Antonia Colom-Timlin MIAHIP, MEMDR All-Irl., Reg. ICP, Reg. ISSTD. 

 

 

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Or email: Antoniacounselling@gmail.com

 

 

 

Accreditations, Memberships and Affiliations:

I am a member of the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP), a member of the EMDR All-Ireland Association, and a member of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and dissociation (ISSTD). 

 

Education:

  • 4-year Advanced Professional training programme to treat post Complex Trauma and Dissociative Disorders, with the Centre for Advanced Studies in Trauma and Dissociation in Virginia, USA.
  • Masters in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy from the University of Oxford, UK.
  • Fully certified in Eye-Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR).
  • BA (Hons.) in Integrative Counselling & Psychotherapy from IICP, Ireland.
  • 4 year Professional Diploma in Integrative Counselling & Psychotherapy in the Tivoli Institute in Ireland.
  • Post Graduate Dip. in Art Therapy.
  • Additional training in Somatic Experiencing, Sensorimotor EMDR, Polyvagal Theory, Progressive EMDR for dissociation, Mindful body Awareness and Therapeutic Yoga for Trauma, Working iwth Persecutory and Malevolent Introject Alters in DID, Clinical Hypnosis. Hearing Inner Voices and Cultivating Inner Dialogue, Rational and Irrational Psychopharmacology for Complex Trauma and Dissociation, Trauma-sensitive Mindfulness, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Reality Therapy and Motivational Interviewing, Understanding Psychosis, Working with Dreams, Family Constellations, and End of Life/Palliative emotional care, and am ASIST trained (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training).

My professional experience

I have been working in the field of mental health for 20 years and have worked with adults, children, teenagers and couples. Prior to becoming a therapist, I was involved in education and I worked as a student counsellor with international teenage students. I also worked as a volunteer in outreach services with women involved in prostitution in Dublin. I set up Maynooth Counselling and Psychotherapy in 2007, which continues to provide counselling services to the Maynooth community under the direction of Helen Vaughan. I worked in the Village Counselling Service in Tallaght, with children and young people struggling with a variety of issues, using play and art therapy.  Currently, I work online only and specialise in working with trauma, dissociation and stress disorders. Here are some of the things I have been involved in:

  • Lecturer and clinical practice supervisor, training counselling and psychotherapy students at undergraduate level and supervising research dissertations, and as a presenter in community education programmes. A University of Oxford college and I adapted the Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy programme so that it is safe for trauma and dissociation.
  • Participated in a large trauma therapy supervision group with therapists from all over the world, led by Dr. Kathy Steele and Dr. Dolores Mosquera, both internationally recognised and widely published in the field of trauma.
  • Participated, together with one of my clients with DID, in the largest prospective treatment outcome study (up to 2023) of Dissociative Disorders, run by Dr. Bethany Brand in Maryland, USA.
  • I am also involved in a peer support group with other therapists in Ireland that work with Dissociative Disorders and Trauma. 

Some personal information.

I am of mixed Irish/Spanish heritage, and speak three languages fluently.  In my free time, I enjoy reading, hiking, growing food, and travelling to Spain to see my family. I am a part-time beekeeper and a volunteer with my local Tidy Towns organisation. I practice meditation, compassion practices, HearthMath heart coherence and mindful yoga regularly.   I have personal experience of infertility and have been unable to have children, and have also personal experience of having a rare (and invisible) genetic condition that took many years to get diagnosed (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome), and which there is still very little awareness of, especially in Ireland. These experiences have given me an understanding of what others in similar situations might live through, and how silent and invisible certain conditions can be. It has also helped me understand how frustrating it is to get specialised help and support for people with Complex Trauma and Dissociation. In Ireland, there are no specialised units to help people with these conditions and, as of yet, there is very little awareness within the medical field in Ireland of Dissociative Identity Disorder. I believe that these challenges, with a network of support, can be transformed into something positive that leads to growth and resilience.