Mindful Matters was founded in 2008 by Claudine Nelan. Initially Mindful Matters offered Psychotherapy & Counselling and this was extended to include Mindfulness Training from 2004. In her practice Claudine draws on over fifteen years experience as a professional person in the educational and corporate sector. Prior to entering private practice Claudine worked in a number of careers including Banking, Education, IT and Project Management. She is passionate about improving the way we live and work so that we not only have better mental and emotional wellbeing, but also opportunities for flourishing. She brings her considerable and varied experience and applies it in a clear and straightforward/genuine manner to the challenges set by modern life.

Claudine has been practicing mindfulness meditation for over 7 years. She has benefitted greatly from her own mindfulness practice, inspiring her to keep opening to life’s challenges and limitless possibilities. She greatly enjoys sharing the journey of practice with others (through her role as a psychotherapist and mindfulness trainer) and continues to engage with regular supervision and ongoing training to deepen and integrate her practice further.

Academic Qualifications
Claudine completed an Open University degree in Psychology with first class honours. She earned her graduate degree in Business from UCD, her postgraduates in Education and Computer Science from UCC and her Diploma in Counselling from the Cork Counselling and Training Institute.

Training Qualifications
Claudine trained in teaching Mindfulness-Based Approaches at the Centre for Mindfulness Research & Practice (Bangor University) and at the Oxford Mindfulness Centre (Oxford University). She has been teaching Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) courses, workshops and follow-up courses in Cork, since spring 2014. In addition to her background in humanistic integrative theory, Claudine has completed training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT); both of which are mindfulness based therapies. She attends supervision and ongoing workshops and courses on topics relevant to the practise of mindfulness and psychotherapy.

As a Psychotherapist Claudine draws on a range of therapeutic approaches, humanistic integrative, compassion focused therapy (CFT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), tailoring her service to suit each individuals needs.

She believes mindful self-compassion is the foundation of emotional healing – being aware in the present moment when we’e struggling with feelings of inadequacy, despair, confusion, and other forms of stress (mindfulness) and responding with kindness and understanding (self-compassion). Claudine uses a respectful, non-judgemental, empathic listening approach.

She is genuinely interested in people and facilitating or making easy their ability to effect positive changes in their lives. She is familiar with the process of change and finds this enriches her work with her clients. She sees continual potential for change, throughout life, through awareness of one’s values, belief systems, thoughts and emotions, through taking responsibility and through making new choices and committing to action (if they are able); all of which can be fostered by a supportive relationship with a skilled empathic therapist. She views the relationship as the keystone to counselling and places particular emphasis on the quality of the relationship.

She believes the client is the expert on themselves, assisting them to make meaningful changes in the service of what matters most to them, viewing her role as a supportive, non directive one. She has worked extensively with clients on issues such as relationship difficulties, trauma, bullying, chronic illness, panic attacks and with clients who feel stuck in perpetual cycles of stress, anxiety, anger, depression, or addiction or are experiencing dissatisfaction in their day to day life. She offers practical strategies to calm our anxious minds, transform negative emotions, and facilitate greater self acceptance, freedom and inner peace.

As a Mindfulness Trainer Claudine draws on her training as a Business Teacher and her training as an Mindfulness Teacher where the emphasis has moved from a didactive to an experiential approach. She conveys many of the themes of mindfulness through interactive enquiry. She herself has learnt experientially by doing, by being responsive to the successes and challenges she has encountered in sharing mindfulness. She is part of a participatory learning process with her students and clients. She believes that Mindfulness teachers are forever students. This willingness to learn and grow making it easier for students to relate to her and trust that she shares their journey.

She believes that good teaching grows directly out of her ongoing practice and curiosity about her own mind. As her relationship with her students is paramount she uses a compassionate, warm, curious, light hearted, authentic and respectful approach.

She believes that teaching mindfulness is not merely sharing information – it is sharing your presence. Unless we model mindfulness, our words will not be persuasive. As we teach, we can give our students a taste of mindfulness itself simply by modelling it in our speech and behaviour. She tries to embody her practice of mindfulness by bringing the core attitudes of mindfulness into her teaching, such as non-judging, patience, beginner’s mind, trust, non-striving, acceptance, and letting go.

She believes that the style of mindfulness meditation that is right for you (formal or informal, walking or breath awareness or loving kindness or bodyscan etc) may not be the style of meditation that is right for, or preferred by, another person. She doesn’t believe that ‘one size fits all’; She is open and supportive of many styles.

The purpose of mindfulness meditation is to reconnect to who you truly are and to help you live a more purposeful, happy, joyful, and fulfilling life.

Academic & Training Qualifications Claudine completed an Open University degree in Psychology with first class honours. She earned her graduate degree in Business from UCD, her postgraduates in Education and Computer Science from UCC and her Diploma in Counselling from the Cork Counselling and Training Institute.

Claudine trained in teaching Mindfulness-Based Approaches at the Centre for Mindfulness Research & Practice (Bangor University) and at the Oxford Mindfulness Centre (Oxford University).She has been teaching Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) courses, workshops and follow-up courses in Cork, since spring 2014. In addition to her background in humanistic integrative theory, Claudine has completed training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT); both of which are mindfulness based therapies.She attends supervision and ongoing workshops and courses on topics relevant to the practise of mindfulness and psychotherapy.

Professional Accreditations & Affiliations Claudine is fully accredited by the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP) to practise as a Counsellor and Psychotherapist and adheres to their code of ethics. In addition she is a member of the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI) and the Mindfulness Teachers Association of Ireland (MTAI) and abides by their code of ethics. She is also a member of the Association for Contextual Behavioural Science (ACBS).