Michael McGeough – Principal Social Worker – Mayo Adult Mental Health Services

Mike qualified as a Social Worker in 2002.  Since then Mike has worked in the Youth Justice System in the UK for 10 years mainly in the area of restorative justice before moving to Ireland in 2008.   In 2009 Mike began working with the HSE in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services moving into Adult Mental Health Services in 2011 where he has remained since and now works in the role of Principal Social Worker.   Mike has extensive experience of promoting and providing psycho social interventions to service users and their families alongside the other multi -disciplinary disciplines who form the Mayo Mental Health Service.   Mike is an advocate of the recovery approach to delivering mental health supports to service users and their families and has very positive experiences of working with Peer Support Workers and Family Peer Support Workers towards this goal.

Mary O’Connell-Gannon – Family Peer Support Worker

Mary joined the Family Peer Support Service in July of 2020 and she loves the service ethos, in partnership ‘with’ rather than ‘delivered to’ family members, listening and engaging with each other in a respectful way.  She has formal qualifications in Peer Support Working in Mental Health and Trauma Informed Practice in Health and Social Care from Dublin City University. Mary also has formal qualifications in Community Development in Practice and Youth and Family Work from National University of Ireland Galway. She has worked with NGOs and community service providers of social care services, childcare services, community development projects and family support services. She is a member of Community Work Ireland.

Noel Hoare – Family Peer Support Worker

Noel worked as a painter for a long number of years and in 2012, he took up a position as a group coordinator for a rural men’s group in Roscommon and worked with the men for a number of years.  As a result, he developed an interest in rural men’s mental health and volunteered with Roscommon East Galway Recovery College (REGARI).

In 2020, he started working as a family Peer Support Worker on a part time basis in Castlebar, County Mayo. He has formal qualifications in Peer Support Working in Mental Health and in Trauma Informed Practice in Health and Social Care from Dublin City University.

Noel is also a Recovery Education Facilitator at REGARI Recovery College and as a trained Facilitator; co- delivers workshops on mental health and wellbeing topics in community, educational, and acute settings. This includes the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) and Recovery Principles and Practice Workshops from a family member’s perspective.

He believes in a holistic approach to recovery and combines this with his lifelong interest in nature and organic gardening.

Dympna Folliard – Family Peer Support Worker

Dymphna is based at the Family Peer Support Service in Castlebar, Co Mayo. She has lived experience supporting people with mental health challenges. She has a qualification in Peer Support working in Mental Health from Galway Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) now known as Atlantic Technology University (ATU).  She is a trained facilitator for delivering the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) and has also been involved in the co- production and co-facilitating of family workshops with Mayo Recovery College.

Fran McKeever – Family Peer Support Worker

Fran is a Family Peer Support Worker with the HSE Family Peer Support Service and has been employed there since 2020. She developed an interest in Family Peer Support after attending a Meriden Development Programme for Relative Peer Support in 2019.

Fran is a member of her local forum and actively participates in collaborations with service providers to advance recovery oriented services in her area.  Fran also volunteers with many community organisations such as the Mayo Mental Health Association and feels giving back benefits her own wellbeing in a positive way.

Fran is qualified in Peer Support working in Mental Health from Dublin City University (DCU) and has more recently completed a Level 9 Certificate in Trauma Informed Practice in Health Social Care, also from DCU.

Paula Street – Manager

Paula Street is employed as a Senior Social Worker with the Mental Health services for over 15 years.

She is a Behavioural Family Therapy (BFT) Trainer and provides supervision to staff trained in BFT.  She has been instrumental in the establishment of the Family peer Support Worker Service in Galway Mental Health Services.  She also provides Family Talk to families attending mental health services.

Family Peer Support Worker

I am a family peer support worker in County Galway with many years lived experience as a carer of a loved one with mental health challenges.  I believe that lived experience is key to the success of family peer practice.

Having availed of family peer support myself I appreciate the positive effect it has had on my own life.  I began attending various modules in recovery orientated education.  Knowledge helped reduce my fear of the unknown and I gradually began to feel hope in the future.

I have a level 8 qualification in Family Peer Practice and have recently completed an Intentional Peer Support Programme.  To have an opportunity to work with and support other family members on their unique recovery journey is a privilege.

Mary G. Killion – Manager

Mary G Killion is employed as a Principal Social Worker in Galway/Roscommon Mental Health Services.  She has been promoting Family Focused Practice in Mental Health services since 2005, and led the establishment of the Family Peer Support Worker Service in Galway/Roscommon. She is also the Project Lead for the rollout of Family Talk in Galway/Roscommon Mental Health Services.

Sinéad McDermott – Family Peer Support Worker

The Roscommon/East Galway Family Peer Support Worker is one of the main trustees in Roscommon Mental Health Association and has a passion for family work.  She works closely with REGARI Recovery College in Roscommon and co-facilitates many of the family modules.  She is also involved in many community organisations in the county.  She recently co-produced a Directory of Services for County Roscommon and a Family Member booklet for the acute psychiatric unit in Roscommon town and was involved to the 2nd iteration of Roscommon’s 1st Wellbeing App “The Good Place”.

The Roscommon/East Galway Family Peer Support Worker is also a member of the Teacher Council of Ireland.  She is qualified in Peer Support in Mental Health from Dublin City University (DCU) and holds the international Certificate in Intentional Peer Support and is one of the first International Intentional Peer Support Trainers in Ireland.

She recently completed her level 9 certificate in Trauma Informed Practice in Health Social Care at DCU and is also a trained facilitator in delivering the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP).

Bébhinn Kelly – Senior Social Worker

Bébhinn qualified as a Social Worker in 2006 from NUI, Galway.  Bébhinn has worked in the area of Medical Social Work (General, Stroke Rehab and Women & Children) and in Primary Care Social Work in Galway City for over 15 years.  Bébhinn joined Galway Mental Health Services in 2020 as a Senior Social Worker for the Psychiatry of Later Life Team.  She has worked as a Practice Tutor for the Masters in Social Work Programme in the University of Galway since 2009.  Bébhinn has a great interest in the area of Family Peer Support Work and is an advocate for the value of learning and insight from lived experience.

Robert Dervin – Family Peer Support Worker

Robert is a Family Peer Support worker with Mental Health Ireland Family Peer Support Service.  His role began in May 2023. Robert is a member of his local forum and regularly attends local and area meetings. All topics around mental health are discussed at these meetings and service improvements are identified.   He became interested in Family Peer Support as a result of using the Bealach Nua Family Peer Support Service himself.  He found great benefit in working with a Family Peer Support worker and became empowered by the experience within his life.

Robert feels that he can help other family members as he was helped himself and is a big believer in how effective Family Peer Support is.  Robert has completed a Level 8 Certificate in Peer Support Practice from Atlantic Technological University, Castlebar.