About Dr Colm

I am a Chartered Counselling Psychologist currently working with adults and adolescents in private practice.

I have previously worked with adults, adolescents, and children in both HSE Primary Care services and the HSE National Counselling Service, and I spent almost two years working with individuals and groups within the Irish Prison Service across two different prisons.

I completed the Doctorate in Counselling Psychology in Trinity College Dublin after being awarded the Masters in Applied Psychology in University College Cork, and the Higher Diploma in Psychology in Dublin Business School. I also completed the Certificate in Counselling Skills through PCI College.

On my journey to psychology, I worked in hostels and on the streets supporting those experiencing homelessness. I also facilitated support groups for OCD Ireland for people experiencing OCD, and their families and carers. Before embarking on a career in psychology, I completed the BA (Hons) Degree in Journalism & Visual Media from Griffith College Dublin and worked as a journalist and in digital marketing and advertising for a number of years.

However, I was drawn to psychology through my own positive and life-changing experiences as a client, and a desire to help others who experience challenges in life and psychological pain.

Through my experiences with clients over the years, I believe that almost everybody can make significant positive changes to their life if they choose to finally confront their emotional pain and process it through psychotherapy.

My mission is to accompany those who are ready to undertake that frightening but hopeful journey, and shine a light for them so that they can reclaim their life and enjoy it again.

I have worked with clients across the entire lifespan, with children as young as 5 to adults in their eighties and everyone in between. I have worked with men, women, and non-binary clients and clients from a wide variety of social, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds.

Through the years, clients have come to me with issues including long-standing anxiety and depression, and high levels of childhood trauma (including physical and sexual abuse). I have worked with clients going through bereavement and relationship issues, chronic health conditions, and coming to terms with their sexuality. I have also worked with clients who have struggled to control their emotions, including those within the justice system, and with perpetrators of physical and sexual violence, and other criminal offences.

I see each client as a unique human being worthy of care, understanding, and acceptance. As such, I try to provide each client with a customised and tailored therapeutic approach and relationship style which is designed to address their specific issue(s) while respecting their history and journey to the present moment.

I use several types of therapy which include Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Psychodynamic Therapy, and Person-Centred Therapy.
However, I often utilise EFT in my work for several reasons. First, it has been extensively researched and used with many types of client groups who are dealing with many types of mental health issue or distress. Second, I carried out my doctoral research into EFT, which was then published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy in 2022, and have since completed additional training in EFT in both 2023 and 2024.

My aim is that my clients have a therapeutic experience which feels safe, trusting, and real and within which they can start to shine a light and unearth the issues causing them pain.
Through this, my goal is that my clients can process this pain and emerge from our therapy with a bigger, fuller, and more fulfilling life to live.

Doctorate in Counselling Psychology (Trinity College Dublin)
Masters in Applied Psychology (University College Cork)
Higher Diploma in Arts in Psychology (Dublin Business School)
BA (Hons) in Journalism & Visual Media (Griffith College Dublin)

Assessment

• ADOS-2

• ADI-R

• MIGDAS-2 (Verbally Fluent administration)

Therapy

• Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) Level 1 & 2

• Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)