Anchor Therapy: OT Support for Mental health and neurodiversity

Occupational Therapy

Anchor Therapy is an Occupational Therapy service that supports people to learn practical life skills to better manage their daily routine, work, self-care and their enjoyment in life.

Anchor Therapy specialises in working with Neurodiversity and Mental Health concerns in young people and adults. We offer online and face to face therapy sessions.

Why OT?

Psychiatrists diagnose, psychologists counsel and OTs "do". We support people to support themselves by building the necessary skills needed to manage and thrive at work, in school and in college.

All our therapists have degrees in OT and between 5-15 years experience working within neurodiversity and mental health.

Adults

Young Adults

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I cannot speak highly enough of the work Michelle does. Michelle has been so supportive of my teenage son who has ADHD and is finding secondary school very challenging. Michelle immediatley made a connection with him and helped him feel understood and supported. She has given him so many valuable tools to help him manage everyday tasks in his school day. Michelle has also been really supportive of me in giving me strategies to help make family life with my son easier on at home. We feel very lucky to have found Michelle and can highly recommend her.

Anne

New podcast alert! What a great honour to be part of @izzy_showbizzy’s new podcast “That’s Mental”. We had great chats about Neurodiversity, ADHD, mental health and trauma. Can’t wait to hear the other episodes 🙌

#adhd
#mentalhealth #thatsmental

Our OT student Nina from TCD attended “From Challenge to Change: The Climate Crisis & Women’s Mental Health” event at the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission in Dublin.

The talk explored:
💫 how climate change is an environmental issue but also a growing mental health concern, particularly for women.
💫how climate related anxiety, solastalgia, and caregiving responsibilities are impacting women’s wellbeing.

We’re so lucky to have students with us at Anchor Therapy to be able to attend events like this and share the insights after! 🙌

@ailis_ni_dheaghaidh @tcd_ot

Workshops 💫 I spent a lovely afternoon talking to a great bunch of young people as part of @dscworkabilityprogramme

We had lovely discussions about how to set simple attainable goals, how to beat procrastination and practice time awareness.

Thank you for having me 🙏

#mentalhealthsupport

Webinar 3: the skill of organisation.

We’ll chat all about:
How to tackle longer term projects ✔️
How to set up an effective work space ✔️
How to manage procrastination ✔️
How to build better systems for lists and calendars ✔️

Booking via events pg on adhdireland.
@adhdireland @ailis_ni_dheaghaidh

Therapy experiences with Ailis 💫

Despite what people may think we don’t often get feedback from clients directly of how they experience OT but when we do it’s magic!

Supporting someone to foster and nurture self worth that enables them to feel “proud” is just gold🙌 @ailis_ni_dheaghaidh

#occupationaltherapy #adhd #assertiveness #selfworth

A moment to pause on Valentine’s Day ❤️

Showing yourself little moments of compassion is a wonderful way to connect and show kindness to you.

Think small. Each little moment helps and can build mental resilience.

#selfcare #selfcompassion #occupationaltherapy

Our first social group of 2025 🙌

Thank you to everyone that came along.
You are all very brave and it was wonderful to have you there.
We realised that we hav a lot more in common than we may have anticipated! The power of groups 🙌
@ailis_ni_dheaghaidh

Can’t wait for our next group on 6th March.
#socialconnection #friendship #group

First social group of the year! We can’t wait to see you all there 🙌#

Practice social skills
Create friendships
Have fun!

Considering Online therapy?
This video explains how to assess whether it might suit you 💫

#onlinetherapy

Wondering whether online support is right for you?

In my honest opinion online therapy and face to face can both be as beneficial as each other once you take into account the following considerations.

Consider:

1. Convenience: what keeps stress to a minimum
2. Access to a laptop and good wifi
3. Your age: often younger teens can find it easier to engage f2f
4. Your previous experience with online support
5. Your gut instinct

Reach out if you’d like to chat more!

#onlinetherapy #inpersontherapy #occupationaltherapy

Setting goals In 2025 🙌

* Be Specific – Define exactly what you want to achieve.
* Make It Measurable – How will you track progress?
* Set Realistic Goals – Challenge yourself, but stay realistic.
* Stay Relevant – Ensure your goals align with your bigger picture.
* Add a Time Frame – Set deadlines to stay accountable.
* Write It Down – The act of writing increases commitment!
* Break It Down – Split big goals into small, actionable steps.
* Create an Action Plan – Plan your steps carefully.
* Track Progress – Celebrate wins along the way!
* Stay Flexible – Life happens, adjust as needed.
* Get Accountability – Share your goals with someone or use tracking tools.

