This is my response to figures published today by the Rape Crisis Network. I refer in particular to the disturbing statistic that nearly 40% of sexual assaults of minors in Ireland are committed by under-18s. The Rape Crisis Network’s website is here if you want to view this and other reports.
What’s the deal with selfies? More often than not, selfies are taken and posted online by young girls and women, and worryingly, these young girls and women are in increasingly submissive and/or sexualised poses.
Thank you porn.
Here is a conversation I had with Chrissie Russell, a freelance journalist around this topic. The resulting published online newspaper article is here. Continue reading
Here is the full text of a conversation with freelance journalist Chrissie Russell where she was exploring the notion that logging onto social network sites can actually result in us feeling worse about ourselves rather than feeling happier and more connected.
Do you think people feel under pressure to have the ‘perfect’ life online? If so, why?
This is my response to the criticism of the Spunout.ie threesome page by Michelle Mulherin.
I would like to offer my opinion on today’s publicity around Spunout.ie’s section on Threesomes on their website.
I am in fact a huge fan of the website, and as a sex educator with teens myself feel an alliance with people who are willing to offer fact based sex education in a country where we are still utterly lacking in good quality sex education for second level students.
Part of my job as a Counselling Psychologist and psychotherapist is to provide sex education to groups of teenagers. This morning, during a discussion of yesterday’s Irish Examiner story looking at the effects of teen exposure to pornography, I was asked by a 16 year old male student to explain the different kinds of rape.
This was published in the Irish Times and Irish Examiner and is my response to a discussion I heard on Today FM about a ‘glamour model’. This interview coincided with newly published figures on sexual assault in Ireland and I address the probable link between the glamour culture and objectification of women. Continue reading
This was published when I decided to resign from Barnardos and return to full time private practice as Counselling Psychologist and Psychotherapist in East Cork and Youghal.
The Dungarvan Observer is delighted to announce that Sally O’Reilly is returning her successful Private Practice to 5 full days a week. Furthermore, she is now taking referrals for children and families.
I wrote this during a time where there was much debate on the Age of Consent in Ireland. In this letter published in the Irish Times I was hoping to encourage people to really think about the pressure our young people experience, and to give them a voice. Continue reading
I wrote this over 15 years ago in response to a set of new advertisements on TV that in my opinion promote and normalize “age-related” cosmetic surgery for women. Both the Irish Examiner and The Irish Times published this.
I am a counselling psychologist working in private practice in Cork city and county. Last week a teenage client told me she was very upset because she could see ‘expression lines’ on her face.
I was interviewed by the Irish Times for an article on The Silver Ring. I spoke here about my experience with, and my hope for the future of sex education for adolescents in Ireland. Alarmingly, this was over 20 years ago – have we copped on??
