Prof Ciaran Shannon
Consultant Clinical Psychologist
IMPACT Research Centre Director
Email Me
028 9441 3476
Professor Ciaran Shannon is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland. His area of specialism for well over 20 years is in psychological intervention and service provision to those with a diagnosis with severe mental health problems. He has been awarded a visiting professorship by the School of Psychology, University of Ulster and was awarded an honorary professorship from the School of Psychology, Queen’s University Belfast.
His particular research interest is on the effect that trauma (including “Troubles-related” trauma) has on the presentation of these problems. Currently he manages specialist mental health psychology services, leads on the only psychosis prevention team on the island of Ireland, and manages the Trust’s Centre of Mental Health Research – IMPACT.
Featured Publications
Jordan, J. A., Shannon, C., Browne, D., Carroll, E., Maguire, J., Kerrigan, K., … &Dyer, K. F. (2021). COVID-19 staff wellbeing survey: longitudinal survey of psychological well-being among health and social care staff in Northern Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic. BJPsych Open, 7(5), e159.
Jordan, J. A., Shannon, C., Browne, D., Carroll, E., Maguire, J., Kerrigan, K., … & Dyer, K. F. (2023). Healthcare staff mental health trajectories during the COVID-19 pandemic: findings from the COVID-19 Staff Wellbeing Survey. BJPsych Open, 9(4), e112.
Howie, C., Shevlin, M., Shannon, C., Davidson, G., Bunting, L., Grant, A., … & Mulholland, C. (2023). The structure of the Prodromal Questionnaire-16 (PQ-16) in a non-help-seeking youth population: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses study. Schizophrenia research, 261, 281-286.
Mongan, D., Lynch, J., Hanna, D., Shannon, C., Hamilton, S., Potter, C., … & 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(1), 412.
O’Callaghan, P., McMullen, J., Shannon, C., Rafferty, H. (2013). A randomized controlled trial of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) for sexually exploited, war-affected Congolese girls. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 52 (4), 359-369.
McMullen, J., O’Callaghan, P., Shannon, C., Black, A., & Eakin, J. (2013). Group Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy with Former Child Soldiers and other War-affected Boys in the DR Congo: A Randomised Controlled Trial. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54 (11), 1231-1241.
Hoy, K., Barrett, S., Shannon, C., Campbell, C., Watson, D., Rushe, T., Shevlin, M., Bai, F., Cooper, S., & Mulholland, C. (2012). Childhood Trauma and Hippocampal and Amygdalar Volumes in First Episode Psychosis. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 38 (6), 1162-1169.
Shannon, C., Douse, K., McCusker, C., Barrett, S. & Mulholland, C. (2011). The association between childhood trauma and memory functioning in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 37 (3), 531-537.
Shannon, C., Maguire, C., Anderson, J., Meenagh, C. & Mulholland, C. (2011). Enquiring about Traumatic Experiences in Bipolar Disorder: a case note and self- report comparison. Journal of Affective Disorders, 133, 352-355.
Funding
HSC R&D Division COVID-19 Funding call. Effectiveness of staff-wellbeing interventions in response to COVID-19 in Northern Ireland. (Shannon, Jordan, Dyer; 2020; £68,274).
HSC R&D Research Fund. Impact of psychological supports during the COVID-19 pandemic in NHSCT (Dyer, Jordan, Carroll, Kerrigan, McClements, Elliott & Shannon; 2020; £3,834).
HSC R&D Research Fund. Trauma, cognition, transition and outcome in UHR psychosis: an accelerated cohort study (Barrett, Shannon, Mulholland; 2020; £3,500).
Public Health Agency. Understanding of coercive control and psychological abuse in Northern Ireland: A survey of young people and adults (Shannon, Jordan, Lagdon, Tully, Shorter, & Armour; 2019; £40,000).
HSC R & D Research Fund. The association between bullying victimisation and psychosis and the mediating role of peer and family support. (Shannon, Jordan, Higgins, Kelly & Mulholland; 2019; £3,000).
HSC R & D Research Fund. A path analysis of the childhood trauma-PTSD relationship and a Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (Dyer, Shannon, Jordan, Hanna, Curran, & Moore; 2019; £6,400).
Small Business Research Initiative 2018-2020. DETECT Programme (Detecting Emerging Traits of Psychosis in Educational and Community Cohorts (Mulholland and Shannon; 2018/19; £500,000). Two studies are ongoing funded within this SBRI.
Public Health Agency R & D Division. Eye tracker equipment (Barrett, Mullholland and Shannon; 2018/19; £57,940).
Public Health Agency R & D Division. NVivo, a qualitative data analysis computer software package (Barrett, Mullholland & Shannon; 2018/19; £1,000).
HSC Research Fund. Sleep and attenuated psychotic symptom, a community Survey. (Davidson, Shannon & Mulholland; 2018/19; £5,000).
Division of Clinical Psychology NI. Symposium on “Identity in Mental Health” at NIBPS conference 2018 (Shannon & Dyer; 2018; £1,000).
Matched funding of £4,000 from Cambridge Cognition, £8,000 from PHA Research and Development Division, and £4,000 from the HSC Research Fund. The Effects of traumatic experiences on neurocognition, functioning and illness trajectory in adults presenting at ultra-high risk of psychosis: An accelerated cohort study (Barrett, Mulholland, Shannon; 2017/18; £16,000).
HSC Research Fund. The Association between bullying and prodromal psychotic symptoms in a community sample (Potter, Shannon and Mulholland; 2017/18; £3,950).
Division of Clinical Psychology NI. Symposium on “Setting up a trauma Informed Psychosis Prevention Service” at NIBPS conference 2017. (Shannon; 2017; £1,000)
