Ivan served in the National Health Service as a Clinical Psychologist working with children and adults with an intellectual disability for almost 40 years. Following his retirement, he completed a Master of Theology degree (QUB) at Belfast Bible College, on the history of intellectual disability and the Christian Church. His thesis compared the eugenics movements of the last century in the United Kingdom, America and Germany.
Within Tiō, Ivan teaches on the management of behavioural difficulties and on the implications for adults with an intellectual disability and their carers of the Mental Capacity Act (Northern Ireland) 2016. In his own church, he leads a Bible group for adults with intellectual disabilities. He is married to Barbara and they have two children and two grandchildren.