Location: Unit 37, Johnstown Business Park, Waterford
Phone: 089 4328742 E-mail: Agnesplaytherapy@gmail.com
Qualification:
Master of Arts in Play Therapy
Postgraduate Diploma in Play Therapy
Bachelor of Arts: Early Childhood Studies
FETAC Level 5: Early Childhood Care & Education
Personal Bio
Agnes qualified with an award of excellence from a Master’s degree in Play Therapy from Munster Technological University in 2025. She brings over ten years of experience working with children across preschools, primary schools, family support services, and childcare settings.
Agnes is a non-directive, child-centred Play Therapist whose therapeutic philosophy is grounded in the integrative application of three core lenses: a Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) stance, an Attachment theory framework, and a Neurobiological understanding of regulation and trauma.
In practice, Agnes enters each session holding these perspectives simultaneously. She primarily operates from a CCPT foundation, offering the core conditions and attentively tracking the child’s process. Through an attachment lens, she understands the relational themes—such as seeking closeness, testing boundaries, or fears of abandonment—that emerge in the play. Concurrently, through a neurobiological lens (informed by frameworks like polyvagal theory), Agnes prioritizes the child’s state of arousal, using play to support calming co-regulation and to carefully expand their window of tolerance.
A Personal Note
As a mother of two children, Agnes brings a deep, first hand understanding of the joys and challenges of parenting. This personal experience enriches her professional practice, allowing her to empathise authentically with parents and caregivers, and to collaborate with them as essential partners in their child’s therapeutic journey.
Area of Interest
Agnes works with children aged 3–12 years who are navigating a broad spectrum of emotional, behavioural, and learning difficulties. These include more complex challenges such as:
- Anger and anxiety
- Developmental delays
- Low self-esteem
- Illness and disability
- Bereavement and trauma
- Parental separation
- Social difficulties and avoidant school attendance
- Children who have experienced abuse or are in care
She also supports children through the everyday, but often significant, transitions and adjustments that can be just as stressful, including:
- Moving house or changing schools
- The arrival of a new baby, and the shift from being an only child to having a sibling
- Starting school for the first time
- Navigating friendship difficulties and other social adjustments
Agnes recognises that even these lighter challenges can feel overwhelming to a young child, and she provides a safe, nurturing space for them to process these changes at their own pace.
Additional Trainings:
- Outdoor Play
- Promoting the Social and Emotional Well-being of Babies, Toddlers and Young Children in ELC Training
- Children’s First