Get the care you deserve.
About Us
Dr Vicky Matthews is a Senior Clinical Psychologist, a Chartered Member of the Psychological Society of Ireland and the founder and Clinical Director of West Cork Psychology.
During her career, she worked in Ireland, the UK and Canada. She worked with people of all ages presenting with a wide variety of difficulties in both mental and physical health, including cognitive difficulties and additional educational needs, along with general life challenges such as family, relationships, education and employment.
She provides cognitive assessments for both adults and children, including general assessments of intellectual ability (IQ), academic achievement, Giftedness, specific learning difficulties and ADHD.
She uses a neuro-affirmative approach to assessments, with the focus being on ‘differences’, not ‘disabilities’.
Therapeutically, she uses a person-centred, integrative approach. She is trained in a wide variety of therapeutic modalities, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT), Systemic Therapy, Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, Compassion Focused Therapy and others. She typically tailors interventions to the needs of the person rather than rigidly following a specific therapeutic modality. Years of experience tells her that the relationship, specifically you feeling comfortable with Vicky and able to be open and honest, is the best predictor of outcome. You’re likely to get along with Vicky if you value talking with someone empathetic and interested in you as a person.
Dr Shane MacSweeney is a Clinical Psychologist, and is a Chartered Member of the Psychological Society of Ireland. After completing a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Shane went on to obtain a Masters in Psychological Science at University College Dublin. Shane qualified as a Clinical Psychologist in 2022 after completing a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at University College Cork (UCC). His doctoral research focused specifically on child emotional regulation and parent-child attachment (exploring the role of both mothers and fathers). His research publications to date can be found here, while his doctoral research can be accessed here.
Shane draws from his experience across a wide range of mental health settings, including HSE adult, child and adolescent mental health services, as well as inpatient/outpatient paediatric neuropsychology settings. Prior to becoming a Clinical Psychologist, Shane also worked as a Social Care Worker in residential settings. He offers a kind, patient, and supportive environment where you can feel comfortable exploring and addressing your child’s current challenges or issues.
Dr Katie Cullen is a Clinical Psychologist with over 9 years of comprehensive training and experience. She holds a BA in Psychology from University College Dublin, a MSc in Health Psychology from the National University of Ireland, Galway and has completed a Doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from University College Cork. She is also a Chartered Member of the Psychological Society of Ireland.
Katie has extensive experience of working with clients across the lifespan. She is skilled in assessing and developing collaborative formulations with a wide variety of mental health presentations, and is passionate about delivering evidenced based interventions which aim to support clients to reach their goals and make sense of their unique life experiences. Katie’s prior experience spans various settings, including community mental health centres (e.g. adult and child HSE services) and hospital settings. She adopts a warm, empathetic and compassionate approach in her work and strives to ensure her clients feel heard, understood and empowered to overcome their difficulties through their work with her.
Katie provides online ADHD assessments to adult clients at present within West Cork Psychology. She endorses a neuroaffirmative approach in her work, and strives to help educate and empower clients who suspect that they may have ADHD.
Although we wish we could work with everyone, there may be times in which we not the right people to help. These include instances where you may need the help of a mental health team, rather than an individual, such as if you engage in self-harm or have thoughts of ending your life. In these cases, we would redirect you to more appropriate sources of support.
If you think that West Cork Psychology might be able to meet what you are looking for, don’t hesitate to get in touch to discuss further.