Prof Ciaran Mulholland
Consultant Clinical Psychiatrist
Co-Lead for NICRN
Email Me
028 9446 5211
I am a consultant psychiatrist with the Northern Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland and a Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Medical Education at The Queen’s University of Belfast. I am also a Visiting Professor to the Bamford Centre at the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, School of Psychology, University of Ulster.
I am Clinical Co-lead for an innovative service for young people (age 14 to 25) with “at risk mental states” in the Northern Trust-the “STEP” Service and Clinical Director of the Northern Ireland Psychological Trauma Regional Clinical Network.
I am one of two Research Leads of the Northern Ireland Clinical Research Network Mental Health Special Interest Group.
I have a research interests in first episode psychosis and “At Risk Mental States”. I have a particular interest in the impact of childhood trauma on mental health outcomes in young adulthood. I am a Principle Investigator on the Northern Ireland First Episode Psychosis Study (NIFEPS). I have a particular clinical and research interest in the impact of violence in the local context of Northern Ireland on mental health outcomes.
My role as Clinical Director of the Regional Trauma Network (RTN) involves the creation of a clinical service for individuals with PTSD as a consequence of both the violence of the “Troubles” and other forms of trauma, including trauma related to war and violence in other countries. The RTN is tasked with addressing the needs of migrants and refugees who have suffered the psychological consequences of trauma.
Featured Publications
Mongan, D., Lynch, J., Hanna, D., Shannon, C., Hamilton, S., Potter, C., Gorman, C., McCambridge, O., Morrow, R., Mulholland, C. (2019). Prevalence of self-reported mental disorders in pregnancy and associations with adverse neonatal outcomes. A population-based cross-sectional study. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. 19:412. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-019-2572-4
Howie, C., Potter, C., Shannon, C., Davidson, G., & Mulholland, C. (2019). Screening for the At-Risk Mental State in Educational Settings: A Systematic Review. Early Intervention in Psychiatry, Dec 27. doi: 10.1111/eip.12926.
Clarke, S., Hanna, D., Mulholland, C., Shannon, C. & Urquhart, C. (2019). A systematic review and meta-analysis of digital health technologies effects on psychotic symptoms in adults with psychosis. Psychosis. Psychological, Social and Integrative Approaches. https://doi.org/10.1080/17522439.2019.1632376
Fosse, R., Moskowitz, A., Shannon, C., & Mulholland, C. (2019). Structural Brain Changes in Psychotic Disorders, Dissociative Disorders, and After Childhood Adversity. Psychosis, Trauma and Dissociation: Evolving Perspectives on Severe Psychopathology, 159.
Marshall, M., Shannon, C., Meenagh, C., McCorry, N., & Mulholland, C. (2018). The association between childhood trauma, parental bonding and depressive symptoms and interpersonal functioning in depression and bipolar disorder. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine, 35(1), 23-32.
Brew, B., Doris, M., Shannon, C., & Mulholland, C. (2018). What impact does trauma have on the at‐risk mental state? A systematic literature review. Early intervention in psychiatry, 12(2), 115-124.
Kincaid, D., Shannon, C., Boyd, A., Hanna, D., McNeill, O., Anderson, R., .. & Mulholland, C. (2018). An investigation of associations between experience of childhood trauma and political violence and theory of mind impairments in schizophrenia. Psychiatry Research, 270, 293-297.
Kincaid, D. L., Doris, M., Shannon, C., & Mulholland, C. (2017). What is the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder and ASD traits in psychosis? A systematic review. Psychiatry Research.
Brew, B., Shannon, C., Storey, L., Boyd, A. & Mulholland, C., (2017). A Qualitative Phenomenological Analysis of the Subjective Experience and Understanding of the At Risk Mental State. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Wellbeing. 2017; 12(1): 1342504. Published online 2017 Jul 10. doi: 10.1080/17482631.2017.1342504
Mongan, D., Shannon, C., Hanna, D., Boyd, A., Mulholland, C. (2017). The association between specific types of childhood adversity and psychosis prodromal symptoms in a community sample. Early Intervention in Psychiatry. 13(2):281-289. doi: 10.1111/eip.12478. Epub 2017 Sep 20.
Mulholland, C., Mongan, D., Boyd, A., Shannon, C. (2017). Innovative service offers new hope to prevent psychosis. Ulster Medical Journal, 86(2):149.
Turkington, A., Duffy, M., Barrett, S., McCaul, R., Anderson, R., Cooper, S., Rushe, T. & Mulholland, C. (2015). Exposure to Political Violence in Northern Ireland and Outcome of First Episode Psychosis. Schizophrenia Bulletin. 10.1093/schbul/sbv155.
Bosqui, T. J., Shannon, C., Tiernan, B., Beattie, N., Ferguson, J. & Mulholland, C. (2014). Childhood trauma and the risk of violence in adulthood in a population with a psychotic illness. Journal of Psychiatric Research. 54, 121-125.
Campbell, C., Barrett, S., Shannon, C., Hoy, K., Rushe, T., Cooper, S. & Mulholland, C. (2013). The relationship between childhood trauma and neuropsychological functioning in first episode psychosis. Psychosis: Psychological, Social and Integrative Approaches. 5, 1, 48-5.
Shannon, C., Douse, K., McCusker, C., Feeney, L., Barrett, S. & Mulholland, C. (2011). The association between childhood trauma and memory functioning in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin. 37, 3, 531-537.
Turkington, A., Mulholland, C. C., Rushe, T. M., Anderson, R., McCaul, R., Barrett, S. L., Barr, R. S. & Cooper, S. J. (2009). Impact of persistent substance misuse on 1-year outcome in first-episode psychosis. British Journal of Psychiatry. 195, 3, 242-248.
Barrett, S. L., Mulholland, C. C., Cooper, S. J. & Rushe, T. M. (2009). Patterns of neurocognitive impairment in first-episode bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. British Journal of Psychiatry. 195, 1, 67-72.
