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Dr. Michael Brennan

Adjunct Assistant Professor (School of Nursing & Midwifery)
      
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Dr. Michael Brennan

Adjunct Assistant Professor (School of Nursing & Midwifery)

 brennami@tcd.ie

 


Dr. Michael Brennan PhD, RPN, RNT, M Ed, Dip in Addiction Studies, Dip Social Studies. Michael is a registered psychiatric nurse (1992), and nurse tutor (2003) currently, Michael lecturers in the School of Nursing and Midwifery Trinity College Dublin. He started his lecturing career as a lecturer/practitioner in 2004 in a joint post also with Trinity College Dublin and the National Forensic Mental Health Service. Michael is the Course Coordinator for a Masters/Postgraduate Diploma/Cert in Mental Health(CAFMHS & PSI). This is the first multi/interdisciplinary programme of its kind in the School of Nursing and Midwifery. He is also the Course Coordinator for a Masters/Postgraduate Diploma/Cert (Online) in Dementia. He is currently a member of the Research Ethics Committee in the Centre of Health Policy and Management at Trinity College. He was a member of the advisory sub-group, A Vision for Change, Report of the Expert Group on Mental Health Policy. He organised and coordinated the First Annual Conference titled; Evidence Based Mental Health Services for Ireland held on the 6th of December 2006 at Trinity College, Dublin 2.
  Addiction and substance abuse   criminal law and criminology,   discrimination and marginalization   equality issues for mental health service users   Forensic mental health issues   Forensic Nursing   Health status and inequalities   Inter/Multidisciplinary Education   Mental health nursing   Service needs analysis for mentally disordered offenders   Sociological influences on health   Transformative theories in Research
Project Title
 Pathways to Mental Health Care of People with Mental Health Problems within the Irish Criminal Justice System CJS
From
2007
To
2012
Summary
This research identifies the many barriers that Irish prisoners encountered when accessing and maintaining links with mental health services prior to incarceration. These are: lack of recognition of mental illness by participants and health professionals, limited referral options, over-reliance on pharmacological interventions to manage mental health problems, stigma, lack of or breakdown of social supports, and limited professional supports within the community. Combinations of these barriers with individual circumstances are shown to be important predisposing factors for future involvement with the criminal justice system. This research makes several assertions. Firstly, the CJS is increasingly becoming a pathway to accessing mental health care. This claim is strongly supported by participants' level of disengagement with mental health services prior to incarceration revealed by this study. Secondly, mentally disordered offenders are gradually becoming re-institutionalised within the Irish criminal justice system. This finding demonstrates that the WHO's prediction within the Trencín statement that prisons 'will' become twenty-first century asylums (WHO 2007, p. 5) has in fact happened. Thirdly a noteworthy contention of this research involves the process of re-integration with the community following a period of incarceration. This research reveals that the process of re-integration is complicated by participants' lack of confidence in mental health services in the community as well as their conviction that they feel extremely stigmatised by society and health professionals following previous involvement with the CJS. A pragmatic exploratory sequential mixed methods design was utilised for this study. It was conducted in two phases. The first used a qualitative design. This was followed by a quantitative phase which used an adapted version of the Pathways Encounter Form.
Funding Agency
The University of Dublin Trintiy College
Programme
PhD
Project Title
  Exploring practices, policies and processes around risk and safety management within mental health nursing services (SMARTER Nursing study)
From
September 2013
To
May 2015
Summary
Higgins, A. Doyle, L., Nash, M., Brennan, M. Costello, P. & Morrisey, J.
Funding Agency
HSE and NPMDU
Project Title
 Young adults in the criminal justice system
From
December 2015
To
February 2016
Summary
This project set to conduct a broad literature search initially. This will be undertaken as part of a larger systematic review of the literature to focus on current mental health provision for young people in contact with the criminal justice system and out to describe international best practice. It concludes by formulates evidence-based policy recommendations.
Funding Agency
Irish Prison Reform Trust
Project Type
Reseach
Person Months
4
Project Title
  An evaluation of POWER (promoting our own wellness and promoting recovery): A peer prisoner mentoring programme.
From
February 2015
To
October 2016
Summary
Doyle, L (PI), Higgins, A., Keogh, B., Brennan, M. & Morrissey, J.
Funding Agency
Suicide or Survive
Project Title
 Strenco - Strengthening multi-professional competencies in mental health in an international context, through co-production with academics, students, service users and professionals.
From
2017
To
2020
Summary
Monahan, M (PI)., Morrissey, J., Higgins, A., Noctor, C. & Brennan, M.
Funding Agency
HEA

