Dr Michelle O Reilly

Michelle O’Reilly is an Associate Professor of Mental Health Communication at the University of Leicester and a Research Consultant and Quality Improvement Advisor for Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust. She joined both organisations in 2003. Michelle is also a Chartered Psychologist in Health. Michelle has a specific interest in child and adolescent mental health. Recently she has been investigating the relationship between mental health and social media as part of that work. Michelle has made several media contributions about the research with adolescents educationalists and parents as funded by the Wellcome Trust. Additional to her research interests in mental health and social media Michelle also undertakes research in self-harm and suicidal behaviour neurodevelopmental conditions and child mental health services such as mental health assessments and family therapy. Michelle recently won the Anselm Strauss Award for Qualitative Family Research for her co-authored contribution on discursive psychology in this area. Michelle has expertise in qualitative methodologies and specialises in discursive psychology and conversation analysis.

DECODE: data-driven machine learning aided stratification and management of multiple ong-term conditions in adults with intellectual disabilities: NIHR (2022) £2,819,296.00. Thomas Jun, Sateesh Gangadharan, Michelle O'Reilly et al. 

Wellcome Midlands Mental Health and Neurosciences Doctoral Training Centre for Healthcare professionals. Wellcome Trust (2022) £7,247,676.00 (ref: 223508/Z/21/Z). Roshan Das Nair, Dorothee Auer, Joseph Manning, Terry Brugha, Noelle Robertson, Michelle O'Reilly et al.

Empowering pre-teens online through a digital ethics of care. ESRC (eNurture network funding) (2021) £17659.48 (22074.35 FEC). Michelle O’Reilly Diane Levine and Sarah Adams

The LOSST LIFFE* collaboration: Addressing inequalities at the intersection between law enforcement mental health and suicide prevention in pandemic and post-pandemic times. Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Fund & LIAS (2020) £23874.72. Ref: 204801/z/16/z. Michelle O’Reilly Barney Thorne Tammy Ayres Ruth Hatcher Dylan Kerrigan Sarah Adams Mohammed Abbas (LPT) Nikki Kiyimba (NZ) and Chris Millard (Sheffield)

Co-constructing Inequalities and Improving Wellbeing Post-Pandemic: Children’s Vision in five Major World Countries. GCRF (Research England) & LIAS (2020) £28075.00. Panos Vostanis Michelle O’Reilly Clare Anderson Caroline Upton Effie Law Kelly Staples Grace Sykes Harry Dixon Sadiyya Haffejee

Adolescent Vaping 'Careers': A Qualitative Study of the Usage Trajectories of 16-18-Year-Old E-Cigarette Users in England. CRUK (2017) £86754.08 (FEC- £265570.17). Jason Hughes Michelle O’Reilly Khalid Karim Kahryn Hughes and John Goodwin

O’Reilly, M., Levine, D., Adams, S., Batchelor, R., and Sinclair, N. (in press). Schrödinger’s cat and digital empathy: How primary school children understand and respond to others’ feelings in online spaces. Children & Society,

O’Reilly, M., and Vostanis, P. (in press). A child mental health service transformation framework in the Global South. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 

O’Reilly, M., Kiyimba, N., Tromans, S., and Drewett, A., (in press). The experiences of mid-career disclosure of Autism and ADHD diagnosis by UK police officers and staff. Policing: An international Journal,

Celik, H.C., and O’Reilly, M. (in press). Exploring the challenges and difficulties experienced by survivors of the Kahramanmaras earthquake in Türkiye: A qualitative examination. Natural Hazards, 

O’Reilly, M., Adams, S., Cumper, P., and Onyejekwe, K. (in press). Teaching children about ‘toxic relationships’ in Relationship and Sex Education: Children aged 10-11-years old and teachers’ perspectives in England. Pastoral Care in Education,

Shah, H., O’Reilly, M., Hassan, S., Levine, D., and Vostanis, P. (in press). Gender-related Challenges of Providing Mental Health Support to Children in Pakistan. Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, 

Vostanis, P., Haffejee, S., Mwanda, A., and O’Reilly, M. (in press). Youth-led mental health promotion in South Africa. Youth & Society, 

