ABOUT

Somatic Therapy in Ireland

About Dr. Sue Redmond

I identify as a human first and a somatic trauma therapist second.

As a human, I am a fire starter and a field holder. Saltwater steadies me. Surfing teaches me humility... you cannot dominate a wave, only meet it. I trust tides, timing, and the intelligence of the in-between. I am a mother, a partner, a woman who has rebuilt more than once. I have known certainty and its collapse. I have learned to sit in the stretch between fear and freedom.

My history is not linear or polished. It is layered. I have lived what I sometimes call a buffet of trauma... sexual violence, domestic violence, redundancy, bullying, humiliation. Some chapters were loud. Others were silent and slow-burning. What the world often sees is competence, clarity, and conviction. What shaped those qualities were ruptures, reckonings, and the long, circular road of repair.

As a somatic trauma therapist, I am described as grounded, galvanising, and gently unrelenting. I am a safecracker. I listen for the micro-movements, the held breath, the flicker in the eye. I trust what the body whispers before the mind makes meaning. I hold the messy, the taboo, the socially silenced. I honour the wisdom in our bones.

My PhD is in academia — in resilience, leadership, and support. I understand systems. I understand research. I understand how to build frameworks that strengthen individuals and communities.

But my real PhD is in the body’s wisdom.

In listening to inner cues.
In noticing subtle releases.
In respecting that healing is not always a single, cinematic exhale.

Sometimes trauma is not an event but an accumulation. It lives in the very essence of a being. It is imbued in every cell from the reaction or the lack of love. From the put-downs. From the continual shame. From the thousand moments of not being met. It can feel everywhere and nowhere at once.

When it is not a single shock but a saturation, I do not rush to extract it. I help a person find their spark. I help them find safety within themselves. I help them cultivate honesty and respect for the truth that is lived in their tissues.

From this place, we bring them home to themselves.

Not as a dramatic purge.
Not as something that simply needs to be “let go.”
But as new neurons that need to be developed, pathways that were never laid down in the first place are created. Receptors for love.

For over twenty years, I have researched and created curriculum on healthy relationships and sexual violence prevention. I have worked at the intersection of community violence, coercive control, masculinity, consent, and conflict. I have stood in rooms with young men and young women unpacking power, shame, and social conditioning. I believe violence in communities does not emerge from nowhere, it grows where connection has withered. I believe healthy relationships are a form of social activism.

My work has shown me that pain often masquerades as aggression and that beneath most armour is something exquisitely tender. I believe violence is frozen pain looking for language. I believe bodies carry both the blueprint for survival and the map for repair.

As a human first, I am still practising what I teach — pacing, pausing, paddling back out.
As a somatic trauma therapist second, I walk beside others as they learn to trust their own tide, their own timing, their own innate body wisdom.

Dr. Sue Redmond is an Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapist, Somatic EMDR Practitioner, and Therapeutic Yoga Teacher with over 20 years of experience in wellbeing, leadership, and trauma healing. She holds a PhD in Youth Leadership, Resilience, and Social Support, alongside qualifications in health promotion, psychology, pharmacology, youth & community work, and coaching. Her real PhD, however, is in the body’s wisdom — in listening to subtle inner cues, supporting accumulations of trauma held in every cell, and helping people develop new neural pathways for safety, love, and connection. Sue’s work spans one-to-one therapy, group facilitation, psychedelic-assisted somatic therapy, curriculum creation, and professional training, particularly in healthy relationships, sexual violence prevention, and community-based interventions. Known as a safecracker in her practice, she creates spaces where people can find their spark, reclaim safety in themselves, and honour the truths lived within. At the heart of her mission is guiding people and communities toward resilience, embodied awareness, and transformation — blending science, somatic wisdom, and creativity, with a sense of play, rhythm, and the occasional surfboard, to cultivate empowerment, joy, and homecoming to the self.

