Meet the Team.
Our team
Dr. Niall Reynolds, DProf, MSc, BA
An experienced social care consultant, systemic psychotherapist, and research supervisor with 20 years of diverse experience in child protection, welfare, and clinical settings. Dr. Reynolds has a strong interest in working with disadvantaged communities and marginalized groups. Dr. Reynolds has expertise working in secure care for many years and has worked with children exhibiting challenging behaviours with complex clinical and social profiles. He spent ten years working with the Tusla NIAPP service, specializing in assessing and treating children who had engaged in harmful sexual behaviour. In his private practice, Dr. Reynolds specialises in working with family law cases referred through the courts and with foster children and their carers through his T-SOS service. As a published researcher, he has focused on aftercare, reflective practice, and creative responses to challenging behaviours in adolescents. Dr. Reynolds is currently a faculty member of the UCD School of Medicine- MSc Systemic Psychotherapy program, where he teaches and supervises systemic research. He also founded The Relational Space, a nationwide service providing training, consultation, and systemic psychotherapy for children and families.
Dr. Aileen Tierney PhD, MSocSc, BSocSc
Dr. Tierney has been practising as a systemic family therapist and independent social worker since 1988 and trained both as a therapist and clinical supervisor in Clanwilliam Institute, where she held the role of CEO for over 10 years. In her current role with Clanwilliam she continues to be the director of academic courses. Dr. Tierney qualified with a Phd from Tilburg University in 2011 where her research focused dialogical approaches to disability, constructions and discourses.
Dr. Tierney has a broad practice base which includes systemic family psychotherapy, external clinical supervision, design and delivery of reflective practice groups and training in various areas using systemic approaches. She has provided organisational consultation and staff support provision to several state, charity and voluntary organisations. Dr. Tierney has taught clinical counselling skills in both Trinity college and UCD for over 15 years on the Masters in social work courses. She works directly with individuals, couples, children, adolescents and their families. In 2023 she joined the Relational Space a nationwide service providing training, consultation, and systemic psychotherapy for children and families.
Jennifer Arkins, Office Manager
Jennifer has developed her administrative expertise in a variety of settings over a 20-year period, including time spent at the Oasis therapy centre in Dublin. In addition, she brings with her a long-standing experience in community and youth work, including with St. Agathas’ youth project and the Lourdes youth and community service. Jennifer has a strong interest in equality, human rights and social justice and has worked for the community action network (CAN) for 16 years.