Anxiety Counselling in Dundrum

Anxiety affects both the mind and the body. It can fill your thoughts with worry, self-doubt, or “what if” scenarios, while at the same time triggering physical sensations such as a racing heart, tightness in the chest, shallow breathing, muscle tension, or a knot in the stomach.

These thoughts and bodily responses are closely connected—an anxious thought can activate the body’s stress response, and physical sensations can, in turn, fuel more anxious thoughts. Through anxiety counselling in Dundrum, Dublin 14 and Online we can work together to help you understand what’s happening and move towards lasting change.

My anxiety counselling isn’t about simply talking through your worries, although being heard matters more than people often expect.

Therapy helps you:

• Understand the root causes of your anxiety, rather than just managing the surface symptoms
• Recognise patterns of thinking that keep anxious feelings going
• Develop practical, realistic tools for calming your nervous system when you’re feeling anxious
• Build confidence in situations that currently feel overwhelming
• Create lasting change, not just temporary relief

• As a Hakomi Practitioner I bring a body-aware, mindfulness-informed element into sessions where it’s helpful. Anxiety often lives in the body as much as the mind, and clients frequently find this approach brings insight that talk therapy alone doesn’t reach.

Let’s take a moment to understand why your body becomes impacted by Anxiety…

It’s important to become familiar with your nervous system, which is your communication and protective system. It constantly scans your environment for signs of safety or danger and automatically responds to help and keep you safe.

When it senses a threat, it activates a survival response such as fight, flight or freeze preparing your body to react, often before you’re even consciously aware of it.

When we experience ongoing stress, trauma or repeated overwhelm our nervous system can become sensitive. It may react to situations that aren’t actually dangerous, leaving us feeling anxious even when we consciously know we are safe.

This explains why anxiety can be so much more than our thoughts, it can be intensely physical.

This is why Clodagh Monaghan can support you with anxiety counselling as she understands that anxiety can feel like it’s hijacked your body physically and mentally. Talking therapy and The Hakomi Method combined supports all aspects of anxiety This enables me, Clodagh Monaghan, to offer a holistic approach to supporting your anxiety.

Anxiety counselling is a supportive space where you can explore what anxiety looks like for you and how it shows up in your life right now. Understanding the reasons for this and learning how to manage it.

Clodagh Monaghan’s approach to therapy for anxiety looks at the full picture: your thoughts, your body’s responses, your history, and the situations that trigger stress. Sessions are collaborative — we work together at your pace, with no judgement and no pressure.

You don’t need a formal diagnosis to benefit from anxiety counselling. I work with people who are:

• Feeling anxious most days, even when there’s no obvious cause
• Struggling with panic attacks or physical symptoms of stress
• Facing anxiety linked to work, exams, health, or relationships
• Finding that worry is affecting sleep, concentration, or day-to-day decisions
• Looking for support during a difficult transition or period of uncertainty

Whether this is your first time in therapy or you’ve had counselling before, sessions are tailored to where you are right now.

I have been in practice for 19 years, working with clients across a wide range of concerns, with anxiety among the most common reasons people reach out. My training and experience include:

• BSc (Hons) in Counselling & Psychotherapy,2007
• Qualified Clinical Supervisor,2017
• Certified Hakomi Practitioner since 2022, a mindfulness-based, body-oriented approach that’s particularly effective for anxiety
• QQI Level 6 Accredited Train the Trainer 2016
• Lecturer/Group Clinical Supervisor for student therapists
• Continuous Professional Development workshops and trainings 

This depth of training means that when you attend anxiety counselling with me, you’re working with someone who has spent years refining an approach that actually works — one that respects both the mind and the body’s role in anxiety.