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Psychology Department

We are a team of psychologists and psychotherapists who strive to provide compassionate and skilled care to people facing health problems. We are committed to working together with patients and colleagues to help support patient wellbeing and ease distress. We value the human rights, dignity and diversity of every individual and aim to provide a fair, equal and responsive service.

What We Do

We work across specific multidisciplinary teams, providing psychological assessment and intervention to inpatients and outpatients attending St Vincent’s University Hospital.

We understand that living with health problems can make life more challenging. By working together with patients we aim to help with these challenges and bring about greater well-being. We also promote health behaviours and work to maximise coping and quality of life. We do this by talking and listening to patients, understanding and respecting their unique experience and providing psychological care based on the best evidence.

As well as working directly with patients we take part in research and provide education that is relevant to our work. This helps us to keep up with the best evidence available and to pass on our knowledge and skills to other professionals and those in training.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to provide specialised psychological services that integrate with hospital-based medical care, compassionately addressing the unique psychological needs of patients at St Vincent’s University Hospital (SVUH).

Vision Statement

Our vision is to deliver innovative, evidence-based, psychological care, tailored to the needs of the patients of St Vincent’s University Hospital (SVUH). We strive to integrate within multidisciplinary teams to provide a whole-person approach, so that patients are empowered to live well with physical health conditions. We contribute to training, education and research, seeking to advance the psychological knowledge base within physical health.

Find out more about each of our services below:

Recent news – Autism Inclusion Stand, 13 May 2026

Centrepoint Stand - Autism Awareness

On 13 May 2026, our Psychology Department hosted an Autism Inclusion stand at CentrePoint to help build greater awareness, understanding and more neuroaffirmative care across the hospital.

Through practical conversations, sensory supports, communication resources, books and lived examples, the team explored how autism may present in an acute hospital setting and some of the challenges autistic patients can experience during hospital visits and admissions. Importantly, the focus was not on asking autistic people to adapt to healthcare environments but on how healthcare environments and interactions can better support autistic people. Small changes can make a meaningful difference:

  • clearer communication
  • reduced sensory stress
  • allowing extra processing time
  • understanding distress versus behaviour
  • creating calmer, more predictable experiences for patients and families

Inclusive healthcare is not a separate layer of care. It is part of providing safe, compassionate, person-centred care for every patient who comes through our doors. A sincere thank you to all colleagues, patients and visitors who stopped by, asked questions, shared experiences and engaged so openly with the conversation. Events like this help build understanding across our hospital community and ultimately improve the experience of care for autistic patients and families. #InclusiveHealthcare #AutismInclusion #NeuroaffirmativeCare #AutismAcceptance #PatientExperience #HealthcareCommunication #SVUH

Contact

tel:       (01) 221 3317

Psychology Department

 

Opening Hours

Mon to Fri: 08.30 – 16.30.