DrElizabeth Barrett

Elizabeth Barrett is a Consultant in Psychological Medicine (Liaison Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) at Children's University Hospital, Temple Street and an Associate Professor at UCD. She also chairs local peer groups, has been Vice Chair of the Liaison Faculty of the College of Psychiatry of Ireland and lead for the CHI Psychological medicine group. She currently chairs the academic faculty of the College of Psychiatrists (2025 to present). She also leads the development of the UCD Health Humanities Summer school with colleagues from the School of English, Drama and Film and CEPL. 

Clinically, Dr Barrett works as a liaison child and adolescent psychiatrist at CHI @Temple St. She has also served in international and national peer and review groups regarding Psychological Medicine, Eating Disorders and aspects of liaison psychiatry and paediatric medicine.
Her early interest in the interface between physical illness and mental health stemmed from basic training and membership examinations in paediatric medicine prior to training in Psychiatry. She completed the Dublin University rotational training programme and completing Higher Specialist training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in Ireland. She worked at Great Ormond Street as a Fellow, was a Visiting Fellow at the Royal Free and a Consultant in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the South London and Maudsley Trust prior to taking up her post at Temple St and UCD.

She was the first Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist in Ireland to be awarded the Richard Steevens Fellowship by the HSE. She also was a recipient of the Margaret Slack RCPsych travelling scholarship, which enabled her to spend time at Boston Children's Hospital. She was awarded an Academy for Eating Disorders Clinican Scholarship prior to returning to Ireland. Her team at Temple St has also recieved awards for their work in Child and Adolescent Mental Health; and the Temple St based innovative Schwartz Rounds initiative has been recognised by national awards. 

As a research -active clinician, she participates in local clinical research which is often interdisciplinary in nature. Much of her work in Psychological Medicine has an interdisciplinary focus, interfacing across the hospital to support children and their families, and welcomes the opportunity to develop links with paediatric and surgical colleagues.  She is a trainer for CYP-APEX, introduced to Ireland in 2026 at CHI, which aims to support the acute psychosocial needs of children and young people presenting in psychosocial crisis to Emergency Departments and aims to scaffold interdisciplinary learning skills in these settings. She also leads a national network of paediatric colleagues who are endeavouring to develop skills and research in this arena together with UCD and UL based colleagues- this network includes representation from all 18 paediatric sites in Ireland. 
Recent Clinical research projects include clinical projects around Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry including emergency department presentations and supports for young people who self harm, international groups looking at the impact of COVID-19 on children and young people/ admissions during COVID 19; supporting young people and carers with Eating Disorders; Neuropsychiatry and Tic Disorders. She is interested in functional medicine and psycho-oncology and anxiety in the context of physical illness. 

She also works closely with several expert- by- experience groups and community groups. She advocates for enhanced services for children and adolescents with both medical and mental health illnesses in paediatric settings. She has worked with Bodywhys, RCPI, REFOCUS, Action on Postpartum Psychosis, the Alzheimers society, Volunteerism in groups like La Leche League and the Watersports inclusion games amongst other expert by experience groups. 

Medical Education research has included Interdisciplinary research, eating disorders education for interdisciplinary groups, and the MindReading narrative in medicine project. She also supports projects in Narrative in Medicine and the HEANI network at UCD. Recent educational research has included: Training across Europe and development of curricula with RCPI regarding Adolescent Health and national guidelines in Eating Disorders. She annually hosts undergraduate SSRA project in these areas at UCD.  Much of her work has engaged with expert- by - experience groups and their contribution to medical education. Her team have also collaborated with PPI initiatives such as the Watersports Inclusion Games and with Breastfeeding, disability and other narrative in medicine projects. 

She has had a particular interest in the wellbeing of clinicians for many years, leading international studies in this area and is Schwartz rounds Clinical Lead in Temple St. She is an accredited Balint Group lead, and offers these for paediatric and psychiatry trainees. In Ireland she led the Irish component of the international Trainee Burnout (BOSS) Study, was an international co- ordinator of the CAP-STATE study (exploring Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Training in Europe). A founder member of the EFPT exchange programme, she welcomes contact from international trainees keen to gain exposure to liaison psychiatry, and is an approved trainer for paediatric and psychiatry trainees.

She has an active teaching role at the undergraduate programme at UCD, taking a lead in co-ordinating this in 2019/ 2023, and is a guest senior lecturer at other Irish medical schools. She holds a Masters degree in Medical Education and recently completed a Professional Diploma in Innovation and Entrepreneurial approaches in education. She has developed several national postgraduate training initiatives in conjunction with UCD, the College of Psychiatry of Ireland, the RCPI and others. She recently completed training to develop Simulated Learning in Psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin,