The appointment is testament to Ulster University’s international leadership in the understanding and treatment of child and adolescent trauma.
Dr McSherry is a developmental psychologist with over twenty years research leadership experience in early childhood adversity, trauma, and mental health; specialising in the areas of state care, adoption, attachment and child neglect. For the past 18 years Dr McSherry has been leading the Care Pathways and Outcomes Study, a longitudinal study following a population of children in care in Northern Ireland.
JCAT is an inter-disciplinary, inter-professional journal that presents original research and prevention and treatment strategies for understanding and dealing with symptoms and disorders related to the psychological effects of trauma in childhood. The journal examines intervention models directed toward the individual, family, and community, new theoretical models and approaches, and public policy proposals and innovations. It features research, intervention approaches and evidence-based programmes, theoretical articles, specific review articles, brief reports and case studies, and commentaries on current and/or controversial topics in child and adolescent trauma.
Dr McSherry commented:
“It is an honour to take up the role of Editor-in-Chief of such a well-respected international journal. JCAT’s ethos of interdisciplinarity and interprofessional partnership closely aligns with our approach at Ulster University and within the Institute of Mental Health Sciences.
During my tenure as Editor-in-Chief I hope to further enhance the international reach of the journal, and its commitment to multidisciplinarity and interprofessionality. This is already reflected in the geographic, academic and professional diversity of my new Associate Editorial team and the Editorial Board. I am also keen to ensure that the journal applies a biopsychosocial lens to our understanding of child and adolescent trauma. Finally, in addition to a renewed focus on the impact of early child maltreatment, I want the journal to make further efforts to capture all manifestations of child trauma, such as experiences of political conflict; natural disasters; disease; racial, ethnic, gender, sexual orientation and class discrimination; and poverty, social deprivation and inequality”.
As Editor-in-Chief Dr McSherry has established a new Associate Editorial Leadership Team involving some of the leading international scholars working in child and adolescent trauma. The team includes academics and practitioners from India, North America, South Africa, Italy and UK and Ireland, including Ulster University Professors Mark Tully, Gerard Leavey and Mark Shevlin. Invitations have also been extended to colleagues within Ulster and those external to the university with practitioner expertise to join the journal’s Editorial Board.
To read the latest issue of the journal please visit: https://www.springer.com/journal/40653