Tessa, Author at TESSA

6th July 20234th February 2025

Dr Kerry Sweeney

TESSA Therapist

Service Provided
Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP)

Qualifications
BSc (Hons), DClinPsy, CPsychol

Biography
Kerry has worked for twenty years in the NHS as a Clinical Psychologist with Children, Adolescents & Families, nearly thirteen of which have been as a Consultant Clinical Psychologist/Lead for Therapeutic Services for Looked After & Adopted Children who have experienced developmental trauma and neglect. As well as assessment, consultations throughout the network and training, Kerry directly provided therapeutic support to enable children to begin to recover from their earlier life experiences using a range direct therapeutic approaches to children and their caregivers such as, Theraplay, Systemic/Narrative approaches, EMDR, other Trauma based models. However Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy has been the most influential model in her career and she became a Certified DDP Practitioner in 2015. DDP has been so central throughout her practice influencing the system, therapeutic parenting and DDP therapy with children and young people.

What is DDP?

DDP was developed by Dan Hughes a Clinical Psychologist in America back in the 1990’s as he could see how anxious children who had experienced developmental trauma were of connecting with new caregivers, who just wanted to love them. DDP has evolved driven by the desire to connect, understand and help and has been adopted and developed further by a number of Psychologists and Therapists in the UK. It has evolved into three areas.

DDP Practice- with professionals and caregivers throughout social care and care giving networks
DDP Parenting (see below)
DDP Psychotherapy (see below)

DDP Therapeutic Parenting

Therapeutic parenting can be provided to parents to explore the impact of developmental trauma that leads to the children needing a different parenting approach involving PACE (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity & Empathy). During the therapeutic parenting support, we will explore the meaning behind some of the key concepts such as developmental trauma & brain development, understanding attachment & survival strategies including blocked trust/fear of relationships.

We will consider the different elements of PACE and how they work together to create a parenting attitude. We will think about parenting principles to enable parenting children with insecure attachments. DDP Therapeutic Parenting is provided before inviting the child to DDP sessions and at points throughout the therapy with the child too.

DDP Psychotherapy

DDP Psychotherapy provides a direct therapeutic environment where relational experiences, which were lacking before can be safely experienced. These safe relational experiences are critical for a child’s neuropsychological and relational development.

Through the therapeutic relationships in DDP the child can be enabled to identify, regulate and express emotional states, seek comfort and engage in relational repair. All DDP Psychotherapy is provided with the caregiver present to enable relational safety to develop.

Please Book for DDP Support through:

Contact kingsbridgeprivatehospital.com

Text BOOK to 66777 (*10% off Adoption UK/Tessa members)

Please contact TESSA

6th July 20234th March 2025

Siobhan Wilson-McGlinchey

TESSA Therapist

Location
Limavady, Co Derry

Service provided
Creative Psychotherapy

I am registered/accredited with:
Fully accredited MBACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy)
MIAPTP (Irish Association for Play Therapy and Psychotherapy)

Additional information
Siobhan is a qualified Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, Humanistic Integrative Counsellor, Play Therapist, and clinical supervisor she is known in her work as The Creative Psychotherapist. She has over sixteen years’ experience working with a diverse range of clients, including children as young as three, adults, families, young people, community & corporate organisations and mental health professionals. She specialises in Early Developmental Trauma, working with parents, professionals and children through the healing powers of creativity and play.

Siobhan is especially passionate about working with adopted children and their parents. She has been part of the TESSA (Family Routes) team for quite a few years now.

Within her practice as a Creative Psychotherapist and Facilitator, Siobhan believes that each client is unique and individual and that not one model fits all.

On the basis of Siobhan’s own life journey, and many years of experience working with her clients and developing many training programs, she has developed an integrative model which she believes to be of great support in the healing and processing of stored stress and trauma held within our body and mind.

Siobhan’s modality is the integration of creativity, embodiment, talking therapy, play and neuroscience education. Siobhan believes this approach to be an essential part of the therapeutic process.

Alongside one-to-one sessions, Siobhan has developed and facilitated many programmes, including The Healing Powers of Play, Mindfulness & Your Nervous System, Body, Mind & Bump Connection, Surfing the Waves, Nourish to Flourish, and Reflective Practice Groups, to name a few.

