Dr Trish Darcy
Natural Environment and Mental Health workstream Lead
- trish.darcy@york.ac.uk
Trish is an Applied Health Researcher in the Mental Health and Addiction Research Group, University of York working at the intersection of health, environment, and social sciences. She is the current lead for the ‘Natural Environment and Mental Health’ workstream for the NIHR ARC Yorkshire & Humber mental and physical multimorbidity funded programme of work, co-led by the Universities of York and Sheffield.
Trish holds a MSc in Health Psychology and a PhD in Natural Environments and Health. Methodologically, she has a strong interest in combining quantitative and qualitative approaches to generate comprehensive and contextually rich insights. Participatory approaches and co-production form a central component of her work to ensure research is grounded in lived experience and has real-world relevance. Her work increasingly incorporates arts-based and creative methodologies, recognising the value of narrative, visual, and performative methods in understanding and communicating complex health and social issues. Overall, her research contributes to the development of inclusive, community-informed strategies and interventions that seek to address health inequalities.
Dr Trish Darcy's latest projects
Embedding environmental quality into nature-based interventions for health
Nature-Based Interventions (NBIs), such as conservation and gardening activities, aim to improve the health and wellbeing of participants through engagement with nature. These activities also improve the ‘quality’ of the...
Co-producing nature-based interventions to support positive health outcomes in working age adults at Foss Park Hospital.
Despite strong evidence on the role of nature in supporting positive mental health outcomes, a variety of challenges and barriers exist for people with severe mental illness (SMI) in accessing...
SMI and Physical Health Conditions: lived experiences and service responses
Despite significant shifts at legislative, policy and service provision level, people with severe mental illness (SMI) still experience higher rates of physical illness than the general population. This study explored...
