School of Social and Political Science

Background

Originally from Ireland, I moved to Edinburgh to complete a Masters in Social Work at The University of Edinburgh in 2008. Following this I worked primarily in criminal justice social work settings, initially as part of the integrated Caledonian System for addressing domestic abuse in Scotland, where I worked on a voluntary basis with children experiencing domestic abuse, and then as a criminal justice social worker within a local authority team. My practice experience has influenced my research interests in core social work practice skills, communication and relationship building. I completed my PhD in 2019 looking specifically at how social workers build effective working relationships with men convicted of sexual offences in a court mandated group-work programme.