OUR TEAM

At Honan and Associates we have a large team of

Psychologists and Behaviour specialists who are happy to

support you and your family

Maria Verrecchia
Practice Administrator
Maria is responsible for all practice administration and accounts along with the day to day running of our office. In addition to these responsibilities, she oversees the office operations and procedures, ensuring smooth running of the practice. She coordinates between our clients and our Associates. Maria has both a HND in Business and Finance and a HND in Music Management and Production. She has over 20 years of experience in various finance and administration roles.
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Dr Lucy Brady BCBA-D, C.Psychol., Ps.S.I
Company Director & Chartered Psychologist
Lucy is a behavioural psychologist with current Chartered membership of the Psychological Society of Ireland. Lucy has over 20 years experience working with autistic people, individuals with ADHD, intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviours in a variety of settings including schools, day services, homes and hospitals. She is a Doctoral level Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA-D) She attained her undergraduate degree Psychology with the University of Manchester and her Masters degree in Psychology and disability studies with Manchester Metropolitan University. She then attended Trinity College Dublin to achieve her a postgraduate diploma in Applied Behaviour Analysis. Lucy completed a PhD in Psychology with the University of Kent, Tizard Centre. Lucy has presented at a number of national and international conferences on the topic of procedural fidelity. Lucy worked as a teaching assistant on the MSc ABA course with Queen’s University Belfast and continues to lecture on the MSc ABA & MSc PBS courses with the Tizard Centre. Lucy has a keen interest in working with autistic women and adults with intellectual disabilities. Lucy utilities a number of approaches to inform her practice including Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
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Jacinta McComish MSc, C.Psychol. Ps.S.I
Company Director & Chartered Psychologist
Jacinta is a qualified Counselling Psychologist with current Chartered membership of the Psychological Society of Ireland. Jacinta attained her honours degree in Psychology at the School of Psychology, NUI, Maynooth. Jacinta went on to complete her Master’s Degree in Counselling Psychology at the School of Psychology, Trinity College, Dublin. During this time, she completed a number of placements working with children, adolescents and adults with behavioural, cognitive, and emotional difficulties. Jacinta also gained more specialised experience working with young adults with Asperger’s Syndrome registered with the AS Project at Trinity College. Jacinta also completed an additional course in Psychometrics at Trinity College. She specialises in working with and supporting clients and their families in seeking assessment in relation to Autistic Spectrum Disorder and in subsequent Psycho-Educational work with both children and adults. In clinical practice, Jacinta takes an integrative approach to working with people. Drawing on different psychotherapy approaches to provide psychological intervention adapted to the individual’s needs
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Dr Rita Honan
Consultant Psychologist
Rita Honan, B.A., MSc, PhD, is a Fellow of the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI) and a Chartered Clinical, Counselling & Educational Psychologist. She was also a Board Certified Behavior Analysist-Doctoral level until her retirement. She continues to be involved in the PSI Autism Special Interest Group and the Division of Behaviour Analysis. She has had a lifelong interest in working with and on behalf of children and adults with disabilities and their families. After 20 years in the field in the U.S. she spent 23 years working in Dublin including Principal Psychologist and Coordinator of the HSE Beechpark Services for children with autism and their families. In this role in the 1990’s, she initiated the first classrooms for children with an ASD in mainstream schools. She was Director of the MSc in Counselling Psychology course at Trinity College Dublin for many years and while there initiated the first postgraduate training courses in Applied Behaviour Analysis and Clinical Supervision in Ireland. Missing ‘hands on’ engagement with kids and families, she eventually moved exclusively into private practice until her retirement. She maintains an ongoing Consultant role at Honan & Associates.
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Barry Hickey, MSc
Behaviour specialist/ACT therapist
Barry has a BA (Mod) Psychology and an M.Sc. (ABA) in Psychology from the University of Dublin, Trinity College, as well as advanced Training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). He has more than 15 years’ experience working with children and adults with Developmental Disability and/or Autism. Working from a perspective primarily informed by Applied Behaviour Analysis, ACT/ Contextual Behavioural Science, Behavioural Neuroscience and Positive Behaviour Support, his professional areas of interest include Executive Function, Perspective-taking, Skills Development, and Anxiety in high-functioning individuals on the Autism Spectrum. Barry also has extensive experience working with families and staff teams who support individuals challenged by their environments.
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Chantal Sommer, MSc, BCBA
Behaviour specialist/Trainer
Chantal is originally from Canada where she obtained her Bachelor of Education in Elementary Education from the University of Alberta. She continued her education at MacEwan University, Alberta where she graduated with a Behavioural Intervention Certificate of Achievement. In 2017, Chantal moved to Dublin and obtained her Masters Degree in Applied Behaviour Analysis from Trinity College Dublin which lead to her professional qualification as a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA). She has experience working in a variety of settings both in Canada and Ireland including home, community and school. Her experience includes working directly with clients, staff training within an ABA school and direct parent training. Her professional interest includes offering support and training to families to give them the tools and skills needed in order to decrease challenging behaviours in the home and teach adaptive skills.
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Eimear Kelly, MSc, BCBA
Behaviour Specialist
Eimear is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA) with almost 10 years of experience working in the area of behaviour support. Eimear completed her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Queens University, Belfast and her Master’s degree in Applied Behaviour Analysis from Bangor University, Wales. Eimear is also a trainee counsellor and psychotherapist, currently studying a Bachelor’s degree in this area. Eimear is originally from County Tyrone, however after spending 7 years working in London, she made the move back to Ireland and is currently residing in Dublin. Eimear works primarily with individuals with autism spectrum disorder, mental health difficulties and/or behaviours of concern. She works collaboratively with the individual, supporting and empowering them to live the life they want to live, with nothing holding them back. With the aim of offering a holistic style of support, Eimear also works directly with the individual’s wider support systems, including parents, family members, school staff and other support staff
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Maeve Murray, MSc, BCBA
Behaviour Specialist
Maeve studied Psychology and French in NUI Galway before moving to Dublin and completing a Master’s degree in Applied Behaviour Analysis in Trinity College Dublin. She went on to pass the BACB board exam to become a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA). Maeve has experience in both home and school settings, supporting her clients, and their families and school staff. Her focus is on improving her clients’ quality of life through teaching important functional living skills, emotional regulation, and communication skills. Maeve works with her clients’ families and schools to achieve a deeper understanding of each individual’s needs and provides training and support to help the people she supports learn new adaptive skills.
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Sarah Thompson, MSc
Assistant Psychologist
Sarah attained her undergraduate degree in Psychology at National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG). She has worked as a teaching assistant in an afterschool service for children and also has experience as a teaching assistant in a local preschool. In 2021, Sarah graduated with a Master’s degree in Applied Psychology from Trinity College Dublin. Her dissertation explored the benefit of a working memory intervention, known as CogMed, on the social communication of adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Over the past year at Honan & Associates, Sarah has gained valuable experience across many areas including ASD and ADHD assessments in both children and adults and behavioural support in the community.
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Kevin Lynch, MSc
Assistant Behavioural Psychologist
Kevin is a Behavioural Psychologist (in training) who is currently completing his Masters in Applied Behavioural Analysis in Trinity College Dublin. Kevin holds a Degree in Marketing, a Degree in Psychology and a Masters in Applied Psychology. He is a graduate member of the Psychological Society of Ireland and a member of the Association for Contextual Behavioural Science. Since 2014, Kevin has worked with a number of different organisations in both research and clinical practice, covering a broad range of ages and population groups. Kevin has also completed a number of ACT training courses and currently works with people from a Behaviour Analytic/ACT framework to help them build relevant skills and to live a life that’s meaningful to them.
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