Derek Mc Donnell is a qualified Social Care Practitioner working in the Social Care Profession for the past 28 years, in variety of services in Ireland.
These services range from Residential Care, Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Community Social Work Services in Child Protection. Children in Care and currently in the Prevention Partnership Family Service in Dublin Mid -Leinster.
He is a focusing Trainer since 2000 and Certifying Coordinator 2014 with The International Focusing Institute. Derek has extensive experience in running Focusing through Interactive Pausing Emotional Resiliency based Intervention for young people, Parents, Foster Carers and Professionals from Social Work, Social Care and Teachers within Community-based settings.
He has publications in the following;
- Social Care: The book “Learning from Practice”, Chapter 12 Precious Cargo – a Focusing Approach to Therapeutic Intervention.
- Foster Irish Foster Care Association Journal Fostering Focusing: A way of taking care of our most ‘precious cargo’- our children.
- Article: Teaching the Pause for Resilience Initiatives – A journal of Focusing Initiatives International and the British Focusing Association Journal
- Development of Teaching Tools for Training with Nada Lou Certifying Coordinator:
- Focusing through Interactive Pause Program DVD – live recording of this program in the classroom setting incorporating live footage from the pupils about the benefits of the program.
- One –One Live interview-with the Teacher of the class were the FTIP was ran to explore the challenges and benefits of the process
- Fostering Focusing DVD with Foster Carers – Live recording as teaching aid for trainers to enable them to articulate from their “Inside Place”.
Derek’s training programme has being accredited CPD training for Primary school teachers with the Department of Education and Science. He works within the Family Law Courts with Focusing orientated reports based on the modality of Focusing, and also runs a small private Focusing Practise for adults, children and parents.
