Sally O'Reilly Psychology & Psychotherapy

07/01/2026

I know I'm repeating myself (!!) and that it's challenging stuff, but please watch this short clip and have conversations with your partner/friends/ therapists about your child/tween/teen regarding their use - or their friends' use - of AI and tech.

Healthy sexuality, relationships, childhood itself is in grave danger. It's neither dramatic nor and exaggeration to say so.

https://fb.watch/Eu6of7C_bT/

01/01/2026

Here's a great example of one person(M. Martin) just, not, listening to another. Still.

I'm hoping it's out of genuine ignorance of our profession, and I'm hoping he's willing to learn. The public will suffer, it's pretty much guaranteed.

But it sounds like a deliberate ego driven commitment to misunderstanding. His response betrays utter lack of insight and basic listening skills with an unhealthy dose of projection - ironically.

I will be happy to be proven wrong. Right now, i grow more and more concerned as each day passes with this not being stopped.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1AG22UTUGw/

Irish Council for Psychotherapy IACP - Irish Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy Irish Association of Humanistic & Integrative Psychotherapy - IAHIP Coru

13/12/2025

Sobering stats - but then I'm guessing nobody on here will find this surprising. Safety is the very least of what we deserve. It's a low bar.

11/12/2025

I’m increasingly worried about what’s unfolding with CORU’s proposed framework for regulating counselling and psychotherapy — and I don’t think most people realise the risks ahead.

Over recent years we’ve seen two things happening at the same time:
A decline in the quality of some trainings
and
A huge increase in the number of people qualifying and offering services online.

Spend even a few minutes on Facebook groups or TikTok and you’ll see people with very limited training presenting themselves as able to treat complex mental health issues. Many of these areas require extensive, specialist training — not a short CPD weekend. It’s alarming, and it’s getting worse.

For years I’ve hoped for proper regulation. When I first heard CORU was coming in, I was relieved. I thought it would raise standards, protect the public, ensure proper training, and support the profession.

But what’s currently being proposed risks doing the opposite.
It may weaken training standards rather than strengthen them.
It may allow poor-quality courses to flourish.
And it may send trainees into the world believing they have expertise they simply haven’t been given the chance to develop.

I regularly hear from trainees and newly qualified therapists who are worried and confused. Many are being encouraged to take on too many clients too soon, and to minimise the importance of supervision or personal therapy. This is incredibly dangerous — for them and for the people they’re trying to help.

A wise colleague said to me today:
“How can we show up with authenticity if we don’t yet know who our authentic self truly is?”

That’s the heart of good therapeutic work. Without deep personal and professional development, we risk projection, collusion, misuse of power, and missing important transference and countertransference dynamics. These things can only be understood with proper supervision, training, and experience.

Yes — good training is expensive. Maintaining high standards is demanding. But therapy has never been a fast track to wealth, and it shouldn’t be. This is work that requires depth, care, and humility.

Right now, we are heading toward a public health crisis in slow motion. The impact won’t fully show for a while, but it will affect vulnerable people most of all.

But I’m not without hope.
More and more therapists, supervisors, and organisations are waking up to what’s happening. We need to speak up, clearly and collectively.

Support your accrediting bodies: message them, comment on their posts, respond to questions and thoughts your colleagues might have. Use your voice — wherever you can.

This matters.
For our profession, and for the people we serve.

It’s absolutely a fight worth fighting

Irish Association of Humanistic & Integrative Psychotherapy - IAHIP

Irish Council for Psychotherapy

IACP - Irish Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy

03/11/2025

Huge well done to the parents who organised the evening at Educate Together Midleton - it was very well attended and I hope you all enjoyed it - if "enjoy" is the right word ...

Thanks again for the invitation to speak🙏😊 and it was great to hear the Brian Barron and Gda Eddie Crockett speak as well. If not also somewhat grim/sad/scary/enraging... as well as helpful!!

(Plus it helped me begin to get over my public speaking allergy so thanks for that too! )

CyberSafeKids An Garda Síochána Waterford Education Support Centre

02/11/2025

Dear everyone who's been trying to email me - I didn't realise all my mails to info@sallyoreilly.com were bouncing!!!

The problem is now fixed. If I haven't responded that is the only reason! Sadly the server hasn't stored them so there is no queue, I will never get them - so, please DO resend if you are waiting for me to reply and my sincere apologies 🙏😊

29/10/2025

It certainly seems regardless of our varied trainings, our diverse special interests, even our time in the job, we are utterly united in perceiving CORU for what they are. And so, we are utterly united in our concerns for future clients.

Eva Molyneux (Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist) Letter to the Editor (Irish Times) re: concerns for proposed CORU regulations & standards for psychotherapy training. https://tinyurl.com/y37an657

16/10/2025

CORU is a danger and an embarrassment.

Petition link in the comments. Sceptical as I am. But we must act collectively.

11/10/2025

Great letter. The literal ignorance is gobsmacking - 🤦‍♀️

10/10/2025

I thoroughly recommend this workshop if you're considering it - Michelle is a compassionate and knowledgeable facilitator:

06/10/2025

If they could just pause and learn more about what we do, and why proper training and supervision is essential. So very, very concerning.

Psychotherapy bodies are warning that new minimum training standards set by the regulator will be...

06/10/2025

Public speaking is waaay (x1000) out of my comfort zone but working with kids and is waaay INTO my comfort zone, so, I'm gonna say:

Come along to this on Thursday evening: Director of Waterford Education and Support Centre, Dr Brian Barron, who spearheaded the smartphone-free childhood movement in Waterford, will also speak on the night. Community Garda Eddie Crockett will speak about online safety and awareness.

Maybe see you there! 😊

A group of parents in East Cork is on a mission to encourage people to delay giving smartphones to their children. Ahead of an event this week, aimed ...