Biography
Dr Ruth Melia is an Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology, and also maintains a clinical role as Clinical Lead and Senior Clinical Psychologist in HSE Mid West. She is an experienced clinician and clinical supervisor having worked across primary care psychology, CAMHS and disability services. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin and Maynooth University, Ruth obtained her Masters in Applied Psychology and Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Trinity College Dublin, and her undergraduate degree at Maynooth University. She also holds a Masters in Healthcare Management and Leadership from the Irish Management Institute / University College Cork. Ruth is a researcher in the area of digital mental health and suicide prevention, and has published and supervised researchers consistently in these areas. She is a two-time Fulbright Scholar awardee having been awarded a Fulbright HRB HealthImpact award 2022 / 2023, and previously a Fulbright Scholar award 2016 / 2017 based at the Suicide Prevention Research Lab, Stanford University.She was previously Chair and currently Committee Member of the Clinical Division of the Psychological Society of Ireland. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Jigsaw: the National Centre for Youth Mental Health, and Chair of the Quality and Safety Committee. Ruth currently sits on the Sharing the Vision Digital Mental Health Specialist Group nationally, offering the opportunity to directly impact digital mental health policy. She has contributed as reviewer and invited editor to a number of academic journals and is a steering group member of the Clinical Psychology Today Journal. She is Principal Investigator on the National Office for Suicide Prevention-funded SafePlan Research Project.