#occupationaltherapy #goalsettingtips

Check in with yourself this Christmas.

It can be a hard time of year. Be aware of your capacity and set boundaries when you need a break.

#stress #christmas #occupationaltherapy

Social meet-ups starting 2025!

Suitable for you if:
🔸between ages 18-30.
🔸neurodivergent or socially anxious.
🔸struggling to make friends/ access new friends.
🔸would like to practice communication and social skills in a safe space.
🔸would like to make friends and meet new people.

#occupationaltherapy #function #socialskills #friends

Feeling shame going to see your therapist 🧡

Have you ever felt shame and embarrassment going to a therapy session because you didn’t achieve your goals or because you felt like you’ve taken 10 steps backwards?

Feeling like this can make us avoid therapy and cancel sessions.

Know that if you feel this way you’re not alone and you’re very brave to share this with your therapist. You’re in the right place to sit with these feelings in therapy and be held by your therapist.

There’s no shame in feeling stuck. There’s no shame in not following through with goals. There’s no shame in feeling hopeless 🧡

#occupationaltherapy #shame #goals #empathy #compassion #change

Why bother with therapy?
Taking care of your mental health is just as important as your physical health.

Why?

1️⃣ A Safe Space
Therapy offers a judgment free space to share your thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Sometimes, just being heard makes all the difference.

2️⃣ Tools for Life
Learn practical strategies to manage stress, improve relationships, and navigate life’s challenges. Think of it as a toolkit for your mind!

3️⃣ Self-Discovery
Uncover patterns, beliefs, and behaviors that may be holding you back. Therapy helps you better understand you. 🌱

4️⃣ Emotional Relief
Processing emotions like sadness, anger, or anxiety with a trained professional can lighten your emotional load.

#accessinghelp #occupationaltherapy

Can medication help ADHD?
In a short answer- yes!

Being open to medication is important. I really want to de stigmatise taking medication for mental ill-health or ADHD.

Pills and skills can work great together 🙌

#stigma #mentalhealth #medication #adhd

Work and access grant explained 💫

Eligibility:
⭐️Have a diagnosed mental health condition/ neurodiversity
⭐️Over 18
⭐️Struggling with work/ want help at work

#work #occupationaltherapy #inclusivity

Work struggles? Are you neurodivergent? Do you have a mental health diagnosis?

The Work and Access Grant is new funding being provided by the government.

It provides FREE workplace assessments and interventions by an Occupational Therapist, ensuring your work place is equipped to meet your needs.

Whether it’s adjustments to your workspace or tailored support, this initiative is all about empowering individuals to thrive at work.

It’s a brilliant initiative but unfortunately not very well advertised among the general population.

Anchor therapy OTs are very keen to help people access this funding to break barriers and build more inclusive workplaces together!

#WorkAndAccess #InclusionMatters #DisabilitySupport #WorkplaceAccessibility #breakingbarriers

Hi, I’m Ailís, a senior OT with Anchor Therapy.

I’m very driven to make a real difference in the lives of the young people and adults I support at Anchor Therapy. I have worked in inpatient settings and in the community ADHD service in the mid west.

I have a special interest in promoting inclusivity and anti-racism in practice. I set up the @irish_ots_for_palestine group to support our call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

When I’m not OT-ing I love CrossFit and being outdoors!

I offer face to face and some online support. 💫

#occupationaltherapy

Hi, I’m Laura, a senior OT with Anchor Therapy. I have a deep passion for supporting young people and adults in managing their mental health and achieving their life goals.

A large part of my experience has involved working with neurodivergent individuals supporting independent living skills, better executive functioning at work, school and college and overall wellness.

In my spare time I like walking by the sea with my young family, hiking in nature and engaging in yoga and fitness.

I offer online sessions. 💫

#occupationaltherapy

Christmas meet up 🎄
We would love if you could join us for a friendly and casual meet up on Dec 6th.

Reach out to me here or WhatsApp 0862725278 if you’d like more information.

