Anne Byrne
PSYCHOTHERAPIST | SUPERVISOR | EXPRESSIVE ARTS THERAPIST | REFLECTIVE PRACTICE PRACTITIONER | M.I.A.C.P.
As a very young child, I knew deeply, we all do, at a core level, who I was, what I loved, and how I liked to express myself. Those close to me encouraged and enhanced these qualities. Of course, I had not realised at that time that I was being seen and encouraged to be myself.
In my psychotherapeutic practice, I have sat with clients for over 22 years and have held a safe space of integrated psychotherapeutic practices. Informed by the modalities of Person-Centred, Jungian, Gestalt, CBT, Existential Therapy, Expressive Arts, and Nervous System Healing, I guide you through a process of awareness and understanding of root causes and meaning in each of your symptoms, with a strong emphasis on somatic experiencing of living in a safe body.
I have become deeply aware that at our core, we are all uniquely the same and wildly different. No matter what the presenting issue may appear to be, at the heart of my work, I am facilitating a space that allows you to see who you are, with the hope that over time, you learn to reconnect with and trust in your own unique way of being in this world.
It has not been lost on me that one of our greatest wounds is that of unworthiness. At the core of this wound lies the experience of emptiness, a yearning that keeps us further from our truest selves when we initially fill this emptiness with external pursuits or relationships. Most especially, through life’s challenges, I have come to understand what it truly means to evolve. As I have embraced and embodied my own life story, I found beneath it the doorway to my soul. I invite you also to consider, in your own way, the possibility of knowing that you are not the stories you tell yourself, your symptoms or your thoughts— you are the love that you hold within you.
I am currently available for online and a limited number of in-person sessions.
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Foundation in Counselling – Ballyfermot College, Dublin (1998 – 2000)
Diploma in Counselling (2 Years) – Liberties College, Dublin (2001 – 2003)
Training included Rogerian Person Centred Approach, Bereavement, Depression, Sexuality, Abuse (including substantial Training by Dublin Rape Crisis Center ,Body work and creative therapies, Reality Therapy, Emotive Behavior Therapy Gestalt Therapy training, Addiction studies, Social studies, Human Growth and Development – Level 1 and 2
Post Graduate Education
Diploma in Supervision – Dublin Gesalt Centre
Diploma in Group process and facilitation – Irish Gestalt Centre
Diploma in Expressive Arts Therapist – IICPD
BSC Reflective Practice Practitioner – Metanoia – London – Trauma Informed
Diploma in Creative writing for the therapeutic process – Metanoia London – in progress
Diploma with Advic – a series of specialized workshops for professional counsellors in facilitation skills for families and friend of homicide victims.
Rape Crisis Centre – Further training – Facilitator for the BodyRight Program
Alcohol and Drug Problems in Contemporary Ireland – Trinity College
Workshops
Introduction to Internal Family Systems – Belfast
Internal Family Systems -Healing the Fragmented Selves - Belfast
The Artist Way - Training with Julia Cameron - Bristol
Inner Child Workshops – The Pheonix Well Being Centre - Dublin
Jungian Studies – The Individuation Process, Psychological Types, Shadow Self, the Unconscious and Archetypal Psychology – Pheonix Well Being Centre – Dublin
Synchronicity and Learning to Trust Self – Cherith Centre – Dublin
Sexual addiction – Level 1 & 2 - Oasis Counselling Centre – Dublin
Co Dependency and Relationships – Pheonix Well Being Centre – Dublin
Group Facilitation Skills - Dublin
Further Loss and Bereavement Training – Wicklow Ireland
Mindfulness Practice Weekly – Creative Mindfulness
Reiki Healing Training Level 2
Special interest in Neuroscience, Polyvagal Nerve Healing, Attachment Theory and working with the realms of our own Window of Tolerance and the view of expanding our capacity.
Contact Anne
I am currently available for online and a limited number of in-person sessions.
My Approach
My work embodies the reclaiming of our personal inner power, self-worth, and inner trust. It is the process of trusting ourselves deeply and learning to listen to the inner guidance that we may have strayed from in a life that may have had high demands, perfectionism, trauma and overwhelm.
My work weaves together various therapeutic approaches, combining modalities based on mind, body, heart and soul connection. I aim to support you in retracing your path, unlearning your limiting beliefs and negative thoughts, and gently guiding you back to the deeply wise messages of your body and your intuition. Throughout my therapeutic process, we become aware, create safety in our bodies, and learn to listen to our needs from a heart-centred space.
