Profile Summary

Dr Lisa O'Reilly is the Founder and Director of HAPii and Director of GALLORE Guardian ad Litem Services. She is a Child and Family Specialist with extensive experience across child protection social work, foster care, play therapy, attachment research, and training design and delivery.

Lisa has practised as a Guardian ad Litem since January 2016. Her work centres on representing children's voices in court proceedings and advocating for their rights, welfare and best interests.

Her practice is grounded in children's rights, secure attachment relationships, and communication with children that is respectful, age-appropriate and sensitive to development and lived experience.

Current Profile Areas

  • Founder & Director
  • Guardian ad Litem
  • Play Therapist
  • Attachment Researcher
  • Therapeutic Lifestory Work
  • Psychoeducational Training
  • Child and Family Social Work
  • Attachment Theory to Practice
  • Children's Participation

Qualifications

  • 2019-2025Masters in Psychology, Arden University London.
  • 2008-2012PhD in Social and Political Science, "The Voice of Children in Social Work Assessments: What they Say? Or What they Play", National University of Ireland, Galway.
  • 2006-2008Diploma in Play Therapy, Children's Therapy Centre, Westmeath.
  • 2002-2004Masters in Social Work, University College Cork and the National Qualifications Social Work Board.
  • 1997-2000Bachelor of Arts in Social and Political Science and Classical Civilization, National University of Ireland, Galway.

Career History

  • Practising as a Guardian ad Litem since 2016.
  • Founder and Director of HAPii.
  • Director of GALLORE Guardian ad Litem Services since April 2016.
  • Thirteen years' experience in child and family social work.
  • Qualified and accredited Child and Adolescent Counsellor and Play Therapist.
  • Theraplay Therapist, using attachment-enhancing work between children and caregivers.
  • Attachment Researcher focused on linking attachment theory to frontline practice.
  • Committee member of Irish Attachment in Action.
  • Occasional lecturer at the National University of Ireland, Galway.
  • Member of the Masters in Social Work Advisory Board at the National University of Ireland, Galway.
  • Garda vetted and registered with CORU.
  • Member of the British Psychological Association.

Guardian ad Litem and Advocacy Work

As a Guardian ad Litem, Lisa represents the voices of children in court proceedings and makes recommendations focused on their best interests. Her practice includes independent advocacy for children involved with child protection social work services and children in foster care.

Her recommendations are informed by research into the child-caregiver relationship, attachment security, play-based engagement and the importance of hearing children in ways that are appropriate to their age and development.

Research, Teaching and Programme Development

Lisa is a specialist in the voice of the child, play-based engagement, emotional release and attachment theory, developed through research, peer-reviewed publication, practice teaching and national training.

In 2016, Lisa authored the national training programme for social work and frontline practitioners on Linking Attachment Theory to Practice. She was project lead on the Tusla Child and Family Agency National Development Team and contributed to the national development team for Direct Work with Children. Those programmes continue to support social work, childcare and family support practitioners on the frontline.

Lisa taught as an associate guest lecturer at the National University of Ireland, Galway for approximately twelve years, specialising in child and family social work, communication with children and attachment theory. She also engaged in practice teaching for student social workers and marked assessments for the Practice Teacher Training Diploma.

Lisa continues to collaborate with the NUIG Child and Family Research Centre in relation to service development for children and families.

Play, Attachment and Caregiver Support

Lisa completed a two-year Diploma in Play Therapy at the Children's Therapy Centre in Westmeath in 2008. Alongside this, she undertook doctoral research at the National University of Ireland, Galway on the use of play to engage with children within the child protection system.

In 2008, Lisa designed and evaluated a Play Skills Training Programme for social workers. Practitioners reported that the programme supported more child-friendly practice, stronger engagement with children, and greater representation of the child's voice in assessment work.

Lisa completed Theraplay Level 1 Training in 2015 and has developed caregiver programmes for adults seeking to respond to children's needs and challenging behaviours through connection, understanding and support.

She has delivered workshops in play, attachment and emotional release for more than twelve years, including an Attachment Play Workshop for Irish Attachment in Action at the Helix Theatre, Dublin, in 2019.

Play Skills Training Outcomes

Following Lisa's Play Skills Training Programme, social workers involved in the evaluation described these practice developments:

  • Creating more child-friendly environments when meeting children.
  • Feeling more confident in direct engagement with children.
  • Making assessment processes more child-friendly.
  • Representing the child's voice more strongly within assessments.
  • Feeling more energised in their work with children.
  • Using time with children differently and bringing more playfulness into interactions.
  • Using picture-based worksheets as a preferred communication tool.
  • Engaging in and observing children's play during home visits.
  • Improving communication during playful meetings with children.
  • Improving communication during interviews with children.

Guardian Publications and Research

  • O'Reilly, L. (2023) Stability in Foster Care: The Child's Voice.
  • O'Reilly, L. (2022) Family Contact: The Child's Voice.
  • O'Reilly, L. (2021) The Child Attachment Relationship Guide: Informing Child Protection and Fostering Social Work. Childcare in Practice.
  • O'Reilly, L. (2020) The Everyday Guide to Attachment, Play, Connection and Emotional Release.
  • O'Reilly, L. (2020) The Introduction of Attachment Play in Child and Family Social Work; Optimising Connection, Emotional Release and supporting Challenging Behaviour. The Irish Social Worker.
  • O'Reilly, L. and Dolan, P. (2017) The Role of Social Work Education and Training in Supporting Practitioners to Communicate with Children in an Age-appropriate Manner. British Journal of Social Work.
  • O'Reilly, L. and Dolan, P. (2017) The Use of Play Skills during Child Protection Assessments; building relationships with children to explore attachment relationships. The Routledge Handbook of Global Child Welfare.
  • O'Reilly, L. and Dolan, P. (2016) The Voice of the Child in Social Work Assessments: Age-appropriate Communication with Children. British Journal of Social Work, 46(5), pp. 1191-1207.
  • O'Reilly, L. (2014) The Voice of the Child in Social Work Assessments: What they Say? Or What they Play? Executive Summary. The Irish Social Worker.
  • O'Reilly, L. (2013) The Voice of the Child in Social Work Assessments: What they Say? Or What they Play? Lambert Academic Publishers, Germany.

Contact Lisa

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

Email Lisa