Martha McGinn

Martha McGinn

Martha McGinn is one of the Company Directors of the National Institute of Intellectual Disability Studies. Martha completed her Higher Diploma in Learning Disability studies at UCD and is a Registered Nurse for people with Intellectual Disabilities (RNID). She has a B.Sc.Hons Degree in Professional Social Work specialising in working with People with Intellectual Disabilities. Martha also studied under Valarie Sinason (a World-renowned psychoanalyst and psychotherapist in the field of Intellectual Disability study), completing a specialised course in Psychodynamic Therapy at the Tavistock Centre London. Martha’s practical experience includes working with both children and adults with complex needs, such as those who have or who live with:

• Severe to profound Intellectual Disabilities 
• Behaviour which is challenging 
• Are on the Autistic Spectrum Disorder 
• Superimposed mental illness

Martha also specialises in working with families and is a winner of a BILD International Award for Research and Innovation for her work's direct impact on their family lives. She also has a Professional Management of Violence and Aggression degree from the Dundalk Institute of Technology. This is the only HSE-endorsed training in Ireland. This training has provided her with the skills to undertake intense Expert Training Need Analysis of organisations to review every aspect of why service users may become aggressive.