This is a call for submission of papers to be considered for a themed women’s mental health issue in Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine. The aim of this issue is to showcase a wide-ranging view of not only the biological but the psychological and social factors affecting the mental health of women. We are soliciting original research, reviews of all types (e.g., narrative, systematic) and perspective papers.

The deadline for submissions is Friday, 17 October 2025.

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Rationale for the themed issue

The ‘Embedding Women’s Mental Health in Sharing the Vision’ (EWMH in StV) report, which was published in 2022, adopted a gender lens in Irish mental healthcare policy for the first time. The report focused on the following key areas:

1. A gender-aware service design and delivery
   • Championing gender-friendly service arrangements
   • Combining physical and mental health services to develop integrated models of care for women
   • Increasing awareness of the impact of sex and gender on mental health for women and girls across all healthcare settings
2. A trauma-aware culture embedded in the delivery of all clinical services
   • Provide basic mandatory training to all staff on being trauma aware
   • Invest in continuing education for all staff to embed inclusive practices and trauma aware care in the health system, including acute hospital settings
   • Provide training on domestic, sexual and gender based violence, including coercive control across all settings
3. Ensure specific services record and report on targeted improvements in how they cater for women and girls across the spectrum of service delivery
4. A data collection system capturing gender-specific and related information is required to ensure these developments can be measured and achieved

Many mental disorders affect women differently where services aren’t designed to meet their needs. The Department of Health Women’s Health Taskforce has previously focused on the eating disorder and Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Service models of care, however much work remains in other aspects in implementing comprehensive mental healthcare for women that address their specific needs. Examples include:

• Personality disorders, which are associated with high levels of distress, functional impairment and service utilisation by women
• Addiction issues where services are often designed for the needs of men
• First episode psychosis services, which can present much later in life in women and may need a tailored approach for the needs of women
• Neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder present differently in women and girls and this interacts in clinically meaningful ways with their mental health.

The life experiences of women also uniquely affect their mental health and how they access services, particularly in relation to trauma and for those with caring responsibilities. Intersectionality, where women are members of further marginalised groups, can compound these issues.

Suggested topics for the issue:

Topics can include, but are not limited to the following:

• The biopsychosocial gender differences in mental illness
  • Intersection of physical and mental health in disorders primarily affecting women; intersection of reproductive life stage on presentation, treatment and outcomes in mental illness.
  • Menstrual related mood disorders and perimenopausal depression/anxiety.
  • Psychosis in women
  • Mental health impact of chronic pain conditions which primarily affect women.
  • Functional neurological disorders in women; treatment and delivery of care in FND.
  • Neurodevelopmental disorders in women
  • Substance use disorders in women; meeting the needs of women in addiction services
  • Inflammation and interaction with hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis with respect to psychiatric and psychological symptoms
  • Studies focused on gender and sex disaggregated outcomes in mental illness
• Sex and gender bias in diagnosis, treatment and delivery of mental health care
  • Social, political, and economic barriers for women in accessing mental healthcare
  • Mental health service delivery to meet the specific needs of women and girls.
• Impact of trauma on mental health symptoms, treatment and outcomes; delivery of trauma informed care
• Mental health of marginalised women and intersectionality.
• Training of mental health professionals in gender awareness
• Gender balance in research and medical training as relevant to mental health
• Sex and gender in mental healthcare legislation and policy

Note on language:

As in the ‘EWMH in StV’ report, the use of the word “woman” is intended as shorthand to describe all those who identify as women as well as those that do not identify as women but who share women’s biological realities and experiences.

All manuscripts submitted undergo a rigorous peer review process before a decision is made about their acceptance for publication.

Please direct any questions to IJPM Editorial Administrator Ian Rice via email: irice@irishpsychiatry.ie

Please contact Dr Yvonne Hartnett for any queries you have about the suitability of manuscripts for this special issue via email: hartnety@tcd.ie