Staples, K., O’Reilly, M., Hassan, S., and Vostanis, P. (in press). Stay safe, stay home? Majority World Children, the Covid-19 pandemic, and (everyday) security politics. British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 27(3), 953-976 

Katz C, Attrash-Najjar A, Cohen N, Glucklich T, Jacobson M, Varela N, Priolo-Filho SR, Bérubé A, Chang OD, Collin-Vézina D, Fouché A, Haffejee S, Katz I, Maguire-Jack K, Massarweh N, O'Reilly M, Tiwari A, Truter E, de Andrade Vieira RV, Walker-Williams H, Zibetti MR, Werkele C. (in press). Child protective services and out-of-home Care for Children during COVID-19: A scoping review and thematic analysis. Child Abuse & Neglect, Nov 25:106540.

Katz C, Glucklich T, Attrash-Najjar A, Jacobson M, Cohen N, Varela N, Priolo-Filho SR, Bérubé A, Chang OD, Collin-Vézina D, Fouché A, Haffejee S, Katz I, Maguire-Jack K, Massarweh N, O'Reilly M, Tiwari A, Truter E, de Andrade Vieira RV, Walker-Williams H, Zibetti MR, Werkele C. (in press). The global impact of COVID-19 on child protection professionals: A scoping review and thematic analysis. Child Abuse & Neglect, 

Archard, P., and O’Reilly, M. (in press). Free association and qualitative research interviewing: Examining free association in the free association narrative interview method. Nurse Researcher, 

Levine, D., O’Reilly, M., Adams, S., and Batchelor, R. (2025). How might children’s online experiences be understood through a digital ethics of care framework? Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 34(4), 415-429 

Vostanis, P., Sofios, P., Petrali, A., Levine, D., and O’Reilly, M. (2025). Training process to improve the integrated mental health care of unaccompanied minors in Greece: Trainer and manager perspectives. Journal of Integrated Care, 33(3), 303-31

O’Reilly, M., Kiyimba, N., and Levine, D. (2025). Promoting a digital ethics of care: A digital cognitive interruption to facilitate UK adolescent empathy in online spaces. Journal of Children and Media, 19(2), 307-326 

O’Reilly, M., Thorne, B., Smith, P., and Kiyimba, N. (2025). Toward a suicide-responsive police culture: Police experiences of working with suicide. Policing & Society, 35(1), 101-117 

Awhangansi, S., Salisu, T., Awhangansi, O., Dadematthews, A., Abumere, E., Siddiq, B., Phillips, E., Mogan,M., Olushola, A., Archebong, A., Okewole, A., Adeoson, I., Sowunmi, O., Amosu, S., Lewis, M., Archard, P., Owoeye, O., and O’Reilly, M. (2025). Examining the role of bullying victimization in predicting psychopathology among in-school Nigerian adolescents. Journal of Forensic Practice, 27(2), 149-165 

Vostanis, P., Hassan, S., Fatima, S., and O’Reilly, M. (2024). Youth-led mental health promotion in Pakistan informed by intergenerational resilience. Global Health Promotion, 39(1), FEB 

Hughes, J., Hughes, K. Sykes, G., O’Reilly, M., Sutton, C., Goodwin, J., and Karim, K. (2024). Vaping as 'Futures in Process': What is the role of imagined futures in the development of e-cigarette use among young people? Sociology, 59(2), 231-249. 

O’Reilly, M., Adams, S., Batchelor, R., and Levine, D. (2024). Exploring the practice of 10-11-year-olds as co-researchers: Using a hybrid approach in educational research to promote children as interviewers. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 27(6), 775-789 

O’Reilly, M., Levine, D., Batchelor, R., and Adams, S. (2024). Digital ethics of care and digital citizenship in UK primary schools: Children as interviewers. Journal of Children and Media,18(4), 585-604 

Yilmaz, E., Eruyar, S., Haffejee, S. Hassan, S., O’Reilly, M., and Vostanis, P. (2024). Learning from elders’ trauma exposure and resilience: Children’s perspectives from five Majority World Countries. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 22(4), 519-533

Archard, P., O’Reilly, M., and Sommantico, M., (2024). Free Association and qualitative research interviewing: Perspectives and applications. Qualitative Research Journal, 24(5), 643-654. 

