Services
Individual Therapy
Initial Intake Assessment
Stephen first meets with the child’s caregivers for an Initial Intake Assessment. This is a virtual consultation taking the form of a clinical interview, to assess the child’s support needs and consider goals for therapy. Where it is determined based on the assessment that there is a clinical indication for interventions, Stephen will assist the family in developing a care plan that is child-centred and in line with the child’s therapy goals.
Modes of therapy
Child therapy is delivered one-to-one with the therapist, either in-person at Stephen’s practice in Dun Laoghaire, or virtually. Certain types of therapy require in-person sessions. This will be discussed when developing the child’s care plan. Children will attend their sessions without the caregiver present. This supports the development of a therapeutic alliance and assists in fostering psychological and emotional safety, which are foundational to clinical progress.
Modalities of therapy
Individual therapy sessions look different for each child, depending on the child’s support needs and goals. Stephen uses different therapeutic modalities and approaches, such as:
- Sensory-based interventions: The child is offered opportunity to engage in sensory-based activities, for example movement or deep-pressure interventions, to support sensory and emotional regulation and nervous system safety.
- EMDR Therapy (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing Therapy): This is a specific therapy to support processing traumatic and distressing memories.
- Mental Health Psychotherapy: Sessions will support the child to identify belief systems or thinking styles that may be perpetuating daily challenges, and learn coping skills and regulation strategies to assist improved emotional regulation and self-esteem.
- Neurodiversity-affirmative therapy: Therapy sessions can focus on helping a child to understand a recent identification of Autism, ADHD, Dyspraxia etc., with a deep respect for the neurodivergent experience. Sessions can assist the child in learning strategies to overcome daily challenges while respecting their unique sensory, social, emotional and cognitive style.
- Identity exploration: Adolescents are offered a safe therapy space to explore their developing values and identity. A safe, supportive, confidential, and affirming space is offered to young people who are beginning to understand their gender identity or sexual orientation.
- Humanistic Counselling: Children are offered a safe counselling space where the therapist offers empathy and unconditional positive regard, assisting the child to remember their unique value and inherent worth and develop increased self-esteem.
- Sandtray Therapy: This is a non-directive intervention where the child is supported to process internal conflicts and/or trauma through the placement of miniatures in a sand tray. This sensory-based, play-based intervention supports children to process emotions at a safe psychological distance, and is particularly effective for younger children who may find more traditional therapy or counselling challenging.
Parent/Caregiver Coaching
This service involves caregiver-only consultations, where Stephen provides tailored advice and guidance on how to tailor parenting approaches and adapt environments to align with the child’s needs. This can be a helpful support for families where a child may not be ready to attend individual therapy, or perhaps where the support is needed for parent approaches or as a family-wide system. Areas of focus within coaching include:
- Emotional co-regulation: Developing skills, strategies and approaches to support a child with emotional distress and meltdowns.
- Sensory differences: Helping parents to learn about their child's sensory processing needs and how to build supportive sensory routines and environments.
- School Accommodations: Stephen will work with parents to identify what supports may be helpful in the school setting. Stephen can offer consult to the child's school to support implementation of recommended accommodations.