Qualifications
MA Creative Psychotherapy (Humanistic and Integrative modality)
Diploma in Creative Supervision
Postgraduate Diploma in Play Therapy
Diploma HE in Counselling
AMBACP, MIAPTP

What I can Help you with:
Birth and Developmental trauma, Attachment, Trauma, Addiction, Bereavement & Loss, Adoption, Fostering, Anxiety, Depression, Post-traumatic stress, personal development, Child related issues, Eating disorders, OCD, Spirituality and Stress

Types of therapy
Creative Psychotherapy, Humanistic Integrative counselling, Person centred, Play therapy,

Clients and organisations I work with:
Adults, Families, Young people, Children
Groups, Community Organisations, Education Authority, Western Health and Social Care, Doctors surgeries etc..

How I deliver therapy
Long-term face-to-face work, online counselling, Short-term face-to-face work, groupwork.

Contact information: please contact TESSA.

6th July 20234th February 2025

Sinead Corey

TESSA Therapist

Service provided
Accredited Play Therapist

Biography
Sinead Corey is an Accredited Play Therapist and a Teacher in a Nurture Room setting. She has over twenty -three years’ experience in a primary school, where her roles include:

Nurture Teacher
Lego® Based Therapist
Head of Nurture
Head of Foundation Stage
Teacher Mentor and she is a member of the Multi-Disciplinary Pastoral Team.
Mental Health First Aider.
Delivering ‘Theraplay® Informed Practice’ to groups of young children.

Throughout her career, she has specialised in supporting children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. Sinead works within a Nurture Room environment, where, in 2016 she was instrumental in gaining ‘The Majority Boxall Quality Mark Award’ for Nurture provision within her setting.

Sinead has experience in supporting children with Attachment Type Difficulties, Selective Mutism, and children diagnosed with ASD and ADHD. She has supported children experiencing isolation and bullying and has supported children to build resilience and develop social skills with their peers. Sinead has extensive knowledge of working with individuals and with small groups of children/young people and their parents.

As an Accredited Play Therapist, Sinead has worked therapeutically with children experiencing emotional difficulties in a range of areas, such as, anger management, anxiety, school refusal, low self-esteem, peer group difficulties, family separation, domestic violence and bereavement and also with children experiencing Secondary PTSD. Sinead is experienced with working with children who are fostered or adopted and is trained in Trauma Informed Practice.

Sinead has a particular interest in supporting children presenting with symptoms of anxiety and she aims to provide a safe, secure environment, where children can process their emotions within a caring therapeutic relationship. Sinead appreciates the importance of liaising closely with parents/guardians to nurture their child’s wellbeing. Sinead uses Psychoeducation to empower parents/guardians by involving them in the Therapy process in order to build skills to further support their children/young people.

Sinead belongs to the PTUK membership body and adheres to their strict codes of practice including regular Clinical Supervision sessions, continuing professional development and clinical governance. Sinead is a member of PTUK Accredited register which is regulated by Professional Standards Agency (PSA) and monitors the standards and safety in Play Therapy.

Sinead holds an Enhanced Access NI Certificate and regularly attends Child Protection and Safe-Guarding training.

Contact information: please contact TESSA.

6th July 20234th February 2025

Selina Turkington

Location
Holywood Exchange, East Belfast

I am registered/accredited with
BACP (Registered Accredited Member); Reg. Member of the Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC).

Code of ethics observed
I abide by BACP code of ethics. I also abide by NISCC code of ethics as a Social Worker.

Qualifications
Diploma in Integrative Counselling (Person-centred & Psychodynamic); Diploma in CBT Skills & Theory; PG Diploma in Practitioner Skills for Eating Disorders.

Social Work Qualifications
BA (Hons) Social Work; Post-qualification Award in Social Work; Advanced Award in Social Work (Competencies 1, 3 & 5); An Introduction to Research Methods & Quality Assurance in the Health & Social Sciences

Publication
Post-adoption Face-to-Face Contact with Birth Parents: Prospective Adopters’ Views, Turkington, S & Taylor, BJ, Child Care in Practice Vol 15 Number 1 January 2009.

Special interest/experience
Integrative Counselling Practice, Attachment issues, Childhood trauma/abuse, Relationship difficulties, Mindfulness Practice.

Additional information
I have over 20 years’ experience working in the statutory, independent and voluntary sectors as a social worker specialising in fostering and adoption and more recently as a counsellor in private practice. I currently work as a self-employed counsellor, part-time lecturer in counselling and I am a self-employed social worker speciaIising in adoption.

My theoretical approach
Integrative counselling (person-centred and psychodynamic).

I see: individuals, couples.

