Josephine (Jas) Dempsey – Play Therapist & Child-Centered Specialist

Josephine (Jas) Dempsey, IPTCA

Play Therapist | Primary School Teacher | Child-Centered Specialist
Based in Cork, Ireland

Josephine, known to many as Jas, is a dedicated Play Therapist and Primary School Teacher with a lifelong passion for supporting children and families. With a career rooted in psychology and education, Jas brings over three decades of experience to her therapeutic and educational practice.

Jas began her journey in 1983, studying Applied Psychology at University College Cork, where she developed a deep interest in psychotherapy. Inspired by the works of Jung, Winnicott and Rogers, her commitment to child well-being has only grown stronger over the years.

Her professional path has taken her across Europe—working in London, Paris, Berlin, Seville, Dublin and now Cork. In 2000, Jas studied Montessori education and worked in a disadvantaged preschool in Dublin. She later earned a Higher Diploma in Primary Education in 2011 and taught in bilingual schools in Seville, Spain. Upon returning to Ireland in 2015, she took on a specialist role in English as an Additional Language (EAL) in primary education.

Jas now holds a Master’s in Child-Centered, Non-Directive Creative Play Therapy. She works directly with children as a Play Therapist and also supports home tutors delivering the primary school curriculum. She is a registered member of the Irish Play Therapy Community Association, the Teaching Council of Ireland, and the Psychological Society of Ireland. Jas is also Garda vetted.

Her therapeutic practice supports children facing a wide range of challenges, including:

• Anxiety and school refusal
• Self-regulation difficulties
• Parental separation and bereavement
• Neurodivergence, ADHD, and PDA
• OCD, phobias, enuresis and encopresis
• Trauma, abuse, and self-harming behaviours

With extensive experience working with children of primary school age and their families, Jas offers a compassionate, child-led approach to emotional and psychological support.

As a fluent Spanish and German speaker (and a student of Italian), Jas continues to enjoy close ties with Seville, where her son now lives. Outside of her work, she finds joy in cooking, reading, gardening, travelling, walking her dog Marley, and collecting stones and shells on wild coastal days.