Josephine has an M.A. Family Support, Post Grad. Dip. Family Psychotherapy, and a Post Grad. Dip. Personnel Mgt. Her skilled competence as a psychotherapist includes twenty years’ experience working in a wide variety of mental health issues with individuals, couples and families. A large part of her work involves mindfulness, the significance of attachment and relationships, and CBT. Josephine, originally from Co. Tipperary, is an accredited and founding member of PAP (Pancyprian Association for Psychotherapists), an accredited member with FTAI, ICP and ECP (European Certificate for Psychotherapy).
She has a background in Personnel and Human Resource Management, along with Youth Work and Specific Learning Difficulties with young people and adults. It was during her time spent working in Scotland as a youth worker assisting young people in their struggles with drugs and other addictions, that she made the decision to return to Ireland and pursue her career as a family therapist. She also completed training in coaching skills and works on various programs for men, women and parents, along with providing support for young people (both 1:1 and group work).
While Josephine has worked in Ireland and Scotland, she is currently based in Cyprus. She believes strongly in making a compassionate connection with all clients that she has the honour to work with. Her professional experience includes the following:
- parent-child/parent-teenager difficulties,
- couple/marital problems,
- suicide ideation,
- exam related stress,
- teacher-student-parent relationships,
- emotional disorders mainly relating to anxiety issues,
- various forms of depression including post natal etc.;
- grief and infant loss.
Among Josephine’s competencies is the provision of family support using a variety of psychological methods and skills in an effort to alleviate personal suffering and to encourage growth and change. Her approach and work springs from an ethos of wellbeing in relationships, essential for the security of children, families and communities. In her private practice she provides both face to face and online therapy with individuals, couples and families.
Family Therapy:
Josephines core training has been in systemic family therapy. Consequently, her expertise is in this area, but also includes assisting various family categories, as well as blended families, to relate, communicate and find solutions to life’s challenges.
Parenting:
Josephine provides support for parents in the form of therapy and parenting programmes/support. This includes solution focused therapy with parent-child, parent-teacher issues. Her thesis was on co-parenting with the need to have both parents involved in a child’s life where possible with shared decision-making.
Relationships:
As a systemic family therapist/psychotherapist, Josephine's interest includes an exploration of the role each member plays in order to maintain a healthy and functional relationship. Her work springs from an ethos of wellbeing in relationships and the paramount importance of children’s security, their family and community environments.
Grief and infant loss:
Josephine's skills include embarking on a healing journey with those who experience loss, e.g. loss of a spouse, sibling, parental and child loss, loss of an infant through miscarriage as well as the failed attempts with fertility treatments. Losses of a limb, memory, or loss of a family pet are all losses.
Couples Therapy/Marital issues:
Now more than ever there are more pressures facing a variety of couple types, financially, emotionally, sexually, geographically and culturally. Josephine works with the uniqueness of each couple at their pace and provide some practical tools and facilitate their willingness to work together.
Anxiety/Stress:
Anxiety and stress trigger most illnesses. Josephine's work enables clients to listen to their bodies, learn new skills such as mindfulness, relaxation techniques and understanding attachment styles etc. This approach calms the body’s and brain’s alertness to possible danger.
Depression:
Josephine works with clients who experience depression because of stressful life events, medical problems and abuse including suicide ideation, or who have had a formal diagnosis from their psychiatrist. Her conversations during therapy sessions support, encourage and assist them to journey towards a full life.
Abuse:
Josephine works with families and individuals around domestic violence and how to recognise it, stay safe and find support services. She also works with people experiencing abuse of power and control in the workplace or elsewhere, and empower them to re-gain self-confidence and self-esteem.