Details Date From Date To
Registered Nurse Tutor An Bord Altranais 2002
Registered Psychiatric Nurse An Bord Altranais 1992
Doyle, L., Keogh, B., Higgins, A., Morrissey, J., Brennan, M., Holme, I., Reilly, R., & Carr, C., Prisoners' Experiences of Training and Working as a Peer Mental Health Mentor in an Irish Prison., International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 2025, p1-11 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Brennan, M., Mental Illness in the Garda Station - Interview Challenges ., The Right to Legal Assistance in Police Interviews, Presidents' Hall, Law Society of Ireland, Blackhall Place, 22nd September 2017, 2017, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
Keogh B, Brennan M, Doyle L, Higgins A, Holme I, Morrissey J, Accessing Recovery within the Prison Environment: An Evaluation of a Peer Mentorship Programme , 6th European Conference on Mental Health (ECMH), Berlin , 4th - 6th October , 2017, Oral Presentation, PRESENTED
Higgins, A., Doyle, L., Downes, C., Morrissey, J., Costello, P.,Brennan, M & Nash, M., There is more to risk and safety planning than dramatic risks: mental health nurses' risk assessment and safety management practice., International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 25, (2), 2016, p159 - 170, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Brennan, M. , Mental Health Practice - a primary care perspective. , 21st Anniversary Conference , Hilton Hotel Kilmainham Dublin , 3rd October, edited by National Association for Pastoral Counselling and Psychotherapy (NAPCP) , 2015, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
Mjo A., Rani Shetty, S. & Brennan. M., "Catch-22 Situation/ Tight-Rope Walk": Community Multidisciplinary Team Members' Experiences of Supporting Conditionally Discharged Forensic Mental Health Service Users., IIMHN/ENTER Conference , Trinity College Dublin,, 4th and 5th June, 2015, Notes: [ ], Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
Higgins, A., Doyle, L., Downes, C., Nash, M., Morrissey, J., Brennan, M. & Costello, P., 'Exploring practices, policies and processes around risk and safety management within mental health nursing services (SMARTER Nursing study)., '5th International Nursing and Midwifery Conference, ,, NUIG Galway, March, 2015, Notes: [ (2015) .], Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
Daly L., Brennan M., Fahey-McCarthy E, McCabe C., Transitioning from the physical to the virtual learning environment: Learning from experience on a postgraduate dementia education programme, International Dementia Conference, Vox Birmingham, 3-4 November, 2015, Poster, PRESENTED
Higgins, A., Doyle, L., Downes, C., Nash, M., Morrissey, J., Brennan, M. & Costello, P., Exploring practices, policies and processes around risk and safety management within mental health nursing services. Dublin: School of Nursing and Midwifery Trinity College Dublin., 2015, Report, PUBLISHED
Brennan D. & Brennan M., From Asylums to Hospitals to Prisons: Mental Illness in Ireland, Shifting Locations of Intervention, 19th International Network for Psychiatric Nursing Research Conference , Warwick Arts Centre, the University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL United Kingdom , 5th -6th September , 2013, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
  

Page 1 of 3
Doyle, L., Keogh, B., Morrissey, J., Holme, I., Brennan, M. & Higgins, A. , Promoting Our Wellness and Recovery (POWER) Peer Prisoner Mentoring Evaluation Study., Trinity College Dublin, 2017, p1 - 100, Report, PUBLISHED