X
Booking Summary
Owen Smith (he/him/his)
X
Owen’s fee is €90 for Individuals and €90 for Couples
Counselling Experience and Areas of Interest
Owen is a qualified and accredited humanistic and integrative psychotherapist. At the core of his work is a humanistic belief in the inherent worth, dignity, and potential of each person. His practice is trauma-focused where appropriate and integrates advanced training in EMDR therapy, relationship therapy, and supporting people experiencing compulsive sexual behaviour. Owen provides both individual and relationship therapy. Individual therapyOwen is experienced in working with a wide range of issues, including:
- Gender, sexuality, sexual orientation, and relationship diversity (GSRD/LGBTQ+)
- Sexual health (e.g. STIs, HIV, PrEP and PEP, chemsex harm reduction)
- Compulsive sexual behaviours (CSB) and porn related distress, often labelled by some as “sex addiction” or “porn addiction,” approached from a non-pathologising perspective
- Trauma and complex trauma
- Confidence, self-worth, and shame
- Relationship difficulties
- Bereavement, grief, and loss
- Bullying
- Illness and adjustment to diagnosis or prognosis
- Depression and low mood
- Anxiety
Many partners experience challenges such as communication difficulties, conflict, “stuckness,” infidelity, trust issues, unequal or diminished desire and intimacy, or a sense of drifting apart. Owen works with couples as well as with diverse types of intimate and multi-partnered relationships, including consensual and ethical non-monogamy, polyamory and open relationships.
In therapy, you are supported to better understand and manage the dynamics between you and your partner. The process can help uncover and work through patterns that may be keeping you in familiar but unhelpful cycles, and to move towards a more positive and connected way of relating. For some, relationship therapy may also provide a space to consider or navigate separation in a thoughtful and supported way.
His work with couples is informed by relational and attachment-based models, drawing in part from training in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy.
Counselling and Psychotherapeutic Approach
Owen works with individuals, couples, and people in multi-partnered relationships. He brings a non-pathologising, humanistic lens to therapy, integrating relational, psychodynamic, somatic, systemic, and EMDR-informed approaches. His work is trauma-focused where appropriate and may include body-based interventions when helpful.
He believes that, given the right conditions, we as human beings have the capacity to realise our true selves and potential.
“I believe in the inherent value and uniqueness of each person. This means that I look at what best fits your needs and situation, rather than assuming a one size fits all approach.”
Owen provides a confidential, compassionate, and non-judgmental space, placing particular emphasis on the therapeutic relationship as central to meaningful change. He sees both client and therapist as active partners in the work.
Psychotherapy Training and Accreditation
Owen completed four years of postgraduate training at Turning Point Institute/University College Cork and is an accredited member of both the Irish Association of Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy (IAHIP) and the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP). He is also a registered member of the Irish Council for Psychotherapy (ICP). In addition, he is a member of the Governing Body of IAHIP and also serves on its Accreditation Committee.
Owen has completed advanced postgraduate training in Relationship Therapy at the NAOS Institute in London, a Diploma in Compulsive Sexual Behaviour with the Contemporary Institute of Clinical Sexology, and a Diploma in Trauma-Informed Psychotherapy with The Greenane Centre. He is trained in EMDR therapy and has completed Level 1 training in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. He is currently undertaking further postgraduate training in psychosexual and relationship therapy.
Alongside psychotherapy, Owen is a CORU registered social worker. Since 2011 he has worked as a Medical Social Worker within St. James’s Hospital, Ireland’s largest academic teaching hospital. There, he has supported patients at the GUIDE Clinic, Ireland’s largest free sexual health clinic, including those receiving treatment for STIs or HIV, accessing PEP or PrEP, navigating chemsex-related concerns, or attending the Young Person’s Clinic. Within the hospital, Owen has also worked across a range of medical and surgical specialties, including oncology and palliative end-of-life care. Outside of an acute hospital setting, he has worked in hospice care, inpatient psychiatry, and community mental health.