Profile Summary
Charlotte Lyne is an accredited Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, Play Therapist and Clinical Supervisor with over 20 years of experience across education, therapy and child development. She is the Founder of Over the Rainbow Children's Therapy Centre in Donegal, providing specialist therapeutic services to children and families across the region.
Charlotte specialises in attachment and trauma-informed practice, with extensive expertise in play-based therapeutic interventions, neuroscience-informed approaches and somatic and sensory-based methods that support nervous system regulation and emotional processing. She has extensive experience working with children in foster care and with children who have experienced complex trauma, and is experienced in working with neurodivergent children and young people, adapting her therapeutic interventions to meet individual developmental needs.
Alongside her clinical and supervisory practice, Charlotte is a Primary School Principal, leading whole-school development with a focus on trauma-informed practice, wellbeing, inclusive education and staff professional development.
Current Profile Areas
Qualifications
- In progressMasters in Psychology (currently completing).
- CertifiedEMDR Trained Therapist.
- CertifiedCertified Synergetic Play Therapy Practitioner.
- CertifiedTraumaPlay Certification.
- CompletedLeadership Training for School Principals.
- MAChild and Adolescent Psychotherapy and Play Therapy, First Class Honours.
- PG DiplomaClinical Supervision.
- PG DiplomaPlay Therapy.
- PG DiplomaSpecial Needs Education.
- BEdBachelor of Education.
Career History
- 2023-presentPrimary School Principal — leading whole-school development with a focus on trauma-informed practice, wellbeing, inclusive education and staff professional development.
- 2022-presentPsychotherapist — ACEs Project and Tusla Service Provider. Delivering therapeutic interventions to children and families affected by Adverse Childhood Experiences as part of a community-based early intervention programme. Providing services and supports for children and young people in foster care and their families.
- 2019-presentClinical Supervisor — providing individual and group clinical supervision to psychotherapists, play therapists and counsellors in training and post-qualification practice.
- 2015-presentChild and Adolescent Psychotherapist and Clinical Supervisor — private practice, Over the Rainbow Children's Therapy Centre, Donegal. Specialising in play therapy, trauma recovery, attachment difficulties and emotional regulation.
- 2021-2023Home School Community Liaison Coordinator — Tusla Education Support Service. Coordinating family support services, building partnerships between home, school and community agencies, and supporting vulnerable families.
- 2006-2021Primary School Teacher and Special Education Teacher — class teacher across all primary levels with a focus on inclusive education, social-emotional learning and creative pedagogies.
- 2003-2006Vice Principal — supporting school leadership, curriculum development, staff coordination and whole-school planning.
Therapeutic Practice
Charlotte's therapeutic practice is integrative and child-centred, drawing on psychotherapy, play therapy, neuroscience and interpersonal neurobiology. She specialises in attachment difficulties, developmental trauma, emotional dysregulation, anxiety, grief and loss, behavioural challenges and the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences. She integrates somatic and sensory-based approaches within the therapeutic relationship to support nervous system regulation and emotional processing.
Charlotte is experienced in working with neurodivergent children and young people, adapting her therapeutic interventions to meet individual developmental needs. She also provides therapeutic parenting support, working with parents, foster carers and other significant adults to understand and respond to children's needs.
- Individual and family therapy — children, adolescents and families.
- Play-based, creative and somatic therapeutic approaches.
- Nervous system regulation and emotional processing.
- Therapeutic parenting support for parents, carers and families.
- Neurodivergent children and young people — adapted therapeutic interventions.
- Collaborative working with families, schools, foster carers and multidisciplinary teams.
Complex Trauma, Attachment and Neuroscience
Charlotte has trained with internationally recognised leaders in the fields of trauma, attachment and neuroscience, including Dr Bruce Perry, Dr Bessel van der Kolk, Dr Daniel Siegel and Paris Goodyear-Brown. This training, combined with over 20 years of clinical experience, gives her a sophisticated, science-informed understanding of the impact of trauma and adversity on children's development, relationships and behaviour.
She is a Certified Synergetic Play Therapy Practitioner and holds a TraumaPlay Certification, and is also a trained EMDR therapist. Her approach integrates somatic and sensory-based methods alongside relational and play-based practice, enabling her to work with the full range of a child's experience in trauma recovery.
ACEs Project and Foster Care
Since 2022, Charlotte has been providing psychotherapy services as part of a community-based early intervention programme for children and families affected by Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), in partnership with Tusla. This work provides therapeutic services and supports to children and young people in foster care and their families.
This role, combined with her broader clinical experience supporting children in care, gives Charlotte a deep and practice-grounded understanding of the needs of looked-after children, the complexity of their presentations and the systems and relationships that surround them.
Continuing Professional Development
- Trauma Play Certification — Foundational 6-week course, Paris Goodyear-Brown, 2022.
- The Mindsight Approach to Well-Being: A Comprehensive Course in Interpersonal Neurobiology — Dr Daniel Siegel, 2022.
- Trauma Play Certification — 3-day live training, Paris Goodyear-Brown, 2021.
- Parents in the Playroom — Involving Parents in the Play Therapy Process, 22-hour training, Claudio Mochi, 2019.
- Trauma-Informed Teaching: Resilience, Recovery and Growth — Little Flower Yoga, New York, 2018.
- The Mindsight Approach for Children and Adolescents: Integration Techniques for the Mind and Developing Brain — Dr Daniel Siegel, 2018.
- Trauma Treatment Mastery — Dr Bessel van der Kolk, 2017.
- Recognising Childhood Trauma: Impact, Assessment and Intervention — Dr Bruce Perry, 2016.
- Assessment and Intervention — Dr Bruce Perry, 2016.
Accreditation and Registration
- Accredited Member, Irish Association of Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy (IAHIP).
- Accredited Member, Irish Association of Play Therapy and Psychotherapy (IAPTP).
- Member, European Association for Integrative Psychotherapy (EAIP).
- Registered with the Teaching Council of Ireland.
- Garda vetted.
Contact Charlotte
For enquiries connected to Charlotte's work with HAPii, email Charlotte directly.
Email Charlotte