Ifigeneia Manitsa

Dr Ifigeneia Manitsa is a research fellow at the South-East European Research Centre (SEERC) as part of the EQUICARES Horizon Europe Project: Advancing Equitable Mental Healthcare. She is also a Research Fellow at the School of Education, University of Birmingham, where she joined the Department of Psychology in 2022 after completing her PhD in Psychology at Kingston University London. Additionally, she serves as a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Special Education at the University of Thessaly and as a Supervisor in the Department of Psychology at the University of York Europe Campus in Greece.
Beyond academia, Dr Manitsa is the founder of The Genius Fifi, an online platform that connects mental health professionals and educators with potential clients.
Her research focuses on educational inclusion, social-emotional development, and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), with a particular emphasis on sensory and vision impairments. She has led several funded research projects and has extensive teaching experience across multiple UK universities.
Dr Manitsa has presented her work at numerous national and international conferences and has published in several high-impact, peer-reviewed journals in the fields of psychology, education, and special educational needs.

• Social and emotional development
• Educational inclusion
• Mental health
• Educational interventions
• Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
• Vision impairment
• Sensory impairment

ORCID profile: Research, scholarship, and innovation activities

Back, E., Main, E., Schur, P., Manitsa, I., Clifford, K., Barlow-Brown, F., Parchment, S., & Spurin, H (accepted). The benefits of an Autism Peer Network in Higher Education. Neurodiversity.

Manitsa, I., Livanou, M., Burnett Heyes, S., Barlow-Brown, F., Gardia, N., Siegfried, O., Clarke, Z.*, Coelho, H.*, & De Caro, A. (2024). The development of Vi-Connect: An educational game for the social inclusion at school of students with vision impairment. PLOS ONE. 19(12), e0306805. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0306805 *authors contributed equally

Livanou, M., Manitsa, I., Hulusic, V., Samara, M., Bull, M., & De Caro, A. (accepted). The development of ReGoal, a serious mobile game for young people 11-16 years with conduct problems. Behaviour & Information Technology.

Manitsa, I., & Barlow-Brown, F. (2024). Exploring the “interactive” hypothesis in adolescents with vision impairment: The relationship between school belonging and self-esteem. Psychology, 29(2), 79-104. https://doi.org/10.12681/psy_hps.36495

Manitsa, I., Gregory, A., Broome, M., Marwaha, S., Bagshaw, A., & Morales-Munoz, I. (accepted). Shorter night-time sleep duration and later sleep timing from infancy to and adolescence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.14004

Day, Ed., Manitsa, I., Farley, A., & Kelly, J. (2024). The UK National Recovery Survey: nationally representative survey of people overcoming a drug or alcohol problem. BJPsych Open. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2023.654

Manitsa, I. (2023). Conceptualising social inclusion and examining its relationship with social competence. British Journal of Visual Impairment. https://doi.org/10.1177/02646196231212744

Heneghan, A., Manitsa, I., Livanou, M., & Treasure, J. (2023). The perceived experiences of having a sibling with an eating disorder: A systematic review of the literature. European Eating Disorders Review. https://doi.org/10.1002/erv.3051

Day, Ed., Manitsa, I., Farley, A., & Kelly, J. (2023). A UK national study of prevalence and correlates of adopting or not adopting a recovery identity among individuals who have overcome a drug or alcohol problem. BMC Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention & Policy. https://rdcu.be/droEY

Manitsa, I., Barlow-Brown, F., & Livanou, M. (2023). Evaluating the role of social inclusion in the self-esteem and academic inclusion of adolescents with vision impairment. British Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 42(3), 735-753. https://doi.org/10.1177/02646196231183888

Livanou, M., Bull, M.*, Manitsa, I.*, Hunt, J., Lane, R., & Heneghan, A. (2023). Coproducing a complex psychosocial intervention during Covid-19 with young people transitioning from adolescent secure hospitals to adult services in England: moving Forward intervention (Mfi). Child and Adolescent Mental Health. *Second authorship; authors contributed equally.

Manitsa, I., & Barlow-Brown, F. (2022). The role of habilitation services in the lives of children and adolescents with visual impairments. British Journal of Visual Impairment, 42(2), 445-455. https://doi.org/10.1177/02646196221144870

Montague, A., Manitsa, I., & Barlow-Brown, F. (2022). A qualitative insight into factors pertaining to alcohol consumption among young adult women during the COVID-19 outbreak. Emerging Adulthood, 10(2), 511-518. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F21676968211067327

Manitsa, I., & Doikou, M. (2020). Social support for students with visual impairments in educational institutions: An integrative literature review. British Journal of Visual Impairment, 40(1), 29-47. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0264619620941885

Manitsa, I., Barlow-Brown, F., & Lyons, E. (2019). Self-concept of adolescents with visual impairments. British Journal of Visual Impairment, 38(2), 160-167. https://doi.org/10.1177/0264619619883900​