CEO & Programme Director
Ger Matthews joined Turning Point™ Institute in 2012 and was appointed CEO in 2024.
Ger has a very strong business background, with many years’ experience in management, marketing and PR, within both the private and not-for-profit sectors. She was appointed National Coordinator at the Association of Agency-Based Counselling and Psychotherapy in Ireland where she was responsible for ensuring standards of delivery and best practice in community-based counselling services, nationally. Ger was also held the position of manager of the Dundalk Counselling Centre, where she developed counselling services to meet the needs of all in the community.
Ger’s qualifications in the fields of Counselling and Psychotherapy include the MSc in Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy, awarded by University College Cork (UCC), the Postgraduate Diploma in Humanistic and Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy, awarded by Dublin Counselling and Therapy Centre (DCTC), the Diploma in Integrative Supervision, from the Institute of Creative Counselling and Psychotherapy (ICCP). Ger is also trained in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy from the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute, Boulder, USA and Gottman Couples Therapy, from the Gottman Institute, USA.
Ger is an accredited member of the Irish Association of Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy (IAHIP) where she recently held the position of vice chair-person. She is an active member of IAHIP and the Irish Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP). Ger sits on the IAHIP and IACP Training Forum Committees whose role is to ensure standards of practice, across the profession.
Ger holds the role of Programme Director for the MSc in Counselling and Psychotherapy, ensuring the highest standard of delivery, across all aspects of the programme. She represents Turning Point Institute on the Joint Academic Standards Committee (JASC) board of University College Cork. Ger’s area of expertise is Trauma and Developmental Trauma. She developed the ‘Working Therapeutically with Trauma’ module for the MSc programme and continues to teach it today. As Programme Director, Ger also oversees the placement of students on the MSc programme, ensuring best practice locations with integrative-trained supervisors.
Ger completed a dissertation entitled The Experience of Congruence in Person-Centred Psyschotherapy and has had one of her poems Just Be published in the IAHIP Psychotherapy Journal.
Registrar and Chief Operations Officer
Geraldine brings over 16 years’ experience in higher education administration. Geraldine believes in creating an inclusive academic environment and supports all students’ needs. She is passionate about access to education for all.
In her role as Registrar, Geraldine is responsible for putting in place the structures, processes and procedures to ensure that the MSc programme runs smoothly on an annual basis. She liaises with University College Cork to ensure that all admin aspects of the programme meet their requirements and is in attendance at all Exam Board Meetings.
Further to this as COO Geraldine is the point of contact for all routine student matters and manages the day-to-day communications between the student body and the staff at TPI. She ensures that schedules and other policies and procedures pertaining to the smooth running of the MSc programme are adhered to. She is also involved in promoting the MSc programme to the public, including development of brochures, advertising, and special events.
Before joining Turning Point™ Institute in 2008 Geraldine worked in Dáil Éireann and the European Parliament. She brings this wealth of experience to TPI.
TPI Clinical and Administrative Assistant
Eimear holds an MSc. in Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy from Turning Point Institute, a Higher Postgraduate Diploma in Education from Dublin City University (DCU) and a BA (Hons) from DCU. Eimear has additional postgraduate training in Grief and Loss.
Eimear is an accredited member of the Irish Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP) and practices within their ethical framework.
Eimear works from a person-centred, integrative, relational and humanistic perspective. Central to Eimear’s approach is the importance of the human-to-human encounter and relational depth. Eimear has also worked providing counselling and psychotherapy to UCD students. Eimear’s areas of experience and interest include working with neurodiverse individuals, navigating relational issues, anxiety, depression, self and body image, developmental wounding, parenting, long term illness and grief and loss.
Eimear has also worked for over 15 years in the education sector in both mainstream and special education classes. She has a lifelong interest in languages, in particular the Irish language. She brings this background and experience to both to her private practice and her work as a dissertation supervisor.
Eimear completed her dissertation entitled “A Loss within a Loss”: A Qualitative Study of Psychotherapists’ Experiences of Loss Through Bereavement in Clinical Practice During and Post the Covid-19 Pandemic in Ireland”
