Résumé
Résumé
He has worked on the frontline as a Childcare Worker in a short-term emergency residential facility, as a community and clinic-based Addiction Counsellor and as an Outreach Worker in designated socially-disadvantaged communities. Declan has also managed two long-term residential facilities, a cocaine-specific drugs rehabilitation programme and is Clinical Director to an IACP (Irish Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy) approved counselling service.
Prior to entering private practice, Declan occupied Senior Management positions in the Health Service Executive Mental Health & Addiction Service. Initially working as a Drugs Task Force Co-ordinator, later as Rehabilitation Co-ordinator and latterly as an Area Operations Manager.
He has lectured on drug dependency, rehabilitation, ethics and community development at University College Dublin (UCD), National University of Ireland (NUI Maynooth), Sligo Institute of Technology, Urrus Ballymun and in a number of voluntary and statutory agencies. He has also been involved with numerous Management Boards and Advisory Committees and has delivered training and development courses, strategic interventions and policy development processes for the management, staff and service users across various agencies and disciplines.
Academically, he has been awarded a Dip. Addiction Studies (Trinity College), a Dip. Social Studies (NUI Maynooth), a Dip. Holistic Healing Massage Therapy (HHC), an H. Dip. Social and Vocational Rehabilitation (University College Dublin), an MSc in Rehabilitation Management (University College Dublin), a Licentiate in Homeopathy (Irish School of Homeopathy) and an MSc in Mindfulness Based Intervention Skills (University College Dublin).
Declan received the Dean’s List Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement (UCD) for his research thesis and was also awarded the Irish Security Industries Association ‘Caring Person Award’ in recognition of his work with rehabilitating children involved in prostitution in Dublin. He has been credited as an expert advisor in the media, including two recognised ground-breaking and award-winning RTÉ documentaries, ‘Boys for Rent’ (1993) and ‘Male Rape’ (1996), and also as an addiction specialist on the Irish award-winning movie production of ‘Adam & Paul’ (2004).