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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

Details Date
Invited Expert, Expert Advisory Committee, UNHCR Supportive Spaces project: Embedding a Trauma-Informed Approach in the Provision of Accommodation for People Seeking Asylum in Ireland 2024-2026
Invited Expert Consultant, UNHCR Ireland: providing specialist training and consultancy on trauma-informed approaches to working with forcibly displaced people 2018 - present
Practice Consultant, Separated Children's Unit, Tusla 2016 - present
Advisory Board Member, EPIC (Empowering People in Care) "Be Strong" research project on the experiences of separated children seeking international protection in Ireland 2024-2026
Ethics Advisor, Advisory Board, Youth Climate Justice (EU Horizon-funded, ERC grant 101088453), University College Cork 2023 ongoing
Academic and Clinical Adviser, Coordinating Committee, Young Leaders for Arts and Health (YLAH) Ireland Summit, Dublin June - September 2026
Pracitioner Adviser and Co-Director, Refugee Mind workshop series on refugee mental health 2026
Journal special issue reviewer, Irish Journal of Sociology 2025 and 2026
Journal article reviewer, Children and Youth Services Review 2024 and 2026
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 2016 Present
Global Network of Psychologists for Human Rights 2023 Present
Philomena Mullen and Rachel Hoare, Introduction to 'Racialised from the start. Revisiting Ireland's Citizenship debate - A 20-year retrospective, Irish Journal of Sociology, 34, (2), 2026, p173 - 182, Journal Article, 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, PUBLISHED
Rachel Hoare, Psychological Support for Refugee Adolescents, First, UK, Routledge, 2025, 1 - 237pp, Book, PUBLISHED
Rachel Hoare, Tess Leak, Sharon Whooley, Bridging culture through song: musical exchange in torture survivor befriending, Journal of Creative Arts, 2, (2), 2025, p19 - 42, Journal Article, 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, Friendship is crucial for refugee children - here's how to talk to your child about being welcoming, 2024, -, Notes: [Journalistic publication], Miscellaneous, 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
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, 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, 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
  

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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. 2020
Teaching Hero Award 2021 2021
I have been developing what I believe is a new, multidisciplinary, practice-led field of multi-disciplinary research at the intersection of forced migration studies, trauma psychology and arts-based inquiry, with real-world impact, internationally recognised publications and theoretical sophistication. My PhD and first monograph, on adolescent language and identity in Brittany, established this interest; my second, Psychological Support for Refugee Adolescents (Routledge, 2025), is the first book-length synthesis of expressive arts approaches to refugee adolescent trauma recovery; a third, a book proposal on supporting unaccompanied minors through trauma, is now under review with Routledge. Across this work I have developed a composite narrative methodology, combining clinical case material into anonymised composites that protect confidentiality: my central methodological innovation. My clinical practice as an expressive arts psychotherapist with unaccompanied minors underpins this research and shapes training for social workers, educators, lawyers and residential care staff. In 2022 I founded the Centre for Forced Migration Studies (CFMS) at Trinity, extending this work across GBHI, Global Health, Peace Studies, Education and Linguistics, internationally with Boston College and UC San Diego. I lead BEFRIEND, a transnational consortium of Trinity and five NGOs supporting refugees. My Research Ireland New Foundations-funded work at Spirasi led directly to a new survivor-support role at the organisation. I have delivered keynotes at Global South Arts and Health Week (Qatar, 2024) and the 27th Wole Soyinka Lecture (2025). As PI, I hold a Research Ireland New Foundations grant, a Doctoral Award for Refugee Thrive funding four researchers, two Long Room Hub RIS awards, and an Erasmus+ partnership grant (400,000). This trajectory has been recognised through two Research Excellence Award nominations. Across research, practice, teaching and leadership, my work centres on one sustained commitment: care for young people navigating displacement and trauma, sustained across a career that included four periods of maternity leave.