Emma Wallace, (PhD Researcher)

I am a doctoral researcher within the School of Psychology at Coleraine, with a focus on suicide prevention and mental health among LGBTQ+ young people in Northern Ireland. I began my PhD in September 2022, and  feel passionately about my research focus, particularly because there is a lack of local evidence available to inform suicide prevention efforts. My research interests include mixed methods research focused on suicide prevention, risk and protective factors of suicidal behaviour, mental health, the intersection of trauma and identity, help seeking, critical suicide theory, queer theory and intersectionality.

I graduated wth distinction from Ulster University with a Masters in Health Psychology in 2020, where my dissertation on chronic illness and mental health was nominated for the British Psychological Society's 'Outstanding MSc research project prize'. My professional background includes several years of frontline health and social care work, including working with people with acquired brain injury, physical disability, children in residential care, and most recently with young people in mental health residential settings.