EPT Clinic, Ireland

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EPT Clinic, Ireland

Clinical Director Lorraine Madden is a Chartered Educational Psychologist with the Psychological Society of Ireland.

Best-practice neurodevelopmental assessments & documentation to explain your child's unique profile, along with a clear support plan PLUS access to multidisciplinary care to better equip your child to successfully navigate the world. She is also a published research author, lecturer in University College Dublin, and mother of two young children. Lorraine specialises in the areas of child developme

nt, paediatrics, infant mental health and early intervention. Lorraine and the clinic’s highly qualified team of healthcare professionals believe in helping all children reach their full potential in life. Lorraine begun her career working as a home tutor with children who presented with Autism. She then worked as a primary school teacher, before returning to university to complete her studies in Educational Psychology. As a psychologist, she initially worked with the HSE in both Early Intervention and School Aged Services. After some time working with the HSE, Lorraine set up her own clinical practice, The EPT Clinic in January 2019. The practice now comprises of over 12 team members, specialiseing in excellence in peadiatric healthcare. Infant Mental Health:
In recent years, Lorraine has developed a special interest in supporting families with young babies and toddlers. This began during her time working in Early Intervention Psychology Services in the HSE Cork. She underwent extensive training, including Masterclass in Infant Mental Health training, training with the The Squiggle Foundation and the NSPCC. She also engaged in CPD in developmental trauma and interpersonal, neurobiological approaches to development and resiliency.

07/05/2026

1. Notice changes in behaviour
Distress isn’t always loud or disruptive. Some children become quieter, withdrawn, or less engaged than usual.

2. Look beyond compliance
A child who appears cooperative may still feel overwhelmed. Compliance doesn’t always mean they are coping.

3. Pay attention to reduced help-seeking
When a student stops asking for help, it can signal frustration, anxiety, or a lack of confidence.

4. Observe avoidance patterns.
Avoiding attention, participation, or certain tasks may indicate underlying distress rather than disinterest.

5. Listen to what isn’t being said.
Silence can be a powerful signal. Noticing subtle cues helps adults respond with curiosity and support rather than assumption.

Support often begins with noticing what is not being said.

Your Child and Adolescent Psychologist,

Lorraine Xx

06/05/2026

Have you ever noticed big fluctuations in your child's behaviour? Well... behaviour is our way to communicate through our body. So behaviour often fluctuates as we communicate how we feel and how we are experiencing things.

It tells us the nervous system is still recalibrating.

Periods of connection may be followed by shutdown or overwhelm because capacity is being stretched and rebuilt at the same time.

Understanding inconsistency as part of recovery helps adults stay steady rather than escalating expectations too quickly.

Healing nervous systems do not move in straight lines.

Your Child and Adolescent Psychologist,

Lorraine Xx

05/05/2026

When working with burnout, I have supported children who are "physically present" in school or activities while still feeling internally unsafe. This means they may not say what they want to, and may process information slower, or just not really be themselves.

They may attend, comply, or participate, yet remain highly vigilant.

Watching closely.

Holding themselves together.
Bracing for the next demand or transition.

This is often misunderstood as coping.

In reality, the nervous system may still be working very hard to stay regulated.

Re-engagement requires more
than showing up.

It requires feeling safe enough to soften.

This distinction matters when we are deciding how much a child can hold.

Your Child and Adolescent Psychologist,

Lorraine Xx

04/05/2026

In the first few months of this year, I have met many children in burn out...and this is what I have learned.

When a child begins to re-engage after a period of overwhelm, burnout, or distress, it rarely looks neat or linear.

There may be moments of connection followed by withdrawal (e.g. being able to go out and about one day, but not the next - which can be frustrating for m**s and dads).

Good mornings followed by hard afternoons.

Participation one day and resistance the next.

This is not inconsistency or lack of effort.

It is the nervous system testing whether it is safe to come forward again.

Re-engagement happens gradually, through repeated experiences of safety, not through pressure to return to “normal.”

Understanding this helps adults respond with patience rather than alarm.

Your Child and Adolescent Psychologist,

Lorraine Xx

01/05/2026

When emotional safety is experienced again and again, identity settles. Self trust grows quietly. Confidence forms over time.

This is not quick work. It is steady work. It is relational work.

And it matters. Not only for behaviour or coping, but for how a child experiences themselves for life.

Your Child and Adolescent Psychologist,

Lorraine Xx

30/04/2026

Details fade with time. Tone remains.

Children may not remember the exact words that were said in a hard moment, but they remember whether they felt alone or accompanied.

The emotional memory of being met with care becomes part of their internal world. It influences how they treat themselves later, especially when life feels hard.

Your Child and Adolescent Psychologist,

Lorraine Xx

29/04/2026

Safety does not mean life is smooth, quiet, or conflict-free. It means difficulty does not threaten belonging.

When children trust that connection remains steady, they can stay engaged even when emotions rise. They can feel upset and still feel loved. They can struggle and still feel safe.

That is what emotional safety offers. Not ease, but steadiness.

Your Child and Adolescent Psychologist,

Lorraine Xx

28/04/2026

Children build identity through reflection. They internalise what is mirrored back to them again and again.

When they are seen as difficult, the nervous system learns to brace. When they are seen as sensitive, thoughtful, and worthy, the nervous system learns to settle.

Being seen with care shapes a child’s inner voice for life. That is why understanding is not optional. It is developmental.

Your Child and Adolescent Psychologist,

Lorraine Xx

27/04/2026

Strong emotions are not signs of failure. They are signals asking for understanding and containment.

When emotions are allowed rather than resisted, they often move through more gently. When they are met with judgement, they can grow sharper and more isolating.

Safety makes intensity easier to hold. And when intensity is held with care, identity strengthens instead of shrinking.

Your Child and Adolescent Psychologist,

Lorraine Xx

24/04/2026

Children do not experience safety in isolation. They sense it through us, through tone, pace, and emotional availability.

Safety moves through relationship. It is felt before it is understood.

This is not pressure to be perfect. It is an invitation to remember that nervous systems are always responding to one another. When we soften, the space often softens too.

Your Child and Adolescent Psychologist,

Lorraine Xx

23/04/2026

When we feel accurately seen, something inside us relaxes. Tension eases. Defences soften. The body stops bracing.

Understanding is not passive. It is an active regulatory experience that supports emotional balance, connection, and self-esteem.

This is why being understood matters so deeply. It is not an extra. It is part of what makes development possible.

Your Child and Adolescent Psychologist,

Lorraine Xx

22/04/2026

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Address

Dublin Road
Kilkenny
R95YA07

Website

https://www.eptclinic.ie/emotional-regulation-programme

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