MEET KERRY

Encouraging, Pioneering, Insightful

I focus on helping people remember their resources to face life’s challenges by offering one-to-one sessions and bringing groups together.

I am at my happiest when I see people coming home a little more to who they truly are. I see there can be a paradox at play for us at different times in our lives; we can become over-committed and over-give to what we do in life, in the process we can find ourselves letting go of what gives us energy and perhaps spiralling away from what matters most to us. This can lead to feeling overwhelmed, exhausted and we can feel in the dark about how to get back to what our soul is yearning for. In short, we can feel lost.

I love what Celtic mythology says - we are meant to feel lost and the journey is often to spiral back to ourselves, rediscovering aspects of ourselves and coming back into our own wisdom.

Facing my own Challenge: A few years ago I had a life changing experience. I came out of my wonderful neurosurgeon’s office after being told that I needed brain surgery. I knew there and then that life would never be the same again. I was numb, full of fear about the uncertainty I was facing and at the same time my mind was filled with the questions - Well, what matters most? What do I really want to do? As Mary Oliver says:

“Tell me, what is it your plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

Sitting with these questions, I got a lot of clarity, if I didn’t have much time left, (as well as cherishing my family and friends) I wanted to focus on supporting people to remember their resources as they face into life’s challenges by offering one-to-one sessions and bringing people together in circles and groups. I wanted to weave together my experience in psychology, embodiment, neuroscience and Celtic mythology; to stand taller in my gift of being an integrator and a weaver of different methodologies. I also wanted to let go of some aspects of my work which I am no longer passionate about and make more space for what matters most.

I consider myself lucky, thanks to my 20 year career as a Chartered Psychologist and the many other modalities I have studied such as yoga and Celtic shamanism, I have gained knowledge of a multitude of resources to bring to bear to in the face of challenge. Thankfully, the decision about brain surgery was changed and instead life for me is punctuated by regular brain scans that keep me close to the truth of the impermanence of life and the reminder to make the most of it.

My Experience

Chartered coaching and organisational Psychologist

I am both a Charted Coaching Psychologist and Chartered Organisational Psychologist with the British Psychological Society. I feel very grateful to have worked in the area of coaching, training and self-care for 20 years.

Commercial Work Experience Internationally

I have considerable commercial experience working internationally with the pioneering Energy Project, delivering a cutting-edge, culture change projects with clients including Schneider Electric in Italy and France and Maersk Oil in the Middle East. Recently, In Ireland (which is home) I have also worked extensively with many companies including Bristol-Myers Squibb, AIB and Ibec. I have also delivered projects for Google, Dropbox and Deloitte as part of the SEVEN Psychology at work team. I have coached on several Irish Management Institute and Dublin City University development programmes.

Keynote speaker and podcast Guest

I recently co-facilitated a workshop at the Femme Q conference in Strasbourg. I have spoken at several HR industry events, including for the American Chamber’s HR forum and an IITD event. I contributed to the Royal College of Surgeon’s Covid podcast series an more recently I was a guest on the Evolving Leader, Life Beyond the Numbers , The Excitable Soul and People Soup podcasts.

In-depth Occupational Psychology Experience

I have gained in-depth understanding of organisations through my broader work as a Chartered Occupational Psychology, including working with the renowned Dr Mike Smith, to design and roll out an assessment process to hire 500 staff for Bristol-Myers Squibb in Ireland.

Worked extensively with Healthcare and Charities

I have also worked extensively in healthcare, facilitated several country-wide self-care training courses for nurses, obstetrics staff and surgeons. I have also delivered a programme in the Royal College of Surgeons for trainee doctors. In addition, I have worked in the charity sector with organisations such as Plan Ireland, the ILCU Foundation and the Irish Hospice Foundation.

Accomplished Group Facilitator and Coach

I have stayed close to thought leaders in the area of personal development, I trained in coaching in Australia with Anthony Grant when coaching was in it’s infancy, in the States with the late, great Doug Silsbee and in the UK with Nancy Kline. I have trained in Celtic Mythology and Polyvagal theory which both offer resourcing frameworks for us to draw upon (that we know in our bones).

I am an accomplished group facilitator and coach. I sit on several coaching panels in both the UK and Ireland. I am currently part of the coaching faculty at the IMI and I worked with Liz Norris (formerly of the IMI) to train several hundred managers in coaching skills.

Wisdom of the body

“Wisdom is only a rumour until we live it in the bones” Asaro Tribe

I have been practising yoga for over 25 years, I completed my training as a yoga teacher in 2008 and I have gone on to study many diverse modalities including somatic coaching, shamanic healing, kinesiology, Watsu, Qi gong, and somatic movement practices.

I have also studied the nervous system extensively. I am the first people in Ireland to qualify as a consultant with the Polyvagal Institute in the States. At Deb Dana’s request, along with Sandra Dunsmore, in 2022, I co-designed and delivered the first Polyvagal course for coaches. It was the first course to be licensed to use Deb’s material. I have also completed training in Stephen Terrell’s ground-breaking work "‘ The Experience Based Brain’.

I am an accidental long distance sea swimmer (well, 5 kilometers), the sea has taught me so much about overcoming fear, over-efforting and paradox of how bringing more ease brings more strength.

I am an advocate of creating simple and powerful embodiment rituals such as grounding, centring and breathing which expand our capacity by tapping into the wisdom of the body.

Wisdom of the grandmothers

I grew up in a big Irish family in England and the wisdom of my grandmothers and my family informs my work. They taught me the joy of welcoming and hosting people, laughter, singing, fun and coming together to support each other in difficult times. Some of my favourite moments in life are sitting round a fire with my family listening to stories of old. I now live between Dublin and Donegal (my ancestral home) with my husband and three sons.