I’m Dr Elaine Ryan (PsychD), a Chartered Psychologist with more than 20 years’ clinical experience. My work focuses on OCD, anxiety disorders and anger, drawing on doctoral and postdoctoral training and experience in the NHS and private practice in Dublin. I created MyTherapist.ie to make psychological knowledge accessible through clear guides, practical learning materials and structured self-paced courses.
Media contributions
I have contributed psychological commentary to national and international publications and appeared on RTÉ television.
- The Wall Street Journal
- Business Insider
- Irish Independent
- RTÉ television
Qualifications and professional background
My qualifications include an undergraduate degree in psychology, a master’s degree in psychology and a Doctorate in Psychotherapeutic and Counselling Psychology (PsychD) from the University of Surrey. My doctoral training brought together supervised clinical practice and academic research. You can read my doctoral research portfolio in the University’s open research repository.
I am a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society, a member of its Division of Neuropsychology, and a member of the UK Society for Behavioural Medicine. I am also Clinical Director of Moodsmith Ltd. My Psychology Today profile provides further professional information.
My areas of focus
My clinical experience spans OCD and its many presentations, panic attacks, agoraphobia, social anxiety, health anxiety and generalised anxiety, as well as anger and emotional regulation. I have worked extensively with people whose lives have become restricted by social anxiety or agoraphobia.
Alongside individual work with OCD, I have delivered psychoeducational courses in group settings. My understanding extends across OCD themes, including contamination, harm, relationships, sexuality and other intrusive thoughts. In teaching, I explain both the person’s particular fears and the checking, avoidance, reassurance seeking or mental rituals that may keep the difficulty going.
My clinical experience
I worked as a Highly Specialist Psychologist in the UK National Health Service, with experience in adult mental health, personality disorder and learning disability services. In 2009, I returned to Ireland and opened a private psychology practice in Dublin, working with people experiencing OCD, anxiety disorders and other mental-health difficulties.
While working in the NHS, I undertook postdoctoral training in dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) and worked within a DBT team. This training informs how I teach skills for recognising and regulating emotions, tolerating distress and communicating effectively, particularly in my work on anger.
My professional experience also includes supervising doctoral trainees and contributing to the training and development of psychologists. Teaching and supervision require making the reasoning behind psychological approaches clear, as well as explaining how to put them into practice.
Today, I focus my work on psychoeducational resources and self-paced courses. I bring the same attention to clear explanations, individual differences and practical skills to these materials, helping readers understand what a psychological approach involves and choose an informed next step.
How I approach self-help
My teaching draws on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), exposure and response prevention (ERP), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), mindfulness and DBT-informed skills. Each guide or programme explains the approach relevant to its subject and how it can be put into practice.
The aim is to help you understand a difficulty, recognise your own patterns and build skills through repeated practice. These resources provide general education; they are not an individual assessment or a substitute for care you need.
MyTherapist.ie and MoodSmith
I develop the resources on MyTherapist.ie and MoodSmith through Moodsmith Ltd. MyTherapist.ie brings together guides, screening tools and self-paced programmes on anxiety and related difficulties. MoodSmith has a particular focus on OCD and intrusive thoughts.
How to Use This Site (Best Starting Points)
If you’re new here, start with one of these:
- OCD: Start with the OCD guide + ERP principles
- Panic attacks: Understanding panic and interoceptive fear
- Health anxiety: Understanding Health Anxiety
- Screening tools: Online tests
- Courses: Structured programmes with step-by-step practice
How I write and review the information on this site
Editorial and Review Policy
MyTherapist.ie publishes psychological explanations, practical resources and self-paced programmes created and overseen by Dr Elaine Ryan (PsychD), Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society. My clinical background informs the writing; the information is general education rather than an assessment of an individual reader.
Sources: Treatment explanations draw on recognised clinical guidance, including NICE, HSE information for Irish services, and relevant peer-reviewed research. Sources are linked beside the claims they support where possible. Evidence for a treatment approach should be distinguished from evidence for a particular commercial course.
Updates and review dates: A page’s “Updated” date records an edit and can include wording or link changes. A clinical review date should be recorded separately when the clinical content has been substantively checked, with the reviewer named. Named authorship does not imply an independent clinical review.
Examples: Teaching illustrations should be identified as examples. Any genuine client account requires appropriate permission and anonymisation; a composite example should be labelled as such.
Commercial disclosure: MyTherapist.ie sells self-paced programmes created by Dr Elaine Ryan. Course links identify that commercial offer. Free guides also explain treatment choices and appropriate Irish resources so readers can make informed decisions.
Corrections: To report an error or outdated reference, use the contact form, select business enquiries where available, and include the page address and the wording you are querying. Please leave out personal clinical information.
Privacy and contact
For information about how enquiries and website data are handled, read the Privacy Policy. Moodsmith Ltd’s ICO registration is ZA472099. For course support, business enquiries or a correction to a page, please use the contact form.
If you need immediate support, contact emergency services or your GP/out-of-hours service. MyTherapist.ie is not a crisis service.