About Cork CBT

Accredited CBT Therapist | Cork

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Professional Journey

Early Career (1985-1994)

Coming from a farming background in Cobh, I made the decision to join the Irish Navy straight after completing my Leaving Certificate in 1985. Nearly a decade later, during the mid-1990s, my career took an interesting turn while I was working in the Navy’s HR Department. It was during this time that I received an invitation to become involved in an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), an initiative that was still in its early developmental stages at that point.

Education & Training (1994-2008)

Honours Degree in Counselling (CIT, 1994-2000)

Diploma in Addiction Studies (Arbour House, 2004)

Masters in CBT (UCC, 2008)

Diploma as Stress Management Instructor (2008)

Career (2010 – Today)

In 2010, I stepped away from military life as an accredited Cognitive Behavioural Therapist to establish myself in private practice.
At the same time, I was invited to join what is now Munster Technological University (MTU), becoming the first CBT therapist appointed to the Student Counselling Department. That dual track, private practice alongside institutional work, has shaped how I think and work to this day.
In 2016, I became the resident and first therapist at the National Maritime College of Ireland. Since then, I have developed and piloted a range of mental health initiatives tailored to life at sea, including programmes addressing stress management, bullying, and sexual violence in maritime settings. This work sits at the intersection of psychology, culture, and systems, not just individual distress.
Alongside this, my private practice increasingly brought me into contact with people who were highly capable, motivated, and outwardly functioning well, yet quietly struggling with anxiety and relentless self-criticism. That clinical reality led me to train in Compassion Focused Therapy, which now forms a core part of how I help clients develop a steadier, less hostile relationship with their own minds.
In short, my work is grounded, direct, and shaped by real environments where mental health is not a luxury

Expertise & Accreditations

CBT Expertise

  • Fully accredited with BABCP
  • Previously Accredited with CBTI
  • 16+ years Naval Service experience (1994-2010)
  • EAP specialist

Compassion Focused Thearpy

  • Dealing with Self Criticism and perfectionism

Young People

  • Extensive experience with youth
  • Third-level institution specialist
  • Student counselling expert

Current Practice

  • Private Practice (2010-Present): Full-time CBT practice in,

  • NMCI (2015-Present): Resident Therapist

  • Supervision Roles: Trinity College CBT panel (4+ years)

  • UCC Post Graduate Diploma external supervisor (2014)

Publications & Media

A Brief Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Alcohol Intervention Programme…” Published: Journal of Military Medicine, November 2010

A Brief Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Alcohol Intervention Programme is an Effective Secondary Prevention Approach For New Employees Entering an Irish Workforce

Media Appearances

  • UCC Radio – The Health Zone (CBT discussion)
  • Cork Echo: “Therapist warns of Covid-19 impact on OCD sufferers”
  • Cork Echo: “‘OCD robs you of the joy of living’: Cork counsellor on the debilitating condition”