Safe Steps
Meet Olive
Olive Connaughton
CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHOTHERAPIST
Accredited with IAPTP and EAIP
Co-founder of Safe Steps
Olive is an accredited Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist and co-founder of Safe Steps. She brings many years of experience supporting children, young people, families, and the professionals who work alongside them.
Olive began her career in social care, working and managing within child residential services. This experience shaped her deep understanding of trauma, safety, and the importance of consistent, supportive relationships in a young person's life.
She later spent 16 years in education as a teacher and Course Coordinator for the QQI Level 5 Social Studies programme, supporting students preparing for careers in the caring professions.
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Olive holds a Master's degree in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy and a Postgraduate Diploma in Play Therapy. She is accredited with the Irish Association of Play Therapy and Psychotherapy (IAPTP) and the European Association for Integrative Psychotherapy (EAIP).
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Her work is further supported by training in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, the Neurosequential Model of Education, and a year-long training in the clinical application of Polyvagal Theory. She is currently completing advanced training in the Dynamic-Maturational Model of Attachment and Adaptation (DMM) with Dr Patricia Crittenden.
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Her therapeutic approach is warm, relational and trauma-informed - with a focus on helping children feel safe, understood and supported within their relationships.
Olive Connaughton
CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHOTHERAPIST
Accredited with IAPTP and EAIP
Co-founder of Safe Steps
Olive began her career in social care, working and managing within child residential services. This experience shaped her deep understanding of trauma, safety, and the importance of consistent, supportive relationships in a young person's life.
She later spent 16 years in education as a teacher and Course Coordinator for the QQI Level 5 Social Studies programme, supporting students preparing for careers in the caring professions.
​
Olive holds a Master's degree in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy and a Postgraduate Diploma in Play Therapy. She is accredited with the Irish Association of Play Therapy and Psychotherapy (IAPTP) and the European Association for Integrative Psychotherapy (EAIP).
​
Her work is further supported by training in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, the Neurosequential Model of Education, and a year-long training in the clinical application of Polyvagal Theory. She is currently completing advanced training in the Dynamic-Maturational Model of Attachment and Adaptation (DMM) with Dr Patricia Crittenden.
​
Her therapeutic approach is warm, relational and trauma-informed - with a focus on helping children feel safe, understood and supported within their relationships.
Olive is an accredited Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist and co-founder of Safe Steps. She brings over 25 years of experience supporting children, young people, families, and the professionals who work alongside them.
CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHOTHERAPIST
"It is a privilege to walk alongside a child as they find their way back to themselves"
OLIVE CONNAUGHTON · SAFE STEPS