, rights and wellbeing of all trans and gender diverse people across Ireland. She is also a founding member of the PSI Special Interest Group for Human Rights and Psychology and is Chair of the Research Advisory Committee for Mental Health Reform. Meg is a member of the Trans* Research Association of Ireland.
  Child/Maternal Health   Clinical psychology   Counselling Psychology   Feminist Psychotherapy   Health attitudes and behaviour   Health Care Reform   Health outcomes   HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH   Health, Clinical and Counselling   Psychology of women and perspectives on personhood   Psychotherapy Research   Psychotraumatology   Public health   Qualitative Methodology   Reproductive Health   sexual health services   Sexuality and sexual health
Project Title
 Exploring the healthcare experiences and needs of trans and gender diverse people in an Irish context
From
2025
To
2025
Summary
This research activity is part of a broader project focused on developing a handbook for educators and healthcare providers on trans and gender-diverse inclusion in the context of nursing and midwifery, to be published by Routledge. As a first step, the handbook's editorial team will conduct a series of roundtable discussions with trans and gender diverse people within the Irish and European context, to elicit their insights on the current issues they face when navigating the healthcare system. These roundtable discussions will be used to generate themes to guide calls for papers for the proposed handbook. The objectives of the project are therefore: 1) To explore trans and gender diverse individuals' experiences of healthcare in an Irish context, including their perceptions of barriers and facilitators to inclusive care, 2) To identify relevant themes for inclusion in a handbook for educators and practitioners that will develop competency to provide trans and gender-diverse inclusive healthcare.
Funding Agency
TCD ASSBF
Project Title
 Understanding the relationship between reproductive coercion and intimate partner violence in an Irish context; a stakeholder informed qualitative analysis
From
8/12/23
To
7/12/24
Summary
Reproductive coercion (RC) is defined as deliberate attempts to influence or control the reproductive autonomy of another person. This is a form of intimate partner violence (IPV) thought to be linked to poorer sexual reproductive health (SRH) outcomes. However, the links between IPV and RC are poorly understood, impacting the development of effective interventions. The current project proposes to address this gap by developing a partnership with the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre to conduct research exploring the current state of knowledge regarding IPV and RC in an Irish context through a rapid review and exploratory qualitative study with relevant stakeholders.
Funding Agency
Irish Research Council
Programme
New Foundations Award
Project Title
 An exploratory study using mixed methods to understand Moroccan and refugee women's experiences of reproductive violence
From
01-03-2023
To
31-08-2024
Summary
This project is a partnership between Association Marocaine de Planification Familiale (AMPF), International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and the Centre for Global Health, Trinity College Dublin (CGH, TCD). The study aims to elucidate the contexts in which Reproductive Violence is experienced by women and girls when they attempt to practice their Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) rights and choices in Morocco, and to understand the contributing factors. Overall, this project aims to generate increased knowledge which can be integrated into Gender-Based Violence programming and SRH services to enhance capacity to provide more sustainable services to those impacted and to advocate for national policy changes.
Funding Agency
Sexual Violence Research Initiative
Project Title
 The Missing Link
From
To
Summary
The Missing Link is a global initiative conducted in collaboration with the International Federation of the Red Cross to develop supervision guidelines for use within mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) programming within humanitarian emergencies. This project uses action research approaches and involves collaboration with multiple NGOs and stakeholders in the MHPSS community.
Funding Agency
Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA)
Programme
No. 720FDA19IO00106

