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Dr. Rachel Hoare

Assistant Professor (French)
      
Profile Photo

Dr. Rachel Hoare

Assistant Professor (French)

 rmhoare@tcd.ie

 


I am a full-time academic in the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures in Trinity College, Dublin (since 1996), and a faculty member in the Children's Therapy Centre, Mullingar, Ireland, since 2016. I have a book in press with Routledge: Hoare, R. (2025) Psychological Support for Refugee Adolescents: An Expressive Arts Approach to Wellbeing and Trauma Recovery. My original areas of specialism are in sociolinguistics, language and identity and second language acquisition. However my interest in psychology and psychotherapy was piqued by my work as a College tutor and disability liaison officer and led me to complete a degree in psychology and a clinical Masters in psychotherapy. Since qualifying in 2016 I have also been working on behalf of Tusla, the Irish Child and Family Agency, as a part-time expressive arts child and adolescent psychotherapist with unaccompanied asylum-seeking adolescents. I have recently set up the Centre for Forced Migration Studies in Trinity College, Dublin, set up and run the weekly English conversation classes for refugees with Bronagh Catibusic through the University of Sanctuary and been involved in many other Sanctuary activities which welcome refugees and those seeking international protection into Trinity College. I deliver modules to undergraduate and post-graduate students on 'the human experience of forced migration' and 'identity at the margins: reconstructing identities and re-imagining futures of those who have experienced forced migration'. I also deliver courses on language and identity which explore the ways in which young people with dual identity in France carry out their lives at the intersection of two cultures and how well they adapt to their intercultural experiences. I have delivered numerous trainings on how to work therapeutically with refugees to the UNHCR in Dublin, the European Migration Network, government agencies, NGOs, charities, schools, youth organisations, social workers, foster careers and other support staff. I have delivered public lectures on this topic, notably as part of the Long Room Hub 'Behind the Headlines' series. I have written in the print media about the ways in which expressive arts therapies can help to heal the trauma of refugees and have delivered keynotes and other conference papers on this and related topics related to my research on supporting refugee youth. I was previously Academic Director of the Trinity College Inclusive Curriculum project which has been working to embed principles of diversity, equality and inclusion across all teaching and learning at Trinity College Dublin. Based in the Office of the Associate Vice Provost for Equality, Diversity and Equality, Trinity-INC works collaboratively across the College community - with staff and students, academic and support spaces - to achieve its mandate.
Project Title
 Heritage, identity and psychological well-being: the voices of migrant children
From
September 2016
To
November 2016
Summary
This one day conference brought together students scholars and practitioners across the disciplines of psychology, sociology, education, social work and childhood research, to explore the voices of migrant children.
Funding Agency
Research Incentive Scheme, Trinity Long Room Hub
Project Type
Conference
Person Months
6
Project Title
 Using inclusive research practices to understand, affirm and improve the befriending experiences and integration opportunities of refugees, international protection applicants and asylum seekers
From
1st November 2021
To
31st August 2022
Summary
Funding Agency
Irish Research Council
Project Type
New Foundations
Person Months
9
Project Title
 Launch of the Centre for Forced Migration Studies
From
To
Summary
Funding Agency
Trinity Long Room Hub Research Incentive Scheme
Project Type
Launch and networking event
Project Title
 'Everyone has a song': an exploration of the role of song sharing in deepening the befriending experiences and improving the integration opportunities of Survivors of Torture in Ireland
From
To
Summary
Befriending programmes which match people with limited support networks with volunteers who offer emotional and practical support, friendship and integration opportunities, provide an important resource for survivors of torture (Chambon, et al. 2001). Spirasi, the (Irish) National Centre for the Rehabilitation of Survivors of Torture, offers a befriending programme as part of their holistic approach to rehabilitation. Although there is growing evidence of the positive impact of the expressive arts in psychotherapy with torture survivors (Dutton, 2017), there is very little empirical research which evaluates its use in other aspects of the rehabilitation process such as befriending.
Funding Agency
Arts and Social Sciences Benefactions Fund

