Childhood Cancer Ireland’s parent workshops are aimed at parents / guardians of children, adolescents or young adults who have received a diagnosis of childhood cancer
As a parent and survivor-led organisation, we know that everything doesn’t just go back to normal when treatment ends. You may be feeling ‘stuck’ and unsure of what’s normal. Together, we will explore how those months and years of operating on high alert have impacted us in different ways and how we move forward. We will provide some practical strategies that you can put in place to help you as an individual, a parent and a partner/friend.
We are delighted to be joined by Dr Mairead Brennan and Debbie Cullinane, both of whom have a wealth of knowledge and experience of working with adults and children impacted by childhood cancer.
Mairead is Principal Clinical Psychologist and Director of Psychosocial Services with Childhood Cancer Ireland.
Debbie is a qualified Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, Play Therapist and former primary school teacher.
2025 workshop locations:
We are still finalising some details for 2025 and will update the venues for each location shortly.
| Location | Date | Venue |
| Athlone | 25th January 2025 | Athlone Springs |
| Kilkenny | 8th March 2025 | Lyrath Estate Hotel |
| Dublin | 14th June 2025 | TBC |
| Cork | 18th October 2025 | Rochestown Park Hotel |
Workshops will take place from 9.30am to 4pm, with refreshments and lunch provided. We can also provide financial assistance with travel costs so please contact us about that.
Register to attend:
If you are interested in attending one of our workshops, or would like to find out more, please complete this short registration form and we will be in touch shortly.
What the day will look like
| Time | Topic | Led by |
| 9.30 – 9.50 | Arrive – tea/coffee | |
| 10.00 – 11.15 | Taking stock: what has happened and where do we go from here? | Mairead Brennan |
| 11.15 – 11.30 | Coffee Break | |
| 11.35 – 1.00 | Parenting and family life | Debbie Cullinane |
| 1.00 – 2.00 | Lunch | |
| 2.00 – 3.00 | Reflection on the morning, Q&A Your Wellbeing: Taking care of you, including the science of self-care | Mairead & Debbie Mairead Brennan |
| 3.00 – 3.15 | Coffee Break | |
| 3.15 – 4.00 | Self-Care Practice and Plan | Mairead Brennan |
Taking stock: what has happened and where do we go from here?
The experience of receiving a childhood diagnosis, treatment and recovery is unique to each person (parent, patient and family). It can often feel like a very lonely one and can affect our confidence in many ways. However, there are also many commonalities across families’ experiences and it is helpful to understand and share these, as we will do in our morning session. This can help to normalise how you feel and how it has impacted you and your family. Mairead will focus on looking at these known experiences and throughout the day we will look at strategies that are known to help. In doing so, we can learn how to move forward.
Parenting and family life
Parenting is hard and putting the pieces back together can take time, and that is okay. Debbie will discuss ‘good enough’ parenting, going easy on ourselves as parents and a focus on a return to connective parenting. All behaviour is communication and when we can reframe how we look at behaviour, it can help us to manage big feelings in a new way. Debbie will give information on the brain, limit setting, showing your child how to regulate their emotions, which can also help parents to regulate theirs, tiny moments of connection and engaging through play.
Your Wellbeing: Taking care of you
In the earlier stages of childhood cancer, parents are often in ‘doing’ mode; managing the family’s needs, such as medical appointments, other children’s needs, attending to financial commitments etc. We might be running on empty and with minds that are in a constant alert and vigilant state, which means that our stress response system is constantly switched on. Mairead will explain how our bodies can get stuck in this position well after treatment ends, sharing simple ways to retrain ourselves to soothe our nervous system and recharge our body and mind.
Dr Mairead Brennan
Dr Mairead Brennan, Principal Clinical Psychologist has 10 years of experience of working within Psycho-Oncology services across children, adolescents, young adults and adults. She completed her Clinical Doctorate training in University of Galway in 2015.
Mairead completed psycho-oncology specialist placements during her training and worked in Cancer Care West in Galway for eight years, during which time she developed a hospital-based service within the Galway Clinic and a community-based family service within Cancer Care West.
In addition, Mairead has developed evidence-based therapeutic programmes to meet unmet needs. She has presented research at a national and international level and has additional training in Clinical Supervision.
Since 2023, in collaboration with Childhood Cancer Ireland, Mairead has developed and co-facilitated a one-day Psychoeducational Workshop for Parents following their child’s cancer treatment.
Debbie Cullinane
Debbie Cullinane is a mother of 2. She is a qualified Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, Play Therapist and Former primary school teacher. She facilitates a range of trainings nationwide for various centres and organisations. She is passionate about empowering parents and believes in good enough parenting. Debbie is Sensory & Development Partner with Smyths Toys.
What parents say
This programme is kindly supported by
