Understanding psychological care in the context of homelessness: evidence and experience
| dc.contributor.advisor | O'Keeffe, Fiadhnait | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Lambert, Sharon | |
| dc.contributor.advisorexternal | Rolfe, Jo | |
| dc.contributor.author | Corscadden, Rebekah | en |
| dc.contributor.funder | Health Service Executive | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-09-23T13:36:35Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-09-23T13:36:35Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2026-04-28 | en |
| dc.date.submitted | 2026-04-26 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Unhoused people experience health inequalities, yet psychological care is often poorly aligned with the instability, exclusion, and intersecting health needs shaping their lives. Following an integrated review of the context, the thesis comprised two studies. Study One was a mixed-methods systematic review of third-wave psychological interventions. Eighteen studies across 19 publications were synthesised. Quantitative findings were mixed but indicated improvements in psychological and behavioural outcomes, while qualitative findings consistently identified changes in awareness, emotion regulation, relationships, confidence, and perceived capability. Methodological limitations, heterogeneous delivery, and limited fidelity monitoring constrained conclusions, although interventions were feasible and acceptable. Study Two used interpretative phenomenological analysis to explore the lived experience of epilepsy among six unhoused men in Ireland. Four group experiential themes were developed: Diagnosis as an Explanation with No Way Out; Dual Loss of Autonomy; Public Seizures and Social Devaluation; and Living Within Constrained Survival Pathways. Epilepsy and homelessness were dynamically reinforcing, compounding unpredictability, stigma, constrained choice, and fragmented care. The integrated discussion reconceptualises engagement as a dynamic, relational, and contextually produced process, supporting flexible, trauma-informed, integrated care that prioritises safety, trust, continuity, and lived experience. | en |
| dc.description.status | Not peer reviewed | en |
| dc.description.version | Accepted Version | en |
| dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | en |
| dc.identifier.citation | Corscadden, R. 2026. Understanding psychological care in the context of homelessness: evidence and experience. DClinPsych Thesis, University College Cork. | |
| dc.identifier.endpage | 216 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10468/19318 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en |
| dc.publisher | University College Cork | en |
| dc.rights | © 2026, Rebekah Corscadden. | |
| dc.rights.uri | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ | |
| dc.subject | Unhoused people | en |
| dc.subject | Homelessness | en |
| dc.subject | Social inclusion | en |
| dc.subject | Clinical psychology | en |
| dc.subject | Mixed methods systematic review | en |
| dc.subject | Interpretative phenomenological analysis | en |
| dc.title | Understanding psychological care in the context of homelessness: evidence and experience | |
| dc.title.alternative | Study 1: The effectiveness of third-wave interventions with unhoused people: a mixedmethods systematic review | |
| dc.title.alternative | Study 2: “They’re intertwined really… They make each other worse”: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of living with epilepsy in the context of homelessness | |
| dc.type | Doctoral thesis | en |
| dc.type.qualificationlevel | Practitioner Doctorate | en |
| dc.type.qualificationname | DClinPsych - Doctor of Clinical Psychology | en |