Language Skill Reading Skill Writing Skill Speaking
French Fluent Fluent Fluent
Details Date From Date To
Accredited member of Irish Association of Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy March 2021 Present
Rachel Hoare, Psychological Support for Refugee Adolescents, First, UK, Routledge, 2025, 1 - 237pp, Book, PUBLISHED
Rachel Hoare, Creating Space for Multiple Belongings: Expressive Arts Approaches to Multicultural Identity in Post-Referendum Ireland, Irish Journal of Sociology, 2026, Journal Article, ACCEPTED
Rachel Hoare, Bridging culture through song: musical exchange in torture survivor befriending, Journal of Creative Arts, 2, (2), 2025, p19 - 42, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Dr Rachel Hoare, I was lost in my life and they helped me find my way again': Befriendee and befriender experiences of the Spirasi Befriending Programme for survivors of torture in Ireland, Journal of Rehabilitation of Torture Survivors, 2023, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Rachel Hoare, Friendship is crucial for refugee children - here's how to talk to your child about being welcoming, 2024, -, Notes: [Journalistic publication], Miscellaneous, PUBLISHED
Pathways to healing: expressive arts practice with adolescent refugees in, editor(s)McGowan, E; Quinn, S; Jalovcic, D , Interprofessional Approach to Refugee Health: A practical guide for interdisciplinary health and social care teams, Cambridge, Open Book Publishers, 2025, [Rachel Hoare], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED
Rachel Hoare, Friends as family: Using composite psychotherapy case material to explore the importance of friendships for unaccompanied adolescent refugees coping with the challenges of resettlement in Ireland, Journal of Refugee Studies, 2022, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Unclear minds and coping through music in, editor(s)Campbell, Dominic Kelleher, Bea , Creative Brain Week Knowledge Making, Dublin, Creative Aging International, 2023, pp33 - 39, [Rachel Hoare], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED
Rachel Hoare, Using composite case material to develop trauma-informed psychoeducation for social care workers looking after unaccompanied minors in residential care in Ireland, Health and Social Care in the Community, 2022, Journal Article, SUBMITTED
Rachel Hoare, From global phenomenon to framework for living: using the beautiful game creatively to provide therapeutic care for unaccompanied male adolescents seeking asylum in Ireland., International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care , 2020, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
  

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Robbie Gilligan and Rachel Hoare, Gender Disparities and Disability: Identifying barriers for inclusion specific to girls with disabilities in Togo, Togo, 2019, Notes: [The results of the study have been presented to relevant Togolese governmental agencies and the Togolese media and will feed into government policy on improving access for children with disabilities to appropriate services and education.], Report, PUBLISHED

  


Award Date
Provost's Teaching Award, Trinity College, Dublin 2024
Civic Engagement Award, Trinity College, Dublin. 2019
Teaching Hero Award 2021 2021
My research focuses on identity, psychological wellbeing, trauma recovery, and resilience of refugee adolescents and emerging adults, combining longstanding clinical practice with a growing interdisciplinary body of scholarly work, findings I am actively translating into practice through collaboration with a growing number of residential care homes across Ireland, working directly with staff to embed research-informed approaches. My academic formation began with a PhD in sociolinguistics, which gave me a deep understanding of how identity is negotiated through language, a grounding that continues to inform my sensitivity to the complex acculturation experiences of the young people I support. My work as a College tutor proved to be a turning point: extended contact with students in crisis led me to pursue a degree in psychology and a clinical Masters in Psychotherapy, equipping me to work rigorously and ethically at the interface of clinical work and research. Qualifying as a therapist was not a departure from my academic interests but a deepening of them. Since qualifying, my research has developed into a coherent and distinctive interdisciplinary body of work exploring mental health, coping, and the role of expressive arts in supporting refugee adolescents, young people facing a double mourning: the losses of forced displacement alongside disrupted adolescent development, while navigating acculturation, rebuilding identity, and finding belonging in unfamiliar societies. Expressive arts approaches are central to my work because they offer therapeutic and meaning-making possibilities that transcend linguistic and cultural barriers. This interdisciplinary body of work has reached important milestones of maturity and impact. In 2022, I founded the Centre for Forced Migration Studies at Trinity College, creating a dedicated institutional platform for this field. I have recently published Psychological Support for Refugee Adolescents: An Expressive Arts Approach to Wellbeing and Trauma Recovery (Routledge), bringing together my clinical, theoretical, and empirical contributions in a form already informing both scholarship and practice. [INSERT: book uptake evidence " reading list adoptions, reviews, conference invitations " by August submission] I am applying for promotion at a moment of genuine momentum, with clear contributions across scholarship, clinical practice, and policy. This momentum is reflected in my personal funding success, including a New Foundations grant and a Trinity Long Room Hub Research Incentive Scheme award, the latter designed as a pilot underpinning a Research Ireland Coalesce application, and in my active applications as Principal Investigator for Erasmus+ funding and as partner on a Spencer Foundation application. It is further evidenced by my role as Principal Investigator on the TRDA Refugee Thrive project, a Trinity Research Doctorate Award Group Based Project supporting four interdisciplinary PhD scholarships.