Katy completed her Professional Doctorate in Educational and Child Psychology at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick. Katy is committed to providing a child-centred and strengths-based approach that values the voice of the child. Katy has over fifteen years’ experience of working with children and families. She completed a Bachelor of Education degree and worked as a primary teacher for 12 years before starting her professional psychological training.

Katy also holds a Masters degree in Psychology from Manchester Metropolitan University and her research explored parental perspectives of inclusion for autistic children in school. She was the recipient of an INTO research bursary award for her doctoral research, which examined an attachment-based intervention for children with social-emotional needs in school. Katy is a passionate advocate of the benefits and value of a play-based approach and published a book for teachers, entitled ‘Playing for Learning’ on this topic in 2022. She enjoys using playful approaches as part of therapeutic and assessment work, where appropriate.

As part of her doctoral training, Katy completed professional placements across a range of services, including a Children’s Disability Network Team, HSE Primary Care Child Psychology Service and the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS). As such, Katy has supported children, teenagers and families with a variety of strengths and needs. She has experience of conducting cognitive, adaptive, attainment, play-based and diagnostic assessments, as well as psychometric screeners. Her therapeutic experience includes Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Compassion Focused Therapy, Narrative Therapy and Solution Focused therapy. She is also passionate about providing psychological information to young people and families to support self-awareness and understanding.