4: Mental Health

Across Divides

The mental health crisis has been highlighted by the pandemic but it has many root causes that pre-date Covid-19. The Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998, but the legacy of the troubles is still felt in the mental health epidemic across the island. In this episode, we pick apart the shared cognitive load of transgenerational trauma and the critical distinction between mental health and mental illness. We look at the need for a proactive approach to mental health and the gaps that can be filled by collective civil society action.

Guests

Siobhan O’Neill is the Mental Health Champion for Northern Ireland. She is a professor at University of Ulster and specialist in transgenerational trauma.

Peter McBride is a post-conflict mental health specialist. Formerly Group Chief Executive of Inspire Wellbeing, one of Ireland's foremost mental health and learning disability organisations. He stepped down from this role in 2019 and has been working since then as an independent consultant with a variety of organisations and senior individuals. In 2020/2021 Peter spent almost a year as The Director of The Cohen Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Keene, New Hampshire, USA returning to Northern Ireland in 202l. Peter McBride - Principal Consultant - PMcB | LinkedIn.

Morgan Shuttleworth is president of the Secondary Schools Union NI, an organisation set up during the pandemic that prioritises mental health in its work.[Text Wrapping Break]

Links

NI Mental Health Strategy 2021-2031

OUR Generation Project