Vostanis, P., Hassan, S., Fatima, S., Husein, H., and O’Reilly, M. (2024). Community youth mental health awareness in Pakistan through the Train-the-Trainer model. Qualitative study of stakeholder perspectives. Mental Health & Prevention, 34, 200339. 

Lester, J., O’Reilly, M., and Furlong, D. (2024). Analyzing constructions of disability in everyday talk: Methodological applications of discursive psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 21(4), 536-556 

Eruyar, S., Hunt, S., O’Reilly, M., Alowaybil, R., and Vostanis, P. (2024). Responsiveness of Support Systems to Address Refugee Young People’s Mental Health Needs: Stakeholder Perspectives from Turkey and the UK. International Journal of Mental Health, 53(3), 269-287 

Vostanis, P., Haffejee, S., Hassan, S., and O’Reilly, M. (2024). What should the role of peer mental health support worker involve? Youth perspectives from Pakistan and South Africa. International Journal of Child Development and Mental Health, 12 (1), 50-56 

Vostanis, P., Hassan, S., Fatima, S., and O’Reilly, M. (2024). Youth-led co-production of mental health promotion in Pakistan: Intergenerational influences. Health Promotion International, 29(1) 

Vostanis, P., Haffejee, Mwanda, A., and O’Reilly, M. (2024). Parent awareness of children’s psychosocial needs: Parent and service provider perspectives. Southern African Journal of Social Work and Social Development, 36(3), 

Vostanis, P., Sofios, P., Petrali, A., and O’Reilly, M. (2024). A national mental health cascade training programme for practitioners supporting unaccompanied minors in Greece. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 29(3), 

Vostanis, P., Hassan, S., Seyda, F. and O’Reilly, M. (2024). Integrated child mental health care provision in Pakistan: End-user and provider perspectives. Journal of Integrated Care, 32(2), 119-130. 

O’Reilly, M., Haffejee, S., Eruyar, S., Sykes, G., and Vostanis, P. (2024). Benefits and challenges of engaging Majority World children in interdisciplinary, multi-qualitative-method, mental health research. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 27(2), 219-233 

O’Reilly, M., and Kiyimba, N. (2024). Investigating question-answer sequences in child mental health assessments: Engaging children and families through declarative question design. Patient Education and counseling, 121, - 108105 

Archard, P., Lourdes, M., O’Reilly, M., and O’Flynn, D. (2024). Mental health services research, trauma informed care and freedom of information requests. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 31(4), 473-474 

Vostanis, P., Haffejee, S., Mwanda, A., and O’Reilly, M. (2024).Stakeholder perspectives of a co-produced intervention to integrate mental health for children and youth within the community sub-system in South Africa. Children and Youth Services Review, 158 - 107482 

Cumper, P., Adams, S., Onyejekwe, K., and O’Reilly, M. (2024). Teachers’ perspectives on relationships and sex education in England. Sex Education, 24(2), 238-254 

Eruyar, S., Yilmaz, M., O’Reilly, M. and Vostanis, P. (2024). Process of co-production of mental health service plans for refugee children in Turkey. Children & Society, 38(4), 1369-1388 

 

My research interests are broadly in the areas of

child mental health

psychiatric research

Suicide prevention and self-harm

Neurodevelopmental conditions

family therapy

qualitative methods

I have published many papers and books in this area. I have also undertaken numerous research projects exploring a range of mental disorders including autism (ASD) ADHD and self-harm as well as a range of therapeutic interventions such as family therapy and child psychiatry.

Undergraduate teaching

UG dissertation

Sociology of health and Illness

I also contribute sessions to a range of other undergraduate modules.

