After ten years training and working in London, I have returned home to Dublin in recent years. I am currently working as a senior clinical psychologist in a paediatric community service in Dublin alongside independent practice in the UK. I also work as a media welfare consultant, providing psychological support to young performers working in the West End and touring productions and offering consultation and assessment for potential contributors to a range of television programmes.

I began my career as an Assistant Psychologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London before completing my Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Surrey. Since qualifying, I have worked predominantly with children, young people and families across a range of specialist child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) within the NHS, including a neurodevelopmental and learning disability service and a youth offending team. I subsequently worked at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children within their neurodevelopmental clinics before returning to Ireland to work in paediatric primary care within the HSE.

My clinical work has involved supporting children, young people and families experiencing a wide range of psychological and emotional difficulties, including anxiety, low mood, emotional and behavioural difficulties, adjustment to physical illness and significant life transitions. I have a particular interest in neurodiversity and autism, understanding and responding to big feelings and behaviours that cause concern, and supporting young people who experience difficulties engaging with education. I am also interested in the transitions that children and young people navigate, including changes in school, adolescence, illness and changes within family and social relationships. My clinical approach draws on a range of psychological models and theories, including CBT, ACT, attachment, narrative and systemic approaches.

Alongside my clinical work, I have developed experience in psychological consultation within the arts and media. My work with children and young people in the West End and touring productions involves considering psychological wellbeing within the particular demands of professional performance environments, as well as providing guidance to production teams and parents to support young people with any difficulties that arise. I am involved in psychological assessment and screening for both young people and adults contributing to a range of television productions.

Across these different areas of work, I aim to understand children, young people and adults within the broader contexts of their families, relationships, occupations and wider environments. I work collaboratively to understand people’s experiences and identify helpful ways to move forward.