6th July 20234th February 2025

Sara Tibbs

Location
Holywood & Belfast

I am registered/accredited with
BACP

Code of ethics observed
BACP Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling

Qualifications
Diploma in Person-Centred Counselling (QUB)
PhD English
MA Sociology

Special interest/experience
Adoption and Fostering
Family Support and Challenging behaviour
Attachment and developmental trauma in adoption
LGBTQIA+ issues
Neurodiversity (particularly ADHD and Autism)

Additional information
I am an adoptive parent. I have worked in the area of parent support for many years, focusing particularly on challenging behaviour and the parent/child relationship. I also work with university students, providing mentoring for students with Autism. My initial training was in person-centred counselling.

In recent years I have undertaken training in fostering and adoption, developmental trauma, attachment issues, suicide and self-harm, parent-to-child violence, secondary trauma, suicide prevention and safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. I bring to my counselling practice a professional and personal understanding of the challenges of adoption, as well as its rewards.

I have experience of the Statementing process for children with additional support needs and of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in Northern Ireland. I was commissioned by the TESSA Project to write the ‘Love and Rage’ support programme programme for adoptive parents of children with challenging behaviour.

In addition to my work at the TESSA Project I am a sessional counsellor for the Rainbow Project, working with LGBTQIA+ people and people who are questioning their gender identity or sexual orientation. In addition to my sessional work with charities, I have a small private practice.

6th July 20234th February 2025

Heather Low

TESSA Counsellor

Location
Greater Belfast

I am registered/accredited with
BACP Accredited

Code of ethics observed
BACP

Qualifications
MSc in Counselling and Supervision
Certificate in Counselling Skills
Transactional Analysis Certificate
Solution Focused Brief Therapy Certificate
CPCPAG Level 5 Relationship Therapy (Relate trained)

Special interest/experience
Anxiety and Stress Management, Communication in relationships, Trauma, family systems and Attachments, Grief and Loss, Stress and Anxiety, Self-care.

Additional information
I have been practising as a counsellor and Supervisor for 18 years. I have worked for over 30 years in the community/voluntary sector with individuals, families and more recently couples. Working with issues such as Domestic violence, sexual abuse, emotional abuse.

I also have 15 years’ experience working in the field of pregnancy, birth trauma, post-pregnancy related issues, bereavement, post-natal depression and anxiety.

In my current post I coordinate a counseling service and provide supervision and training for counsellors. I worked for five years with parents in community-based settings, supporting them to develop ways to communicate with their children and engage in difficult conversations. Part of this work was with foster parents.

I have also worked with birth and adoptive families at different stages of the adoption process. I have a good sense of how complex things can be and why it is so important that everyone involved receives the support they need when they need it.

I have my own practice room in North Belfast with availability daytime and evenings. My room is within a shared building, and is accessible on the ground floor. Free parking is available on site.

My theoretical approach
I work with clients in an integrative way. While I hold Rogerian principals my work is underpinned by systems and attachment theories. I also use the Transactional Analysis model of communication.

I see: Individuals and Couples

Willing to travel: Yes

6th July 20234th February 2025

Lynne Heber

TESSA Counsellor

Location
Newtownabbey

I am registered/accredited with
Registered Member of BACP

Code of ethics observed
BACP and Association of Christian Counsellors

Qualifications
Diploma in Counselling & Psychotherapy
Advanced Certificate in Counselling & Pastoral Care
Certificate in Listening Skills + Tutor Training
QUB Certificate in Social Welfare Studies
(I am a Registered Member of BACP & observe their code of ethics)

Special interest/experience
Adoption, Relationship Counselling, Depression, Bereavement, Anxiety & low self esteem.

Additional information
I am a mother of three children & stepmother to a child with ADHD & learning difficulties. I work in private practice by way of Zoom and face to face. My journey into counselling has grown out of my own personal experience of therapy and the difference it has made to my life.

Most of us at some time or another can feel overwhelmed by life’s challenges, which can leave us feeling helpless & alone. I believe that counselling can offer a safe & confidential space, which gives us the opportunity to explore our thoughts & feelings. When we are given a sense of being listened to & deeply understood we can then begin to resolve the issues that prevent us from moving forward. I work primarily from a Person-Centred base which is respectful & non-judgemental, drawing on a variety of therapeutic interventions as necessary.

My theoretical approach
I work primarily from a Person Centred base which is respectful and non-judgemental , and draw on a variety of therapeutic interventions as necessary.

I see: Individuals, Couples

Willing to travel? Yes

6th July 20234th February 2025

Catherine Gilligan

TESSA Counsellor

Location
Online

I am registered/accredited with:
IACP and IAHIP.

Code of ethics observed
IACP and IAHIP codes of ethics for good practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy.

Qualifications
Post Graduate Diploma in Supervision
Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy
Certificate in Solution Focused Counselling
Diploma in CBT
Post Graduate Diploma in Special Education
B. Ed Degree

Special interest/experience
Attachment Issues, Adoption, Shock and Trauma, Relationships.