Current/ past clients of Anchor Therapy are welcome as are friends and family.

Plan:
Myself and Ailis will meet at Sandycove store and Yard at 10am for an optional coffee/ tea and then a stroll by the sea after.

If you’re worried about any aspect of the meet up reach out and we can chat through it.

Really looking forward to this 🙌

Workshop ⭐️I had the pleasure of meeting some inspiring young men yesterday as part of @dscworkabilityprogramme and @athleticsirelandofficial personal development programme - supporting young people with a disability to enter employment.

We chatted all about our executive functioning skills. We chatted about anxiety and the difficulties people can face doing the every day things that some of us take for granted.

Groups are powerful and it’s always a privilege 🙌

#occupationaltherapy #groups

Workshop 💫 Ailis presented to an ambitious group of young men yesterday in collaboration with @athleticsirelandofficial and @dscworkabilityprogramme

Discussion:
-Self perception and how this can shape our ability to get work
-How to speak more kindly to ourselves: Accessing our inner supporter at work.
-Imposter syndrome and the different styles and how this can affect our performance in the workplace.

Perfectly timed on mental health day yesterday!
Thank you to all of the participants, @athleticsirelandofficial and @dscworkabilityprogramme for this opportunity.

#occupationaltherapy #workplaceskills #selfperception

World mental health day 💫

Theme: mental health at work.

As OT’s were very concerned with your ability to perform at work while enjoying it and feeling valued.

We support lots of different types of workers from accountants, engineers and teachers to solicitors, other health professionals and so on.

What we notice is that the workplaces that are open and eager to make changes to support their staff are often the workplaces that have the happiest and most hard working staff.

Having a fancy wellness day every now and then isn’t enough.

Meaningful and supportive staff measures need to be woven into a workplace’s culture and fostered daily.

We’ll keep fighting for more inclusive and supportive workplaces!

#occupationaltherapy #worldmentalhealthday #workplaceculture

Reviews ⭐️ Messages like these remind me why I set up Anchor Therapy.

We’re very lucky to be able to make a difference in someone’s world.

#occupationaltherapy #impact

Being a disruptor as an Occupational Therapist💡

Listened to an inspiring presentation today presented by our very own Ailís and her fellow OT colleagues about how we as OTs can be activists and advocates.

At Anchor Therapy, we hope that through our work we continue to challenge the barriers in society that alienate and deprive people with neurodiversities and mental health diagnoses from accessing education, work and a life of meaning.

How we strive to do this:
- Challenge and activate better school systems
- Improve college participation
- Support social groups and inclusion
- Advocate for better work accommodations
- Question and challenge negative and unsupportive thinking styles
- Educate and inspire others
- Question our own opinions and judgements

Feeling inspired after @aotiofficial conference today!

#occupationaltherapy

Reviews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to every parent and young person who attended our webinar last night. We received some great feedback and were left buzzing afterwards 💫

We also had some interesting suggestions for further webinars which we’ll get planning for asap!

#adhd #occupationaltherapy #webinar #school

Using your body to help focus and regulation throughout the day 💫

We’ll chat more about this in next week’s webinar!

#movement #regulation #bodyawareness #movementbreaks #fidgets

OT webinar: how to manage 5th and 6th year 💫
Calling parents and students!

We will explore:

· Morning and evening routines to shape a better school day

· School routine: energy levels and sensory overload

· How to study better

· Time management

· Organisation

· Accessing help: knowing what you need

#occupationaltherapy #secondaryschool #mentalhealth #movement #focus #adhd #study

OT Webinar alert 🔔 Supporting you in 5th and 6th Year.

We’ll focus on:
- how to be more organised during your school day.
- how to pay attention and get the most out of your classes.
- how to remember what you need for class and for home.
- how to manage the changing demands within the school environment: noises, people, classes, corridors etc
- how to have a better morning and evening routine

We’re really looking forward to this one!

#adhd #occupationaltherapy #students #organisation #focus

World suicide prevention day 🧡

I sat in a session with a young woman this morning who told me that she feels sad and helpless so often that it pains her but feels like a burden on family and friends so has stopped sharing this with them.

I listened to a teenager yesterday tell me that he hates school and sometimes just wants it all to end.

