Dr Farrell is an Assistant Professor in Mental Health in the Department of Psychology at Maynooth University. She is also a Chartered Psychologist and holds a degree in Public Health and Health Promotion, and a Master’s and PhD in Education from Trinity College Dublin. Being an interdisciplinary researcher, her research interests lie in mental health, wellbeing, philosophy of mental health, and lived experiences as a form of evidence for policy.
Dr Farrell approaches social challenges through various disciplinary perspectives, and has authored several peer-reviewed publications, news articles, and booked on different subjects pertaining to mental health and wellbeing from diverse aspects. Notably, she has authored Making Sense of Mental Health: A Practical Approach through Lived Experience (The Liffey Press, 2022), and Irish University Students with Mental Health Difficulties: Experiences Challenges and Supports (Lived Places Publishing, 2024).
Dr Farrell is the co-founder of thinkful.ie, a platform designed to encourage conversation about mental health, different life philosophies, and education about the subject with other like-minded individuals, as well as people who are new to these topics. She is a founding member of Jigsaw – Ireland’s National Centre for Youth Mental Health, and Chair of Governance on the Council of Gaisce, the President’s Award, as well as a Young Academy Member of the Royal Irish Academy.
Recently, Dr Farrell has recently been featured in the Irish Times with an opinion piece about how the resources that allow for mental health and neurodivergent diagnoses need to be better managed for children and youths to have an improved quality of life. She has also published articles for RTÉ about various topics such as modern-day terminology like brain rot and rage bait and how this type of lingo pertains to our everyday experiences in a ‘tech-driven world’.