Postgraduate teaching

Programme convenor DL PhD

Distance Learning PhD module 1

Distance Learning PhD module 2

Distance Learning PhD module 4

Doctoral training programme year 1

Applied and practice based research tutorials (For PhD students)

Supervision of PhD theses

Supervision of MSc theses 

Digital media and child and adolescent mental health

Autism

Suicide prevention 

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy: 33934 (2008) - Upgraded to Senior Fellow (2018) - PR145379

Q member of the Health Foundation - Quality Improvement in the NHS

Chartered Health Psychologist [CPsychol] (BPS)

International Society for Conversation analysis (ISCA)

Association of Family Therapy (AFT)

Associate of the Taos Institute

Member of the NIHR CLAHRC East Midlands

Member of the National Suicide Prevention Alliance (NSPA)

Member of the National Police Autism Association (NPAA)

I am the Deputy Chair of the Ethics and Integrity University Committee (commenced October 2016)

I am the Chair of the Research Integrity Working Group (Commenced November 2018)

I am a member of the equality and diversity working group (Commenced June 2020).

I am the Co-Director for the Leicester Centre for Mental Health Research (Commenced October 2018)

I am a member of the Sensitive Extreme and Radical Material Working Group (Commenced July 2021)

I am a steering group member of the BME Centre at the University of Leicester (Commended July 2018). 

Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust award from the annual competition in 2018 for paper:

Majumder P. O’Reilly M. Karim K. and Vostanis P. (2015). “This doctor I not trust him I’m not safe”: The perceptions of mental health and services by unaccompanied refugee adolescents. International Journal of Social Psychiatry 61(2) 129-136

Qualitative Family Research Network (QFRN) - a Focus Group of the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR). The award recognizes significant work in the area of family theory methods and research that comes from a qualitative tradition. The award is named for Anselm Strauss whose life's work was to develop and practice qualitative methodologies. The specific criteria for the award are described below: Won the 2019 Anselm Strauss Award for Qualitative Family Research for your article:

O'Reilly M. Kiyimba N. & Lester J. (2018). Discursive psychology as a method of analysis for the study of couple and family therapy. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy 44(3) 409-425. 

O’Reilly M. (2021). [invited talk]. Doing qualitative research in sensitive topics: Practical issues in using thematic analysis and conversation analysis. Medical Sociology & Health Experiences Research Group: Oxford University.

O’Reilly M. and Drewett A. (2020) [keynote] Autism self-harm and suicidal thinking. Autism Learns - conference for parents and frontline professionals. December. Online. O’Reilly M. (2020). [Keynote]. Social media and child and adolescent mental health: Conceptualising a digital ethics of care. West Midlands CPD Educational Psychology Conference

O’Reilly M. (2020). [Keynote]. Working toward a digital ethics of care: Adolescent views of social media and mental health. Mindful of AI: Language Technology and Mental Health University of Cambridge

O’Reilly M. (2020). [Keynote]. Suicide first responders’ experiences. Working Together to Prevent Suicide Leicester multi-agency conference.

O’Reilly M. (2021). Social Media and Mental Health: Conceptualising a Digital Ethics of Care. Outreach at 020 Amsterdam.

O’Reilly M. (April 2021). Doom-scrolling and you by Ollie Monk. Leicester student magazine. https://leicesterstudent.com/2021/04/09/doomscrolling-and-you/

O’Reilly M. (March 2021). Expert insights: How might abuse and neglect affect mental health? NSPCC learning series.

O’Reilly M. (March 2021). Expert insights: How might we support children and young people? NSPCC learning series.

O’Reilly M. (March 2021). Expert insights: When mental health becomes a safeguarding concern? NSPCC learning series.

O’Reilly M. (7th October 2020). Negative news and mental health. Voice of Islam Radio Morning Breakfast show

O’Reilly M. (14th August 2019). Comment on social media and mental health for a New Scientist article:

O’Reilly M. (recorded 2nd May 2019) Boom Radio Scotland interview: Social media and adolescent mental health. Interview with Ashir Ayaz (Edinburgh College)

O’Reilly M. (April 24th 2019) - Expert guest speaker for TRTWorld - Turkish News channel - live discussion on social media and child/adolescent mental health

BSc (hons) psychology

MSc Social psychology (Distinction)

MA Research ethics in health

PhD

PGCAPHE

Cert Management

SFHEA