Details Date
Secretary of the Professional Association for Trans Health Ireland (PATHI)
Invited to sit on the Steering Committee for the HSE Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme (SHCPP) review of HSE SHCPP-funded crisis pregnancy counselling (CPC) services and the My Options abortion information telephone service. 2022
Peer reviewer for PLOS global public health. 2024
Journal reviewer for PLOS global public health 2024
Chartered member of the Psychological Society of Ireland 2020
Communications officer for PSI SIG in Human Rights & Psychology (2021- Ongoing)
Chair of the Research Advisory Committee for Mental Health Reform (2022-Ongoing)
Founding member of the PSI Special Interest Group in Human Rights & Psychology
Language Skill Reading Skill Writing Skill Speaking
Irish Fluent Fluent Fluent
Details Date From Date To
Chartered member of the Psychological Society of Ireland 2020 Present
Member of the All Ireland Network on Sexual Violence Research (AINSVR) 2023 Present
Secretary of the Professional Association for Trans Health Ireland (PATHI) 2024 Present
Member of the Trans* Research Association of Ireland 2024 Present
Founding member of the PSI Special Interest Group in Human Rights & Psychology 2021 Present
Chair of the Research Advisory Committee for the Mental Health Reform (MHR) 2022 Present
Ryan, M., Zemp, C., Abujaber, N., Sonnenstuhl, M., Alshibi, A., Tingsted Blum, P.,Cheffi, A., Fox, R., Githaiga, S., Green, H., et al., Implementing the `Integrated Model for Supervision' for mental health and psychosocial support programming within humanitarian emergencies: A mixed-methods evaluation across six humanitarian contexts, Comprehensive Psychiatry, 2025, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI  URL
Zemp, C., Sonnenstuhl, M., Abujaber, N., Blum, P. T., Cheffi, A., Islam, M. S., Jabbour, S., ,Jahan,S., Peres de Matos, C., Pratap Maurya B., McBride, K.A.,Thorlund Nielsen, L., Ockenden, N., Rigall, N., Ryan, M., Whitton, S., Vallières, F., Addressing the unique supervisory needs of humanitarian volunteers: Insights from piloting the `Integrated Model for Supervision' in Bangladesh, SSM Mental Health, 2025, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI  URL
Abujaber, N., Ryan,M., McBride K.A., Tingsted Blum, P., Engels, M., Didenko, A ., Greene, H., Peres de Matos, C.S., Whitton, S., & Vallières, F., Implementing Supportive Supervision in Acute Humanitarian Emergencies: Lessons Learned from Afghanistan and Ukraine, PLOS Global Public Health, 4, (4), 2024, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI  URL
Ramadan, M., Hadfield, K., Ryan, M., Cai, P., Bosqui, T., & Nolan, A., The use of creative art therapy to address the mental health of refugee adolescents: a systematic review, Arts & Health, 2024, p1 - 19, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  URL
Ramadan, M., Nolan, A., Hadfield, K., Bosqui, T., & Ryan, M., How to optimise creative art therapy to foster the mental health of refugee adolescents? A Delphi study protocol, PLOS ONE, 2024, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Ryan, M., Abujaber, N., Travers, Á., McBride K.A., Tingsted Blum, P., Engels, M., Alshibi, A., Greene, H., Githaiga, S., Didenko, A., & Vallières, F., The acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility of implementing supportive supervision within humanitarian contexts: A qualitative study, SSM - Mental Health, 2023, Notes: [10.1016/j.ssmmh.2023.100202], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI  URL
Vallières, F., Ward, M. E., Shields, D., Geary, U., Gardner, C., King, D., McCarthy, G., Conolly, J., Brown, J., Wiedemann, N., Staunton, P., Halpin, R., McGinty, T., Brazil, V., Ali, A., Buckley, A., Dowds, J., Lambert, S., McGarry, S., McLoughlin, P., Murphy, M., Murphy, R., O"Carrol, A., Ryan., M., Slattery, S., Sweeney, E., Swords, M., Zihindula, G. & NíCheallaigh, C., Co-developing, piloting, and evaluating a translational simulation (TS) delivery model for the promotion of psychological trauma-informed care (TIC) to improve service delivery within acute hospital settings: A Research Protocol, HRB Open Research,, 6, (27), 2023, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI  URL
O'Sullivan, E., Abujaber, N., Ryan, M., McBride, K., Tingsted Blum, P., & Vallières, F., Gender considerations for supportive supervision in humanitarian contexts: A qualitative study, Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health, 2023, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI  URL
Ryan, M., Nolan, A., & Vallières, F., Lifting the cloak of secrecy: Experiences of providing crisis pregnancy counselling in a changing legislative context in Ireland, Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 22, (1), 2021, p22 - 31, Notes: [https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12476], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI  URL
  

Meg Ryan, Mental health and alienation under capitalism, Connolly Conversations, Connolly Books, 21/02/24, 2024, Connolly Books, Invited Talk, PUBLISHED
Ryan, M., Said, N., Maamri., A., Sexual and reproductive health of refugees from West Asia in Morocco, Center for Reproductive Rights Symposium Report, Center for Reproductive Rights Symposium on Reproductive and Sexual Autonomy in Asia, Nepal, October 2023, Conference Paper, ACCEPTED

  


Award Date
IRC Researcher of the Year Award: Research Ally 2025
Ray Fuller Prize in Psychology 2016
My research interests include global mental health, LGBTQIA+ health and mental health, reproductive justice, and gender-based violence (GBV). My research focuses on applying consultative, participatory approaches for the development of end-user informed guidelines, frameworks, and resources that will improve access to health care, including mental health care. Through my research, my aim is to represent lived experiences across gendered and cultural divides to address issues of inequality and discrimination using a critical paradigm focused on challenging existing power structures. I am committed to integrating social justice and human rights principles into my research, and I believe that engaged research practices which build collaborative relationships between researchers and communities can enable communities to address local concerns, resulting in research that is applicable, culturally relevant, and that bridges the gaps between research, practice, and community needs. In line with feminist approaches, my research strives to include a `reciprocally educative focus', underpinned by values of intersectionality, positionality, and reflexivity.