Heal, Understand, Reclaim

Childhood trauma can leave a deep and lasting impact on how we see ourselves, how we relate to others, and how safe we feel in the world. In our psychotherapy practice in Ireland, we support individuals in exploring how early life experiences - including both what happened and what didn’t happen - continue to shape their adult lives.

Childhood trauma isn’t just about physical or emotional harm. Often, it involves the absence of essential needs: love, safety, attunement, and validation. As renowned trauma expert Dr. Gabor Maté explains, “Trauma is not what happens to you. Trauma is what happens inside you as a result of what happens to you.” This can include emotional neglect, lack of protection, or having to cope with overwhelming emotions alone.

In our work with clients across Ireland, we help make sense of confusing or painful patterns that often stem from unresolved childhood trauma — such as people-pleasing, emotional numbness, chronic self-doubt, difficulty trusting others, or a persistent sense of not being “enough.” These aren’t personal flaws - they’re survival strategies. Adaptive responses developed in childhood to cope with environments that were unsafe, invalidating, or unpredictable.

Using a trauma-informed and attachment-based approach, we explore how early relationships with caregivers shaped your sense of self and expectations around love, safety, and connection. We also gently examine the protective behaviours that once served you, but may now feel limiting or destructive.

We incorporate the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) framework to better understand how early trauma - including abuse, neglect, loss, separation, exposure to violence, or having a caregiver with mental health or addiction issues - can affect emotional well-being, relationships, and the nervous system. Recognising these patterns helps to reduce shame and build clarity, reminding you that your reactions are not signs of weakness, but understandable responses to difficult beginnings.

Our therapy for childhood trauma in Ireland offers a safe, compassionate space to reconnect with the parts of yourself that still carry unmet needs or unspoken grief. Through inner child work, nervous system regulation, psychoeducation, and attachment-focused therapy, we support your journey toward healing, resilience, and emotional reconnection.

This work is not about blame. It’s about understanding your story, healing the wounds of the past, and reclaiming your voice and vitality. You are not broken — you adapted. And together, we can begin to move from surviving to truly living — with greater freedom, self-trust, and connection.