Dr Nicola O’Sullivan
Director
Dr Nicola O’Sullivan is a Graduate, Visiting Lecturer and Doctoral Supervisor at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. She is a Visiting Lecturer at the School of Social Work and Social Policy at Trinity College Dublin and Visiting Lecturer at MTU on the MA in Art Psychotherapy. Dr O’Sullivan is a clinical and group supervisor and an expert in the provision of reflective practice groups to frontline practitioners in Health, Education, Social Work and Social Care. Nicola has a special interest in teams at work in early years, health, education, and social work, and social care settings. Her skill and expertise extends to providing training in areas including; supervision (endorsed Level 1 training by Social Care Ireland), training in regulation and reflection, emotional and relational wellbeing and staff self-care.
Dr O’Sullivan’s interests include complexity at work, supervision, leadership and consultancy, and reflective practice and links to her papers are here. Dr O’Sullivan has worked with children and families in community and residential settings in Ireland since 2001. She has developed the Heart and Mind Model to support her work with foster families in Ireland. This model reflects a unique approach to work with foster families that centres on an appreciation of empathy, history, culture, race, complexity, compassion, somatic experience and knowledge.
EXPERIENCE
- Visiting Lecturer at The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. 2020-Present
- Clinical Supervisor to Frontline Practitioners in Health and Social Care
- Guest Lecturer at the Munster Technology University. 2020 – Present
- Visiting Lecturer and Tutor at Trinity College Dublin. 2014 – Present
- Associate at Ag Eisteacht. 2020 – 2022
- The Bessborough Centre. Head of Research, Education and Training 2009 – 2018
- Founding Member of BASCPAN – Irish Branch 2014 – 2017
Attuned In Practice Alliance
Founder
At Attuned in Practice, we believe that all frontline practitioners deserve learning spaces to reflect and connect with their core beliefs, values, and the sense of purpose that drew them into their work or chosen career path. We know from our own practice that these spaces can be normative and restorative, helping to sustain us.
When practitioners are afforded the opportunity to connect and reflect on subjects central to their work, this shapes their practice for the better and sets them up to bring their best selves to work. Reflective, attuned practitioners then inform a better organisational and whole-system response to people using those services.
Our aim is to provide learning and reflective spaces for practitioners to come together. We choose reflective practitioners to lead and provide key insights, inviting deeper thinking and reflection on key aspects of frontline work in Health, Education, and Social Care. These practitioners speak from their own experience and practice, creating a safe and nurturing space that helps attendees think more deeply about their roles. The gathering and opportunity to share are supportive to attendees and help build a community with shared values and a collective understanding of the challenges and norms of working in frontline practice.
What Surrounds Us Shapes Us
Careers In Depth is a leading career development organisation dedicated to providing personalised coaching and career management services. The team, composed of experienced professionals like Nicola O’Sullivan, offers deep psychological insights and practical strategies to help clients realise their full potential. Their services are designed to address the unique challenges faced by individuals in their professional lives, fostering growth, and long-term success.
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Our Literature
You go in heavy and you come out light
An interpretative phenomenological analysis of reflective practice experiences in an Irish infant mental health setting
Creating space to think
and feel in child protection social work; a psychodynamic intervention
Working in complex contexts
mother social workers and the mothers they meet
Centre-based supervised child-parent contact in Ireland:
the views and experiences of fathers, supervisors and key stakeholders
The danger of denying emotions in our work
BASW, Professional Social Work Magazine.
Anchoring social care and social work practice
in structured reflection: introducing a model of group reflective practice