Prof. Denis Ryan

Denis Ryan is an experienced Mental Health professional with 50 years working in a variety of academic and mental health practice roles, both in Ireland and internationally.

He previously held senior academic appointments with a range of third level institutions including the University of Limerick as well as visiting academic roles with the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium, the University of Hull and the University of Applied Sciences - Utrecht, in the Netherlands. He served as Practice Development Co-ordinator for Mental Health Services in the former South Eastern Health Board. He also served as Assistant Chief Nursing Officer in the former SEHB and MWHB in Ireland. He is widely published in Mental Health practice and has acted as Peer Reviewer for a number of Academic Journals internationally. He has served on the Expert Panel which supported the development of Award Standards on Counselling & Psychotherapy for Quality Qualifications Ireland .

Current Professional Memberships

Denis is professionally accredited as a Counsellor, Psychotherapist and Clinical Supervisor with the Association of Professional Counsellors and Psychotherapists in Ireland (APCP).

He is a member of the Association of Business Psychologists. In addition he holds International Affiliate membership of the American Psychological Association (APA).

He is a also a registered nurse with the Nursing & Midwifery Board and provides both Individual as well as Group based Clinical Supervision.

Denis serves as President and Foundation Professor of Mental Health at the Irish College of Humanities & Applied Sciences. He is a Board member and former Chair and Vice Chair of the Higher Education Colleges' Association in Ireland (HECA).

Specifically, in relation to Clinical Supervision, Denis co-ordinated Clinical Supervision services for students studying Behavioural and CBT programmes in UCC and more recently chaired the design team for the MA in Clinical Supervision in Professional Practice at ICHAS and has taught on that programme for the past 8 years as well as providing training to HSE staff.

In that regard, his work and overall approach has been strongly influenced by the work of Prof. Chris Johns on the use of Structured Reflective Practice within Clinical Supervision, as well as other key influences including the work of Prof. Gary Rolfe and Prof. Melanie Jasper.

His doctoral research was focussed on work related stress and coping and his postdoctoral research continued that work, while other research has focussed on work related violence.