Noreen Giffney

Noreen Giffney is a Lecturer in Counselling and Psychotherapy at Ulster University's School of Communication and Media within the Faculty of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences. As a ORCID-registered psychoanalytic psychotherapist and psychosocial theorist, she bridges clinical practice with academic research through initiatives like the international Psychoanalysis + program.

• BSc in English and History (University College Dublin)
• PhD in Textual Analysis, Critical Theory, Medieval Studies (University College Dublin)
• MSc in Clinical Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (Trinity College Dublin)
• Clinical Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Diploma (Irish Institute of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy)

Her research focuses on intersections between psychoanalysis and psychosocial studies, particularly examining how cultural objects (film, art, literature) shape unconscious dynamics in clinical settings. Her 2021 Routledge monograph The Culture-Breast in Psychoanalysis exemplifies this approach through Kleinian and Independent traditions.

Recent publications include chapters on psychosocial methodologies (2024's Palgrave Handbook) and pedagogical innovations like the Cultural Encounters Case Study Method. She serves as Joint Editor-in-Chief of New Associations magazine and has held editorial roles at Duke University Press and Routledge.

Professional achievements include:

• 2018 UUSU Learning and Teaching Award (shared)
• Founding Scholar status at British Psychoanalytic Council
• Chair of Irish Forum for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy's Accreditation Review Working Group
• External Examiner appointments at University of Edinburgh, LSE, and others

As director of the interdisciplinary Mental Health & the Arts initiative (2018-2022), she has organized over 200 academic and public events across institutions like the Freud Museum and IMMA. Her work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education.