I believe all healing occurs in the present moment. It may be a wound of our past; however, if we sit into this moment and get curious about who we are and how we see ourselves, we will look into our past and recognise how it has influenced the present, and we can create a different future.
Areas of Expertise
Childhood trauma and its impact, educating on how past and present are linked while staying in the here and now.
PTSD, C-PTSD, Anxiety, Depression, Panic Attacks, Addictions, Disordered Eating, OCD, Workaholism, Perfectionism, Procrastination, Self-Sabotage, Love Addiction, Chronic Codependence, Self-Esteem, Self-Worth Issues, Loss and Bereavement, Chronic Pain and Health Related Trauma, Chronic Fatigue and Burnout.
I support those living a life absent of themselves, feeling empty and lost, and help them reconnect.
Modalities of Therapy
Person-centred Therapy, Jungian, CBT, Additiction Studies, Gestalt, Polyvagal Nerve Healing, Body Somatics, Existential Therapy, Expressive Arts, with special interest in Neuroscience, and the connection between mind, body, heart and soul, mindfulness and self-compassion practices.
“Sometimes the best way of caring for your soul is to make flexible again, some of the views that harden and crystallize in your mind, for these alienate you from your own depth and beauty.”
JOHN O’DONOHUE
More About Anne
I grew up in Dublin, Ireland, and remained there well into adulthood. Throughout my life, I have always asked myself the question, “What does true healing mean to me?”
In my 20’s I embarked on a continuous path of self discovery, and I am in awe of how initially, a life lived through the lens of my own story and symptoms of PTSD has transformed into the embodied experience of restoring the connection to my heart, allowing me live life with a full open heart. I have allowed this ongoing process of rediscovery to guide me to live in some of the most beautiful places in Ireland, the heartlands of Ireland, with the most stunning scenery of lakelands and forests, and the west coast of Ireland, by the sea, embodying the breathtaking energy of the Burren.
I believe that our external world is a mirror of what is happening within us. In my understanding of this, I have allowed the energy of each environment to pour into me the richness that was needed in each phase of my own spiritual journey.
On my return to college as an adult learner, studying the foundational level of counselling and psychotherapy in 1998-2000, at Ballyfermot College Dublin, and continuing with my core professional training in 2001, graduating as a professional counsellor in 2003 at Liberties College Dublin, the very essence of this training was embedded in the philosophy of the work of Carl Rogers, which became of great interest to me. I began to learn about the possibility of viewing myself, life, and others through the lens of unconditional positive regard, congruence and empathy. This philosophy did not integrate through my bones overnight; however, as a continuous learner, I have deepened these philosophies to transform them through a life lived, infused with many other modalities of Western and Eastern healing.
On my path, I have prioritised accountability, self-compassion and self-acceptance. I believe these qualities are foundational, which has allowed me to see compassionately where other people are in their lives, while also holding strong, loving boundaries. What started as daily self-compassion practices has now become an embodied way of being.
Throughout my own life experience and sitting with clients for over two decades, I have come to understand the gift of embracing our life experiences, understanding their impact, revealing the shadow and working with the unconscious. The awareness that has come with this has allowed my clients and myself to see that we are not the experiences we have lived, our material possessions, professions, or our suffering. Though we may have been impacted, shaped, and directed by these experiences and external factors, we are indeed, in essence, made of pure love.
This continuous process of self-discovery and integration in my life has allowed me to imbue my psychotherapeutic practice with the essence and embodiment of unconditional positive regard while also being greatly informed and inspired by Carl Jung's work, where we explore through archetypes, story, metaphor, and shadow work, bringing awareness to the unconscious.
I believe we each have our own unique way of being in the world. This is your signature imprint. I believe all healing, in its essence, is the understanding and embodiment of your innate truest nature. As someone who primarily learns, sees, and hears through imagery, symbols, sensory experience, and deep intuition while cognitively translating my internal framework into the spoken word, this work has been extremely validating for me in my own unique way of engaging in the world.
Throughout the years, as an accredited member of the IACP working as a psychotherapist and supervisor, I have held a strong interest in the impact of Childhood Trauma in our Adult lives. While undertaking a postgraduate training, a BSc in Reflective Practice (in 2015), I saw a gap in the educational system in understanding the relationship between Childhood Trauma, Co-Dependence, and Burnout. I am deeply aware of the connection between our childhood experiences and how they inform our ability to develop a healthy sense of self, as the foundation to engaging with the world around us and those in our lives.
In my clinical practice, I hold this awareness for those who may not yet understand what has brought them to this place that they have arrived at in their lives, while also placing tremendous value on the process of transformation.
