Gerry Myers

Gerry makes contributions to the professional development of psychotherapy as a profession in Ireland. He has recently made formal submissions to government on the statutory regulation of psychotherapy and to QQI on award standards for counselling and psychotherapy.                       

Gerry's particular teaching interest is in the social construction of psychotherapy and human distress. He teaches modules related to psychotherapeutic relationships, knowledge in psychotherapy, how psychotherapists learn, and how psychotherapists construct the activity of psychotherapy. He is particularly interested in research-informed practice.

My educational journey has included classical, medieval and contemporary philosophy (particularly existentialism),  divinity studies (particularly biblical theology and hermeneutics) and psychotherapy. Over my career I have been involved in youth work, I taught at second level and I have been a university chaplain and a psychotherapist. For the past 25 years I have been a psychotherapist and have held various leadership roles in the profession in Ireland. I have, along with many others, made a contribution to the continuing effort to achieve statutory recognition of psychotherapy in Ireland. Arising from my background in working with young people I have a particular interest in the social construction of distress and how it is handled in society. My teaching reflects this background and these interests. I am particularly interested in the co-creation of a community of learning in class. The students that I teach tend to have very rich and narratively "thick" backgrounds which give them deep insights into the human condition. As a teacher-learner I try to help motivated learners to think critically even as they learn the orthodoxies of practice and forefront theory in the discipline of integrative psychotherapy.