I’m sure I’ll hear more stories tomorrow of struggles that feel insurmountable.

These people are in our families, our friendship groups, our workplaces, our gyms, our schools and colleges.

Be kind and open always 🧡

What is Sensory Processing and why is it associated with OT?

Sensory processing is how our brain interprets and responds to the information we get through our senses—sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, movement, and body position. Everyone processes sensory input differently. Some may be more sensitive, while others need stronger input to feel things.

For example, do you ever feel overwhelmed by loud noises or uncomfortable in certain fabrics? This might be related to how your brain processes sensory input.

Sensory challenges can affect daily life, like getting dressed, focusing at school, or participating in social activities. But there’s good news—Occupational Therapy can help!

OTs help people:
🔹 Better understand their sensory preferences
🔹 Develop strategies to manage sensory overload or seeking tendencies

This can lead to improved focus, emotional regulation, and overall participation in daily life!

#occupationaltherapy #sensoryprocessing #neurodiversity #trauma #sensorysensitivities

Tip #6 Take action and beat procrastination!

Action helps to break the cycle of procrastination and build momentum towards more action and motivation.

Thinking about what you need to do won’t help you get it done. Focus your energy on “doing” something to help you get closer to your goal. You can apply this to any goal. Eg an action might’ve opening up your laptop, sending an email, gettjng up off your chair.

Sometimes the smaller the actions the better as they can feel more achievable. 💫

#occupationaltherapy #procrastination #action #motivation #goals

Tip # 5. Attach actions to goals.

How does this help with focus and productivity?

💡 Helps you anticipate and problem solve challenges that may arise and distract you. From the goal.
💡 Takes the pressure off when you can follow steps and forget about the end goal.
💡By working through the steps you can feel like you’re accomplishing something, helping you to stay on task.

#occupationaltherapy #adhd #neurodiversity #mentalhealth #actions #goals #executivefunctioningskills

Tip #4 Make an achievable list when you want to get something done. You can make a list for everything! Yes, even house work, personal admin, work, college etc. Lists help to guide us into taking action and keeping focus!

Top tips:

1. Filter out list systems (apps, calendars etc) you have in place that aren’t working. Try make it a bit more basic and simple.

2. Think about the number of items on your list. Keep this achievable!

3. Prioritise top 3 tasks that are most important.

#occupationaltherapy #adhd #neurodiversity #list #executivefunctioning #practicalhelp #goals

Tip # 3 Use a visual timer. Using an old fashioned visual timer can be a brilliant way to improve executive functioning and get things done!

Using visual timers can help create:

- Urgency and accountability for what you’re trying to achieve.

- Awareness for how long something is taking you to complete.

- Motivation and drive to stay on task by seeing the timer move forward.

#occupationaltherapy #adhd #neurodiversity #mentalhealth #executivefunctioning #routine #goals

Tip #2 Eliminating Distractions: to help focus and productivity.

1. Scan your environment. Make note of what’s commonly distracting you. Jot these down on a list.

2. Look inwards. Notice internal thoughts, feelings and emotions that commonly distract you.

3. Take action. Practice eliminating 1 of your common distractions during your next block of work and see if it helps. Practice this again and again.

4. Reflect. Did this help? Can you pick something else from your list to focus on?

Spending the time to pause, reflect and remove distractions from your work space can really help improve your focus and productivity ie executive functioning.

#occupationaltherapy #neurodiversity #mentalhealth #distraction #executivefunctioning

Therapy Reviews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Our OTs get passing comments all of the time that they’re amazing and helpful but people rarely write this down!

We always ask for feedback from our clients so that we can improve our service and also celebrate our wins. I urge you to share feedback, whether good or bad it’s so appreciated!

Shout out to the amazing OTs that I have the privilege to learn from and work with.
Ailís, Laura and Rachel ⭐️

#therapyreviews #feedback #occupationaltherapy #5star

Tip #1 for better executive functioning from an OT.
✨Build consistent morning and evening routines ✨

Yesterday I shared a post with 6 tips to help improve your executive functioning throughout the day. I plan to share videos elaborating on each of these 6 tips over the next few weeks.

#1 Making changes to your morning and evening routine.

