Trauma Counselling in Dundrum

Trauma can affect people in different ways, and symptoms don’t always appear immediately. Common signs of emotional and psychological trauma include:

• Flashbacks, intrusive memories, or nightmares related to a difficult experience
• Feeling constantly on edge, easily startled, or hypervigilant
• Emotional numbness, or feeling disconnected from yourself and others
• Avoiding people, places, or situations that bring back difficult memories
• Difficulty trusting others, or feeling unsafe even in ordinary situations
• Sleep disturbances, low mood, anxiety, or unexplained physical tension
• Shame, guilt, or self-blame connected to what happened
• Your individual symptoms 
• If several of these feel familiar, trauma therapy in Dublin 14 (Dundrum) and online can help you understand what’s happening and begin to work through it safely.

In my experience, trauma comes in many shapes and sizes. Clients are often surprised when I describe what they have been through as trauma.

Trauma is often thought of as experiences such as sexual abuse, severe accidents, or other life-threatening events. These experiences are indeed traumatic, but trauma can also arise from experiences that may seem less obvious or significant.

It is important not to dismiss these experiences with thoughts such as “it wasn’t that bad” or “it could have been worse.” What matters is the impact an experience has had on you, not how it compares to someone else’s experience.

Struggling with emotional or psychological trauma? Working with Clodagh, based in Dundrum, Dublin 14 and online offers a safe and supportive space to process, heal, and move forward — both online and in person.

I have been in practice for 19 years, supporting clients through a wide range of trauma-related difficulties.

• Living with the effects of a specific traumatic event
• Carrying the effects of childhood trauma, neglect, or difficult family relationships
• Struggling with symptoms like anxiety, flashbacks, or emotional numbness that don’t seem to ease on their own
• Finding that past experiences are affecting your current relationships or day-to-day life
• Looking for a safe, professional space to process emotional and psychological trauma for the first time

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

My approach is informed by both my clinical experience with clients and also my work as a Supervisor, where I support therapists and supervisors who work with trauma on a daily basis. This has given me a deep and ongoing engagement with the complexities of trauma, including the ways it can affect the body, relationships, emotions, sense of self and capacity to feel safe.

As a Somatic Psychotherapist I also pay particular attention to what happens in the body. Trauma is not always experienced simply as a story we can tell or make sense of cognitively; it can be held and expressed through the nervous system, sensations, patterns of protection and ways of relating.

Working somatically can offer another way of gently approaching these experiences, at a pace that respects each person’s individual capacity and circumstances.

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 trauma
• QQI Level 6 Accredited Train the Trainer 2016
• Lecturer/Group Clinical Supervisor for student therapists
• Continuous Professional Development trainings and workshops
• 2000 – 2002 Dublin Rape Crisis Centre Helpline Volunteer