“This is the beginning of a road whose end is totally unknown and totally known.”

MARION WOODMAN

Eileen Sullivan

I grew up in Connemara, a wild and rugged landscape on the Atlantic coast of Ireland. Oscar Wilde famously said of the region ‘Connemara is a savage beauty’. I grew up in a small, rural Gaelic (Irish) speaking community where Gaelic is still spoken today in the homes of people living there.

This area was a major center for the work of the Irish Folklore Commission recording endangered folklore, mythology, sean-nós (old-style) songs, and oral literature. I have been greatly influenced not only by that wild physical landscape but by being immersed in those ancient songs, stories, customs, myths, legends, and music since I was a child.

My desire is to share with you a felt sense of that culture and spirit and, as a Psychotherapist, to support how that connection can nourish and guide you on your own personal development journey.

Certification

Eileen Sullivan (Ní Shuilleabháin) (MSoc Sc and MA Psychotherapy) is a Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapist and Supervisor. She is dual located in the US and Ireland (In Northern Nevada and on the West Coast of Ireland, in Galway). Eileen has been in private practice for 12 years. Eileen has 20 years of experience working with individuals and families in Adult Mental Health Services, in both acute and continuing care settings as a Mental Health Social Worker and as a Psychotherapist. She was a Manager of a Mental Health Social Work Department in the Health Services in Galway City for six years. She works full-time in private practice as a Psychotherapist and international Personal Development coach.

Her background includes a Masters in Social Science (Social Work); Masters in Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy specializing in Psychodynamic, Existential, and Gestalt Psychotherapies. She has a diploma in Advanced Reflexive Supervision and a Diploma in Jungian Psychology. She is a certified Wellness Coach in the United States. Eileen is a fully accredited member of the Irish Council of Psychotherapy (ICP), the Irish Association of Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy (IAHIP), and the Irish Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP).

Her work also reflects her additional training and experience in facilitating group work, Gestalt Body Work, Somatic Trauma Therapy, Attachment and Emotion Focused Therapy as well as her interest in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, Jungian Psychology, and Marion Woodman’s BodySoul rhythms work.

Eileen has completed Jungian training intensives in London and the Jungian Institute in Zurich. Eileen lectured at the National University of Ireland Galway in the School of Social Work on Mental Health and Health Promotion for six years. She was chair of the National Special Interest Group in Mental Health Social Work for the Irish Association of Social Work from 2018 – 2020. She also provided consultation on national service development in the Irish Health Services in areas such as Specialist Peri-Natal Mental Health Services, Talk Therapies, and Self Harm presentations in Emergency Departments. She was involved in the oversight and development of a specialist Mental Health Homeless Service in Galway City between 2017 – 2022.

L’ame de la Foret (‘Soul of the Forest’) 1898 – Edgard Maxence

Teallach

Teallach is the Gaelic word for hearth. The hearth was of central importance in Celtic society. The cottage was built around the family hearth. Turf burned continuously there day and night. This was a symbol of family continuity, where many traditional crafts were carried out. It provided warmth and nourishment and was a gathering place for story-telling and music, it symbolised an open place for hospitality to all. When it went out, it was said that the soul went out of the people of that house therefore it was only extinguished on the first of November - the traditional day of Samhain. People would then gather together to light large fires on sacred hilltops in honour of and to make offerings to the gods. In both pagan and Christian cosmologies, fire is representative of the illumination of mind and spirit and of divinity.

“The doors to the world of the wild Self are few but precious. If you have a deep scar, that is a door, if you have an old, old story, that is a door. If you love the sky and the water so much you almost cannot bear it, that is a door. If you yearn for a deeper life, a full life, a sane life, that is a door.”

CLARISSA PINKOLA ESTES

Reflections

  • "This changed my life and has given me the courage to start a new journey."

    Mairead
    Participant in the Deepening the Senses Programme, 2020

  • "Eileen embodies the celtic oral/aural tradition in the deepest most accepting way. The group that were called together were some of the most open hearted i have ever been blessed to meet. We changed our inner lives in the gentlest and profoundest ways. It will take some reflection to examine those ways."

    Patsy
    Participant of the Deepening the Senses Programme, 2016

  • "I sense my soul is smiling. Wow, working on myself has encouraged me to live my life true to me. Thank you."

    Aine
    Participant of the Deepening the Senses Programme, 2022

  • “It was just beautiful and profound. I got so much out of it and no doubt I will continue to do so for quite awhile."

    Deirdre
    Participant of the Deepening the Senses Programme, 2023

  • “Eileen is insightful, she has a remarkable aptitude for dealing with the abstract. It was fantastic. Highly recommend.”

    Sarah
    Participant of the Deepening the Senses Programme, 2021

  • "Eileen has a unique style. She is true to herself, gentle yet challenging and supportive. She practices what she preaches. This workshop was for the soul. Refreshing which evokes a real sense of purpose, a divine guidance."

    Lucy
    Participant in the Deepening the Senses Programme, 2020

  • "I cannot recommend this wonderful retreat enough. Deepening the Senses and the pleasure of meeting Eileen Ní Shuilleabháin was life changing."

    Mary
    Participant of the Deepening the Senses Programme, 2016