1. Consider your wake/ sleep times. How consistent are you with these? Do they vary greatly day to day?
Practice getting up at a similar time each day. Similarly practice going to bed at a consistent time. If you’re not happy with your wake/ sleep window change it by 15 minutes each week. Building consistency will support better habits throughout the day.

2. Work around your wake/ sleep times. If this is going well, build on it. Add self care habits. Eg I get up at 7 and first thing I do I shower/ drink a glass of water.

3. Be patient and take small achievable steps. Building routines can take time. Keep the actions realistic for you.

#occupationaltherapy #neurodiversity #adhd #mentalhealth #executivefunctioningskills #attention #planning #timemanagement

What are executive functioning skills?

Sharing some quick tips and tricks to try from an Ot perspective 💫

#executivefunctioning #occupationaltherapy #adhd #neurodiversity #practical

The brain explained! 🤓
A snippet into the processes behind functioning and what can get in the way.

#occupationaltherapy #mentalhealth #neuroscience #neurodiversity #function

Understanding how the brain gets things done 🧠

How does knowing the neuroscience help?

💡You can understand WHY your body and your mind might be responding a certain way in different places or around different people.

💡When stressed, anxious etc you can now make sense of why it’s so difficult to focus, remember something, to be on time, to be present in conversation, to be organised and so on.

💡Gives you space to pause and practice compassion for why you’re struggling.

#neuroscience #occupationaltherapy #adhd #prefrontalcortex #function #stress

Executive functioning explained 💫#occupationaltherapy #adhd #practicalhelp

Executive functioning - what it is and why are these skills so important?

EF helps us to make decisions all day, to retain focus and prioritise what we need to do so that we can get things done!

These set of skills are really important to help us in every aspect of life and that’s why life can be so hard if we have difficulties with executive functions.

Check out my video for more info 💫

#executivefunctioning #adhd #occupationaltherapy

Anchor Therapy Team Workshops 💫
We have a team of 4 OTs that meet for monthly workshops in our office on Fade Street.

Why do we have peer workshops?
💡To be better therapists
💡To share skills & expertise
💡To present challenges and brainstorm solutions
💡To reflect and reflect more!
💡To pause and chat 😅

Today’s workshop was a presentation by Ailís on “Occupational Injustice”.
This sparked some great discussions about the unique skills we have as OTs in addressing occupational alienation, imbalance, deprivation and marginalisation. We see this everyday in our client sessions. We see this everyday in the world.
People continue to be deprived of occupation because of their race, gender, education, economic status, disability, mental health, neurodiversity and so on.

Ailís is a co-founder of @irish_ots_for_palestine and is constantly highlighting the evidence behind the genocide and occupational injustices in Palestine 🇵🇸.

..and of course we paused for some Taylor chats and de briefs courtesy of Ailís 🙌 #occupationalbalance

#workshops #occupationaltherapy #cpd

Our therapy space 💫 If you’re meeting with our OT Ailis this is what you can expect when you come into 13 Fade Street.
It’s a really peaceful and welcoming room where lots of great work happens.

#therapyspace #occupationaltherapy #healing

LOST FOR WORDS 💛
An inspiring and honest poem shared by 1 of our lovely clients.

Anxiety pricks at my confidence,
Like thorns and wild rose,
Dread develops into doubt,
Like a creepy stalker,
That hovers over my nervous system,
Eking out every shred of doubt

Fear and anxiety can stop us from doing the things that we need and want to do in our lives. It can be consuming and so powerful.

Anchor Therapy OTs support people with anxiety to re-engage in old social habits, to stay in school and college, to manage difficulties and strive at work, to make friends and much more.

For some people accessing psychological support for anxiety can be useful before you meet with your OT. For others, the practical approach of OT might be a better fit first.

Either way, there is help 💫

#anxiety #publicspeaking #practicalhelp #occupationaltherapy #poetry

Pride month 2024 🌈

We’re continuously trying to be better at practicing equity and inclusivity at Anchor Therapy.

Creating a safe and accessible space for everyone to engage in therapy is really important to us as OTs.

Let’s continue to be better at showing respect and kindness to everyone.

#loveislove #pridewins #occupationaltherapy #mentalhealth #neurodiversity

Thinking of our exam students this week and into next week! Sharing some quick tips from our lovely OT Ailís ⭐️ #leavingcert #juniorcert #mentalhealth #neurodiversity #occupationaltherapy

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