Kate Kearney


Kate Kearney  (Associate)

Cognitive Behavioural Therapist (CBPI)

Compassion Focused Therapist 

BA (Hons) Psych ,MSc OT, PgDip CBT, Pg Cert CFT

 

Background & Qualifications

Kate completed a BA in Psychology in 2001 at the National University of Ireland, Galway and went on to complete a Masters in Occupational Therapy at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh where she was awarded the Atholl Crescent Award in her final year. Always having a keen interest in mental health Kate returned to Galway where she spent time working in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) before joining Jigsaw Galway. In 2013 Kate completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy at Trinity College Dublin. She followed this in 2016 by completing a Post Graduate Certificate in Compassion Focused Therapy at Derby University where she studied directly under the founder of the therapy Dr Paul Gilbert and was supervised by Dr Michelle Cree.

Clinical Experience

Kate began her Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) experience working in CAMHS where she had a specific role working with adolescents suffering from a range of emotional and behavioural difficulties. From there she moved to Jigsaw Galway where she spend 7 years working therapeutically with young people aged 15-25 years in both individual and group settings. Kate has worked extensively with young people presenting with a broad range of difficulties including anxiety and mood disorders, relationship difficulties, trauma, grief, adjustment disorders, and issues with sexual identity. During this time Kate also designed and implemented an anxiety management group , presented on clinical topics to community network meetings and provided training on Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) for staff. Kate also worked with the NUIG counselling service for a number of years and supervised the running of Participate- a CBT social anxiety programme during this time.

In recent years Kate also completed supplementary training in Dialectical Behavioural Therapy Skills, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, Trauma and Embodied Attachment Skills, Deciders Skills, Brief Solution Focused Therapy, Shame, Polyvagal Theory and she is an Internal Family System informed therapist.

Areas of Specialism

Kate’s experience extends across a broad range of mental health difficulties, trauma and emotional distress. These include areas such as anxiety disorders (panic, phobias, health anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, generalised anxiety and OCD), low mood and depression, grief, sexual identity, low self-esteem, self-criticism, shame and adjustment difficulties. For the past few years at EBTC, Kate works with adults with this wide range of difficulties.

Therapeutic Approaches

Kate is passionate about empowering people to discover their own inner strength and unique story., Kate’s aim is to support each individual to gain insights that will enable them to develop coping strategies for managing emotional distress. This is achieved through a warm and compassionate therapeutic relationship – a non-judgmental safe and supportive environment, where individuals can grow through exploring their inner-self and bring about positive and lasting change in their lives.

Compassion lies at the heart of Kate’s approach and she draws from her extensive training using evidence-based theory and interventions to inform her practice and to ensure that she brings the highest standard of care to everyone that she meets. Kate is committed to empowering individuals to grow in self-compassion, compassion for others and through developing coping strategies for dealing with the challenges of life.

Affiliations

  • Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy Ireland (CBPI) – part of the Irish Council for Psychotherapy (ICP)
  • CORU Registered Occupational Therapist
  • Association of Occupational Therapists Ireland

Health Insurance

Kate is registered with the CBPI and the ICP and is therefore recognised by many of the health insurance companies in Ireland. However policies vary and it is important that you check your policy to see if you are entitled to claim for your therapy sessions.

Appointments

Kate offers appointments in EBTC on Mondays and Tuesdays. If you would like an appointment with Kate you can call the clinic on 091 727777 or get in touch via the contact page.