Policy Work and Play Therapy Training
More About Fidelma
Coach and Play Therapist
Fidelma has worked extensively as a keen and committed coach for over twenty-five years using experiential, interactive and creative methodologies. She believes that her trainees are central to her work and she has an openness to learn from their feedback. After gaining post-qualifying experience as an Accredited Play Therapist and Filial Play Coach for Parents Fidelma joined the Board of Play Therapy Ireland as CEO in 2014. Her persistence and determination to further the regulation of Play Therapists in Ireland resulted in her appointment by the Minister of Health to the Registration Board for Counsellors and Psychotherapists in 2019. She served a two-year period on this Board contributing to the work of CORU in the regulation of both of these professions in Ireland. The core objective of this registration Board is to protect the public by fostering high standards of professional conduct, education, training and competence among Counsellors and Psychotherapists.
Fidelma was responsible for setting-up the National University of Ireland accredited Post Graduate Play Therapy courses in Cork's green fields site in July 2015. Since then, she has trained hundreds of Play Therapists and has delivered Certificate and Diploma courses in Ireland, France, Northern Ireland and in the UK. Fidelma set-up her own practice, Acorn Therapies Cork in 2019 specialising in Play Therapy, Filial Play Coaching and Creative Counselling for Children and for Adolescents. More recently Fidelma has begun designing highly successful, tailor-made coaching programmes for parents, professionals and for organisations.
Creative Coach for Parents
The unique design of Fidelma’s Connected Parent Confident Child Programme has been inspired by her integration of filial play coaching, play therapy, creative counselling and systemic constellation training. The combination of these modalities, together with 30 years experience as an active trainer, has led to the emergence of coaching programmes that have a fresh flavour with an exciting bite. Most parents are amazed at the results they achieve, the speed at which change in their child occurred, and the harmony encountered in family relationships.
Creative & Systemic Supervisor
As a Certified Clinical Supervisor for Play and Creative Arts Therapists, Fidelma provides a safe environment for supervisees to reflect upon the content and process of their work thereby allowing them to feel free to explore feelings and responses using a variety of creative methodologies and systemic constellation tools. This innovative approach to clinical supervision enables Fidelma to assist her supervisees in teasing out the relationship between therapist and client using 3-D tools to illustrate new possible perspectives on their clinical work.
Creative Counsellor for Young Adults
Her qualification as a Creative Counsellor for Children and Young People has enabled Fidelma to integrate creative arts media from the Play Therapy experience with talking therapy skills while working with children and young adults. Working online has become increasingly popular as a safer and easier option for some adolescents. Fidelma has experienced high success rates in building the therapeutic relationship due to the young person’s ease, familiarity and proficiency in digital technology.
Systemic Coach for Organisations
Fidelma’s interest in organisational dynamics stemmed from a long history of working in Non-Government-Organisations (NGOs). Working in different roles and capacities from team leader to CEO roles, for over twenty years,Fidelma gained in-depth insights into the complexities of organisational systems. These working experiences led to her participation a myriad of trainings in systemic organisational constellation work as well as in family constellation work.
