Ellsy O’Neill (M.Pscyh)
My name is Ellsy and I am originally from Ireland. I run a private bilingual therapy practice in Paris and work online with clients across France and internationally. My aim is to help globally-minded people feel grounded in times of transition. My background blends psychology, design thinking, and narrative practice to give you both evidence-based tools and creative perspectives.
THE STORY BEHIND MY PRACTICE
I’ve always been drawn to stories. Growing up, my mother was a fiction writer and teacher, and the walls of our home were lined with books. My curiosity drew me into those pages, where I followed characters, witnessed their struggles, and learned how meaning is made. Studying French at university deepened that fascination, opening worlds of existentialism and semiology and revealing how language and culture shape identity.
These themes of belonging and meaning eventually pulled me from fictional worlds into real ones. Narrative therapy became a natural extension of this curiosity, offering ways to explore how we make sense of our lives and the stories we carry. At the same time, my early training as a Pilates teacher and massage therapist attuned me to how the body carries emotion and memory, providing an embodied perspective that complements narrative work. This perspective shaped my later work designing mental health products in the neurotech sector and performance programs to assist athletes competing in the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games. Attending to the interplay of physical and emotional experience ensures insight is not only understood but also lived.
Today, I bring these threads together in practice. Psychology offers a framework for insight, somatic awareness supports connection to the body, and creativity adds freedom and imagination. Together, these elements open space to explore, shift perspective, and move toward what matters most in life, work, and relationships.
HOW I’M QUALIFIED TO HELP YOU
I hold two Master of Science degrees: one in Psychology (awarded with distinction and accredited by the British Psychological Society) and one in Design for Mental Health Solutions (First Class Honours). I follow the BPS Code of Ethics, which provides guidance for ethical practice in therapy and psychological work, and I continue to expand my expertise through regular professional training and clinical supervision to ensure the highest standard of care.
I have completed specialist training in Motivational Interviewing through the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers. My training also includes Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT) and Advanced Rational and Emotive Behaviour Therapy, undertaken at both the Albert Ellis Institute in New York and REBT UK. In addition, I have studied Narrative Therapy through the Institute of Narrative Therapy in London and Transactional Analysis at the École d’Analyse Transactionnelle in Paris.
Before training as a therapist, I worked in journalism and product design. This background enriches my practice, helping clients approach challenges with curiosity, insight, and practical strategies. Alongside my client work, I continue to provide product development and service design consulting in the neurotech, performance psychology, and mental health sectors, further informing my applied therapeutic approach.
THERAPEUTIC PHILOSOPHY
Therapy is a space where change and growth unfold most fully within the crucible of human connection. I believe that any moment can become a turning point in a person’s story when they’re given a chance to pause, reflect, and consider the directions open to them. In our sessions, we tackle the situations, patterns, and pressures that hold you back, gaining insight and practicing deliberate change in your life.
CLINICAL RESEARCH & INTERESTS
I have a special interest in cross-cultural psychology, working with people who move between worlds, whether through relocation, growing up across cultures, or building relationships that bridge them. I also focus on performance psychology, supporting those striving to balance ambition with wellbeing and turn pressure into purposeful growth.
I have published research showing how resilience and self-efficacy emerge from integrating temporal, physical, and social dimensions of the self, where belonging, time perspective, and somatic awareness work together to support adaptive growth. I have also designed evidence-based creative tools for therapists that help clients translate insight into actionable strategies to support real-world change.
Bringing these clinical and research interests into applied practice, I work with internationally-mobile clients to navigate cultural transitions while maintaining connection and a sense of belonging across shifting environments.
With performance-focused clients, the resilience framework I designed supports focus under pressure and adaptability in the face of setbacks. Across all clients, insights from my research and therapeutic tools guide a systems-based approach, combining evidence and creativity to turn understanding into meaningful change.
“Hope is not a trait inside people. Hope is something we ‘do’ with others.”
MY GUIDING PRINCIPLES
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Experience therapy rooted in kindness and understanding. In sessions, you’re met with genuine compassion, which helps you extend that care inward to cultivate self-acceptance and outward to strengthen your relationships with others.
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I champion creativity as a spirit of imagination and experimentation. Together, we explore new ways of thinking and responding, uncovering approaches that help you shift old patterns. By embracing curiosity and experimentation, we foster fresh perspectives and new ways of engaging with life.
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Openness to change guides our work. We honor your capacity to evolve, helping you process challenges, gain clarity, and move forward with purpose. Through reflection and practical exercises, you consolidate insights, strengthen resilience, and stretch beyond your current limits.
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Therapy requires courage: facing emotions, being vulnerable, and sharing your experiences. Practicing this in session strengthens your confidence to tackle challenges and pursue your goals beyond therapy.