‘As a parent, I would have readily paid for access to a tool that could draw from evidence-based ideas for my child’s specific challenges,’ says Michele Van Valey.

Michele Van Valey has had a rather unusual entry into science and research. She said she initially intended to begin a master’s degree following her bachelor’s in English, but instead “accidentally landed a waitressing job in the heart of a burgeoning music scene”.

She worked on several creative projects during this time, spanning music documentaries and indie record labels.

Later, her life turned towards yoga following some health issues. “I spent the next decade in more unconventional education studying the body – yoga therapy, Pilates, massage therapy, nutrition and meditation,” she says.

She returned to formal education with a master’s in ‘mindfulness-based interventions’ at University College Dublin (UCD) in 2019, which eventually evolved into another master’s in counselling and psychotherapy at the Institute of Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy.

Her master’s dissertation led her to her current doctoral programme at UCD studying children’s mental health. She is also a psychotherapist by practice.

What inspired you to become a researcher?

Growing up in California, I owned my first Stanford University sweatshirt by the time I was eight years old. My father was a teacher and higher education was instilled in me from a very young age. I did not know what I wanted to do in college but I enjoyed words, stories and writing so I opted for an English degree.

Drawn to contemporary realism, I met the Shakespeare requirement reluctantly until Prof Corum shared his animated interpretation of the wind instruments in Othello.

250 freshmen held their collective breath, rapt, as he described the bawdy possibilities. “Am I reaching?” he asked. The room exploded. And so, my interest in words evolved into an interest in language; framing, meaning, tension, subtext and all that is not being said. Qualitative research fits well for me.

Years later, Prof Gardiner introduced me to the work of anthropologist Maria Gimbutas and asked me to write a feminist take on Chaucer’s Legend of Good Women for my thesis (so much for contemporary realism). Crossing disciplines, mapping historical landscapes and the process of discovery lit me up. After four years, I was ready for a break in study but always knew I would be returning. Joining the research team at UCD is a lucky opportunity that feels a lot like home.

Can you tell us about the research you’re currently working on?

The PhD I’m working toward is a doctoral scholarship in child mental health and the digital age, supported by UCD Foundation through a charitable donation from Cycle Against Suicide.

It came about after my friends and I put together a series of events hosted by UCD called Neuroconvergence, where we brought neurodivergent voices together as a way to learn from each other, play together and perhaps even move the policy needle.

Dr Blánaid Gavin participated on a panel with me and I shared the dissertation I had written with her. That was the lucky coincidence. I didn’t know that she was compiling a team of researchers to design digital tools for parents and families in need of support.

I had personal experience of long waitlists to access services and the expense of paying for them privately. I also knew that there were tens of thousands of parents in Facebook groups advising each other around how to support their children when there was little chance of accessing a professional. The idea of an evidence-based parenting tool that offered in the moment support to families waiting for professional access really appealed to me. It took me longer to warm to the AI piece.

My project will become an AI-enabled, adaptable parenting tool that can draw from various empirically evidenced, theoretical disciplines in the moment of need. A cursory look at the literature revealed that most clinical, AI-informed applications rest on behaviourist interventions. The physiological responses which often fuel behaviour is where my area of interest lies. So, neurobiology and the relational sciences will be cantered in my design.

Despite my broad reservations about using AI (sycophant-y, tech lords, plagiarism and water consumption), I know it’s coming and my individual protest will have no impact. The literature on LLMs [large language models] suggests they are unreliable therapists without constraint or oversight, so designing and testing for safety and efficacy will be important.

Perhaps contributing to the growing body of research that calls for ethical guardrails is a more effective use of my voice. As Dario Amodei of Anthropic recently pointed out to Oprah, “we can’t stop the train but we can steer it”. I’m only a few months in, so the biggest evolution has been integrating my friend Claude into the team. There is a lot more to AI than chat and I have become enchanted by the possibilities. Let’s hope we keep the train from jumping track.

In your opinion, why is your research important?

Parents are desperate for advice, especially when they have a child who is struggling in some way. Often the need is immediate, thus the success of Facebook groups for information sharing.

Someone is always there to offer ideas and solidarity. It’s a wonderful resource. Yet nearly every parent there is waiting on services because people want to hear from trained professionals when it comes to their child’s mental health.

Additionally, western culture leans heavily toward behaviourist approaches due to the large body of evidence that supports them. Many families have benefitted from helping a child face their difficulty to overcome it.

Sometimes, however, there is something systemic or traumatic prompting the behaviour that requires a different lens. Parents who are trying to help their children while waiting for professional support will benefit from access to a variety of empirically evidenced ideas to further their understanding of their child’s experience.

What commercial applications do you foresee for your research?

There are only a handful of parenting apps in the market that are supported by research, most of them behaviour focused. Very few, if any, integrate interpersonal neurobiology.

As a parent, I would have readily paid for access to a tool that could draw from evidence-based ideas for my child’s specific challenges.

Addressing thoughts and changing behaviours can be helpful. It is also possible that there may be other areas to investigate. Access to different ideas for effective, individual decision-making will be invaluable to families.

What are some of the biggest challenges you face as a researcher in your field?

Speed. The volume of information coming out about AI is relentless. Staying organised in my work and balancing that with my role as a parent is also top of mind.

Are there any common misconceptions about this area of research? How would you address them?

I suppose people like myself will be worried about AI misuse, governance, plagiarism and climate concerns. It might sound like an oxymoron to create a relational AI tool, but what if it could help families access calm connection in difficult moments? What if tech brought us closer to understanding each other rather than pulling us in different directions? This feels worthy of investigation.

What are some of the areas of research you’d like to see tackled in the years ahead?

With respect to AI the field is moving fast. It’s actually hard to know how it will be researched at all unless AI is employed to speed things along. Gathering and analysing data takes years.

With respect to parenting, I hope that more families will learn about attachment needs, stress reactivity and co-regulation. Every tier on my educational journey has taught me that healing is relational. The late psychologist, John Welwood, even proposed that relationship is “the leading edge of human evolution at this time in history”. I’d love to see much more work in this area.

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