Additional information
I have a particular interest in adoption. I aim to build a trusting therapeutic relationship with people and provide a private, confidential, and safe online therapeutic space in which we can work through the issues people bring to therapy. I have family experience of adoption, as adoptive mother to two grown up daughters.

I see: Individuals, couples, and families

6th July 20234th February 2025

Louise Faulkner

TESSA Therapist

Location
Northern Ireland – Ireland

I am registered/accredited with:
DDP Connects UK
Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC)
British Association Social Workers (BASW)

Code of ethics observed
NISCC and BASW

Qualifications
2022 Dyadic Developmental Certified Practitioner/PACE Trainer/Supervisor
2022 Theraplay LEVEL2 with Trauma Component
2022 Foundation Certification in Theraplay
2017 Non Violence Resistance Training
2015 DDP Masterclass
2015 Dr K. Golding, Foundations for Attachments Trainer Programme
2017 Group Theraplay
2014 Theraplay Level 1 and MIM’s Assessment Model
2014 PQ Specialist Social Work Award 1-3 obtained and ongoing
2010 / 2011 DDP Levels 1 & 2
Incredible Years BASIC, ADVANCED and DINA Programmes
2007 Foundation in Family Therapy and Systemic Practice
2006 Young Minds Certificate in Child and Adolescent Mental Health
2003 Queen’s University Belfast
MSW DIP/SW Social Work
1995 Middlesex University BA Hons in Art Practice in the Community and Psychology
1992 Burnley College Foundation Studies in Art and Design

Special interest/experience
My particular area of interest is in providing therapeutic support to children, young people and their adoptive families to enhance therapeutic parenting knowledge and responses, create safety and security within relationships and enable families and professionals to have challenging conversations with young people.

Additional information
I have been supporting families in NI for nearly 20 years and since 2012 I have been in the role of Senior Practitioner in a multi-disciplinary Therapeutic Team for Looked After and Adopted Children providing training, consultancy and direct therapeutic support to Looked After Children, children post adoption and their care giver network. I am also registered with BASW as an Independent Social Work Practitioner and Therapist.

Throughout my professional journey, as well as my own personal experiences of adoption, I have been fascinated by relationships, how we interact, how we influence each other, patterns of communication, our expectations, hopes and wishes as well as our commitments in relationships and attachments. Given their complexity, relationships can require support to think about how best to understand ourselves and others in helpful and safe ways and to develop a level of attachment security.

My theoretical approach
My practice is therefore significantly influenced by the principles, knowledge and skills of Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP), Family Therapy, Therapeutic Parenting Models and Theraplay as these interventions assess and promote resilience, attachment, self-regulation and mindful presence in times of difficulty and distress.

I see: Parents and Children

Any other work information? Work Area – Belfast

6th July 20234th February 2025

Lesley Delaney

TESSA Counsellor

Location
Belfast

I am registered/accredited with:
BACP, Registered member; BICA Registered Member.

Code of ethics observed
BACP Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling.

Qualifications
Degree in Integrative Counselling (Person-Centred, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Psychodynamic approaches) UU.
Safeguarding Children & Young People – UU.
Suicide Awareness & Prevention – Assist NI.

Special interest/experience
Adoption, Attachment issues, Childhood Trauma, Grief & Loss, Infertility,
Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, Relationship Counselling, Therapeutic Parenting, Neurodiversity (Dyslexia).

Additional information
Lesley Delaney is an adoptive parent, she has more than twenty five years’ experience of working with people within diverse business, public and private sector environments. She is a registered BACP Integrative Counsellor/Psychotherapist and BICA registered Fertility Counsellor. In her practice she works with individuals, couples and families facing a wide range of mental health issues.

Lesley has a wealth of experience of working with adoption; an experienced trainer, she has delivered training through BHSCT, Adoption UK and TESSA to prospective/current adopters and professionals working in adoption. She facilitates therapeutic group and individual sessions to provide direct support to adoptive parents on therapeutic parenting, developmental trauma, attachment, challenging behaviours, identity and issues of belonging.

Through her personal and professional experience, Lesley is passionate about supporting adoptive parents. Her aim is to provide advice and support to help empower parents, increase their confidence, promote the development of healthy attachment relationships, understand past trauma and improve parent and child’s ability to regulate. Ultimately to support parents and children to survive and thrive.

My theoretical approach
As an integrative Counsellor, I use aspects of Person Centred, CBT and Psychodynamic therapies to suit each client’s individual needs.

I see: Individuals, Couples, Families.