Dr. Alice McEleney
Dr Alice McEleney is Assistant Professor in Psychotherapy, Programme Chair of the Doctorate in Psychotherapy, and Faculty Member of the DCU Centre for Possibility Studies. The goal of her research is to expand the possibilities for psychological well-being by understanding peoples’ experiences of adversity, resilience, recovery, and psychological growth. Ongoing projects investigate the mental health and well-being of culturally diverse survivors of trauma, the roles of mindfulness, compassion and embodiment in psychotherapy and psychological well-being, and the processes and outcomes of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.
Alice has a multi-disciplinary academic background, having completed a BA in psychology and French, postgraduate diploma in statistics, and PhD in cognitive psychology, all at Trinity College Dublin, a postdoctoral research fellowship in cognitive neuroscience at the National Institutes of Health and Carnegie Mellon University, and a professional diploma in psychotherapy at The Tivoli Institute. She worked as a lecturer in psychology at Northumbria University, Mary Immaculate College, The Open University, and the University of Limerick, before joining DCU in 2023.
Research Interests
The goal of my research is to contribute to improving psychological well-being by understanding the processes involved in mental health, resilience, recovery, and psychological growth. I am interested in how people maintain good mental health and well-being in the face of adversity; how people recover from potentially traumatic experiences; and the positive psychological changes that may occur following life challenges.
Specific areas of interest include:
- How mental health, resilience, and psychotherapeutic processes are affected by socio-emotional factors, such as social support, attachment bonds, and interpersonal emotion regulation
- The roles of mindfulness, compassion and embodiment in psychological well-being and psychotherapy
- The role of psychotherapy in improving mental health and well-being in culturally diverse survivors of trauma
- The processes and outcomes of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy
I have supervised the following completed doctoral theses:
- Supporting refugee clients therapeutically: An exploration of therapists' perspectives
- Culturally adapted parenting interventions: Parent and practitioner experiences, especially those of Irish Travellers
- Maintaining the self: A grounded theory study on how members of the Irish Traveller community attend to their mental health needs
I am currently supervising the following doctoral theses:
- Yogic practice (sadhana) and therapeutic presence in experienced psychotherapists: An interpretative phenomenological analysis
- Talking about sexuality in therapy after child sexual abuse: Experiences of therapists and adult male survivors in Ireland
- An exploration of psychotherapists' experiences of integrating creative arts and body-based approaches when working with trauma
- Exploring the self-stigma aspect of mental health stigma and its relationship with subjectivity and recovery
- The lived experiences of psychotherapists providing psychotherapy in forensic mental health inpatient services
- Talking the talk and walking the walk: A narrative inquiry into psychotherapists’ lived experience of resilience in clinical practice
- The role of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) in psychotherapy for comorbid substance use and trauma
CV
External Positions
- Lecturer in Psychology, University of Limerick01/07/2021 – 30/06/2023
- Psychotherapist in Private Practice01/09/2016 – 30/06/2021
- Lecturer in Psychology, The Open University01/09/2015 – 30/06/2021
Academic Qualifications
- PhD, Trinity College DublinField of study: Social sciencesProject: Why it happened and how it could have been different: A comparison of causal and counterfactual thinkingAward date: 20/09/2000
- Postgraduate Diploma, Trinity College DublinField of study: Social sciencesProject: Statistics (Distinction)Award date: 30/06/1998
- Bachelor's Degree, Trinity College DublinField of study: Social sciencesProject: Psychology & French (First Class Honours)Award date: 30/06/1997
Professional Qualifications
- Professional Diploma in Psychotherapy