My Mission

Whether I'm working 1-1 with individuals, guiding yoga students, or collaborating with organisations, my mission is to create safe spaces for healing, connection, and transformation. My work blends science, somatic wisdom, and creativity to support people in moving beyond trauma, building resilience, and unlocking their potential. At the heart of my work is a deep commitment to guiding individuals and communities toward greater self-awareness, empowerment, and the joy that comes from living a life aligned with their highest purpose.

1-1 Therapy and Support

Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy

Trauma impacts the body as much as the mind, and healing must address both. Using techniques informed by leaders in trauma therapy—like Dr. Peter Levine and Dr. Bessel van der Kolk—I help clients reconnect with their bodies, process unprocessed emotions, and restore a sense of safety and balance.

Somatic therapy can help:

• Release trapped emotions and stress responses.

• Build emotional resilience and self-regulation.

• Cultivate a deeper connection to self and others.

Through gentle, body-centered approaches, I guide individuals on a journey to heal trauma at its roots and reclaim their inner strength.

Somatic EMDR

Somatic EMDR combines bilateral stimulation with somatic techniques to address trauma held in the body. This method is particularly effective for clients navigating PTSD, anxiety, or unresolved trauma. By integrating body awareness and movement, Somatic EMDR supports deeper healing and a sense of empowerment.

Somatic Psychedelic Assisted Therapy

This approach combines the healing potential of psychedelic experiences with somatic therapy by working directly with the body to release trauma, restore nervous system regulation, and support deep integration. Together, we track subtle bodily cues, honour accumulated patterns, and create new pathways for safety, connection, and self-compassion. It’s not about a single release or “quick fix,” but about cultivating lasting resilience and embodied transformation.

Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP)

As an SSP provider, I offer this innovative, evidence-based tool to help calm the nervous system and reduce anxiety. By using filtered music to stimulate the vagus nerve, SSP promotes a sense of safety, emotional resilience, and connection.

Yoga & Meditation for Healing and Wellness

Therapeutic Yoga

Therapeutic Yoga is a personalised, gentle approach to wellness. Whether you’re managing stress, recovering from trauma, or seeking greater balance, I tailor each session to your unique needs. Combining mindful movement, breathwork, and relaxation techniques, this practice offers a safe and nurturing space to heal and grow.

Yoga Classes 

I also offer a range of yoga classes, from beginner and gentle yoga to intermediate and power yoga, including sessions with infrared heating for deeper relaxation and detoxification.

Mindfulness Meditation

Training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction/Cognitive Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Compassionate Living, as well as a 20-year personal meditation practice. I guide people on either individual or collective journeys into their inner worlds so they can develop more mindfulness, non-judgment, curiosity, and compassion in their lives. 

Retreats

I also offer monthly one-day silent retreats and longer retreats that combine a blend of mindfulness, compassion, yoga, breathwork, and somatic release for deep healing, rejuvenation, and growth.

Consulting and Organisational Work

With decades of experience designing and delivering programmes, I partner with organisations to develop impactful training, resources, and strategies. My expertise includes:

• Professional Training: Equipping social workers, youth workers, teachers, and others with skills to support children and young people.

• Programme Development: Creating resources like Tusla’s Child & Youth Participation Strategy, Dept of Education Junior Cert Cycle Curriculum on Wellbeing, Mental Health and Sexual Health, Youth Work Ireland’s Positive Sexual Health Programme, Climate Justice Programme and Gender-Based Violence Prevention Programme. Tusla's Sexual Violence Prevention Programme. 

• Team Development and Leadership: Facilitating workshops on leadership, conflict resolution, wellbeing and team dynamics to strengthen organisations from within.

A Little More About Me

When I’m not working, you’ll find me surfing, creating art, playing the harp or practising meditation. I’m also a blackbelt in Tae Kwon-Do, a singer, and a proud mum to twin girls and two dogs.

I’d love to connect and explore how I can support you... whether through therapy, yoga, or consulting work. Together, we can create the change you’re seeking.