Roisin Watson

Highly experienced Independent Consultant Senior Child Educational Psychologist with over fifteen years of experience in supporting children with developmental differences and disabilities. Chartered Member of the Psychological Society of Ireland. Founder and clinic lead of Starlings, a private Child Educational Psychology Service specializing in evidence-based assessments and therapeutic support for children from birth to Primary School age. Clinical practice influenced by Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) and rooted in the therapeutic approach of PACE: Playfulness, acceptance, curiosity, and empathy.

Roisin has many years’ experience completing play based developmental assessments to identify, therapeutically support and plan educational placements for children who present with developmental differences. She has worked collaboratively with families, children and young people to identify whether an individual is Autistic as well as to assess levels of Intellectual Disability. Roisin has experience of identifying children with high learning potential, who are gifted or 'multiply exceptional'.

Roisin has provided a variety of evidence-based therapeutic interventions such as supporting Anxiety, particularly with children who are Autistic; supporting Emotional Regulation skills and also as part of an innovative Therapeutic Forest School intervention for children with complex needs.

Roisin has completed additional training in the area of Infant Mental Health through the Anna Freud Centre in London. Roisin is a member of the Irish Association for Infant Mental Health as well as the Psychological Society of Ireland’s Special Interest Group in Perinatal Infant Mental Health. 

Roisin is a trained Circle of Security Facilitator. This therapeutic model supports parents and care-givers to: understand their child’s emotional world; support their child’s ability to successfully manage emotions; enhance the development of their child's self-esteem and honour the innate wisdom and desire for their child to be secure.

• The Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health: Autism What Matters Most-From Assessment to Intervention, 07/2025
• PDA and Autism and Introduction & PDA and Autism Going Deeper, Attwood and Garner, 01/2024
• Anxiety and Autism, Attwood and Garner, 12/2023
• Sandtray Therapy 101 for All Ages: Dr Linda Homeyer, The Children's Therapy Centre, 06/2023
  Basics and Beyond for Play Therapists,
• Autism Level Up and SCERTS, 05/2023
• Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy Level 2 Training, 10/2023
• Early Bird Licensed User, National Autistic Society UK, 07/2023
• Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy Level 1 Training, 04/2022
• Mentalizing and Mentalization Based Treatments with Children, Young People and Families (MBT CYP) – An Introduction, Anna Freud Centre London, 04.2021
• Circle of Security Trained Facilitator, 10/2020
• Specialist Competency in Supervision Training, British Psychological Society, 06/2018 - 07/2019
• Women and Girls on the Autism Spectrum, National Autistic Society, 05/2018
• GDPR Training, Spring 2018
• Children's First and Child Protection Training, Enable Ireland, 01/2018
• Safetalk Suicide Alert Training, 01/2018
• FRIENDS Facilitator Training, Psychological Society of Ireland, 05/2018
• Griffiths III Training, Association for Research in Infant and Child Development, 02/2017
• Resilience Training, Enable Ireland, Spring 2017
• Solution Focused Brief Therapy in an Integrated Practice, Psychological Society of Ireland, 02/2017
• Best Practice in Recording and Report Writing, La Touche Training, Wilmington Legal, 09/2017
• Parents Plus Children's Programme, Parents Plus, 11/2016
• Children First, Child Protection Training, Barnardos, 09/2016
• Adolescent Issues for Teenagers with Asperger's Syndrome, Professor Tony Attwood, Sensational Kids, 04/2016
• The impact of having a child with special needs on the family, Dr Aoife Lyons, Sensational Kids, 04/2016
• Strategies to reduce being bullied and teased for children with Autism, Professor Tony Attwood, Sensational Kids, 04/2016
• DCD/Dyspraxia- A life span approach, Professor Amanda Kirby, Sensational Kids, 04/2016
• Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Enable Ireland Wicklow Services, 02/2016
• Functional Assessment of Behaviour and Developing Behaviour Support Plans, Psychological Society of Ireland, 04/2015
• Administration and Coding of the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised, Beginning with A Autism Consultancy Training, 11/2014
• Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule Clinical Training, Dr Louise Gallagher Psychological Society of Ireland, 10/2014

I confirm that the details given on this application form, are to the best of my knowledge, true and complete and there is nothing in my background/character that would render me unsuitable to work with vulnerable persons/children.

Consultant Senior Educational Child Psychologist