Profile Summary

Dr Katie O'Donoghue is a Child and Family Specialist and accredited Art Psychotherapist with extensive experience working with vulnerable children, young people and families across child protection, child welfare and multidisciplinary services.

Katie's practice is strongly grounded in safeguarding, risk assessment, child protection reporting and advocacy for children's emotional and overall wellbeing. She holds a PhD in Health Psychology from University College London and is committed to working in a child-centred manner, ensuring that children's wishes and feelings remain central to all assessment and intervention.

Her approach integrates the creative and relational dimensions of art psychotherapy with a rigorous, evidence-informed understanding of child development, trauma, attachment and risk — enabling her to engage meaningfully with children in age-appropriate ways while advocating clearly for their voice, safety, stability and long-term wellbeing.

Current Profile Areas

  • Child Protection
  • Child Welfare
  • Art Psychotherapy
  • Safeguarding
  • Risk Assessment
  • Trauma-Informed Practice
  • Attachment
  • Foster Care Support
  • Assessment & Report Writing

Qualifications

  • PhDHealth Psychology, University College London.
  • MAArt Therapy, Crawford College of Art & Design, Cork Institute of Technology.
  • PG CertPsychological Studies, Brunel University London.

Child Protection and Safeguarding

Katie has worked with children and families involved with statutory and voluntary services, including children at risk, children in care and families experiencing complex social and emotional difficulties. Her experience encompasses responding to child protection concerns, managing safeguarding and risk issues, and working closely with Tusla social work teams and social care professionals to ensure that children's voices, wishes and best interests are clearly represented and upheld.

She has been involved in comprehensive assessment, formulation and report writing, and is experienced in communicating professional concerns and recommendations clearly and sensitively. Her practice is guided by children's rights, with careful consideration given to the child's lived experience at every stage.

  • Child protection reporting and safeguarding risk management.
  • Collaborative working with Tusla social work teams and social care professionals.
  • Comprehensive assessment, formulation and professional report writing.
  • Advocacy for children's voices, wishes and best interests.
  • Meaningful, age-appropriate engagement with children.

Art Psychotherapy Practice

Katie is an accredited Art Psychotherapist, accredited with both the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP) and the Irish Association of Creative Arts Therapists (IACAT). Her art psychotherapy practice provides children and young people with a safe, creative space in which to express and process their experiences — particularly where verbal communication alone may not fully capture the child's inner world.

Her MA in Art Therapy, completed at Crawford College of Art and Design at Cork Institute of Technology, provides the clinical and creative foundation for this work. Art psychotherapy is a particularly powerful medium for engaging with children who have experienced trauma, loss, placement disruption or complex adversity.

Foster Care and Placement Support

Katie has experience supporting foster carers and substitute caregivers in understanding children's emotional, behavioural and developmental needs, particularly where trauma, attachment disruption or placement instability is present. Her work in this area emphasises collaboration with carers and professionals to promote placement stability, emotional safety and child-centred decision-making.

This strand of her practice draws on her understanding of attachment theory, developmental trauma and the dynamics of substitute care — helping carers to make sense of children's presentations and to provide responsive, nurturing environments.

Health Psychology and Research

Katie holds a PhD in Health Psychology from University College London and a Postgraduate Certificate in Psychological Studies from Brunel University London. Her doctoral research brings a rigorous, evidence-based perspective to her clinical and assessment work — informing how she understands child development, wellbeing, risk and resilience within complex family and social contexts.

This research background strengthens the analytical depth of her assessments and reports, and supports her capacity to communicate complex clinical findings accessibly and precisely.

Training and Accreditation

  • Accredited with the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP).
  • Accredited with the Irish Association of Creative Arts Therapists (IACAT).
  • Extensive training in safeguarding, child protection and risk assessment.
  • Training in trauma-informed practice.
  • Full Garda clearance.

Contact Katie

For enquiries connected to Katie's work with HAPii, email Katie directly.

Email Katie