About Dr Donna Rooney

Sometimes we can understand exactly why we feel the way we do — and still find that knowing it doesn't change how it feels.

I'm Dr Donna Rooney, a Chartered Clinical Psychologist specialising in trauma and EMDR. I help people understand and work through experiences that continue to have an impact in the present, using evidence-based psychological therapy that's collaborative, individualised and human.

One of the things I have always valued most about Clinical Psychology is the opportunity to look beyond symptoms and diagnoses and understand the person as a whole. Rather than simply asking “What's wrong?”, I'm much more interested in understanding “What has happened, what has shaped you, and why might things feel the way they do now?”

Over the years, I've become particularly interested in how our experiences can continue to influence us long after they have happened. Difficult or overwhelming experiences can affect how we see ourselves and other people, how safe we feel in the world, and how we respond emotionally and physically — sometimes in ways that can feel confusing or frustrating. When we understand those responses in the context of someone's experiences, they very often begin to make much more sense.

For me, therapy is about developing that understanding together, rather than applying a treatment to somebody. I bring my psychological knowledge and clinical experience, while you bring an expertise that I can never have: what it is actually like to be you. By putting those things together, we can make sense of the patterns that may be keeping you stuck and identify where change might be possible.

Understanding is important, but ultimately therapy is also about helping things become different. My aim isn't for you simply to understand why you feel the way you do, but to help you move forward with less influence from past experiences and greater freedom in how you respond to life now.

Collaborative | Individualised | Trauma-informed | Evidence-based but human | Warm and straightforward 

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to therapy. I aim to create a space that feels safe, collaborative and straightforward, combining evidence-based psychological therapy with an understanding of you as an individual. 

Collaborative
I see therapy as something we do together. I will bring my psychological knowledge and clinical experience, but you will bring the expertise in your own life. We’ll develop a shared understanding of what’s happening and decide together where to focus our work. 

Individualised
No two people arrive at therapy with exactly the same experiences, needs or goals, so I don’t believe EMDR should look exactly the same for everyone. I take time to understand the wider picture and tailor how we prepare for and approach the work to you, rather than simply following a standard process. Given my clinical training and experience, I can also bring in alternative approaches to support the EMDR work, giving you the benefit of a truly individualised approach. 

Trauma-informed
When working with trauma, I place particular importance on safety, preparation and pacing. Therapy isn’t about pushing you to revisit difficult experiences before you’re ready. We’ll work at a pace that feels manageable while still helping you move towards meaningful change. 

Evidence-based but human
My work is grounded in psychological research, established clinical guidance and many years of clinical experience. But evidence-based practice isn’t about treating people according to a manual. I use the evidence to guide our work while always remembering that I’m working with an individual person, with their own experiences, circumstances and needs. 

Warm and straightforward

I’m warm and compassionate, but I’m also an active therapist. I’ll ask questions, offer observations and sometimes gently challenge you when I think it might be helpful. I try to make psychology understandable and useful – so I promise not to hide behind a million acronyms or use complicated psychological jargon when ordinary English will do just fine! My aim is for therapy to feel human and supportive, while remaining focused on the changes you want to make. 

Importance of the therapeutic relationship

Whatever therapeutic approach we use, I believe the relationship between us matters. This is particularly important in intensive work, where we may be working together for a relatively short period but with very personal material. That's why we'll meet before you commit to an intensive — it's important that you feel comfortable with me and that we both feel I'm the right person to work with you.

Over the years, I found myself increasingly drawn to working with trauma and understanding the impact that difficult experiences can have long after they are over. Again and again, I worked with people who understood, on a rational level, why they felt or responded in certain ways, but found that this understanding alone didn't necessarily change how they felt. The past could still feel very present — in their emotions, relationships, beliefs about themselves, or in the way their body responded to situations that felt threatening.

Trauma doesn't always come from one obvious, life-changing event. Sometimes it does — an accident, assault, loss or other experience that overwhelms our ability to cope. But the impact of our experiences can also build over time. Repeated, cumulative or seemingly less significant experiences can shape how we see ourselves, other people and the world around us. What matters isn't simply whether an experience fits a particular definition of trauma, but the impact it has had on you and whether it continues to affect your life now.

This led me to become increasingly interested in approaches that could help bridge the gap between knowing something and feeling it differently. EMDR particularly resonated with me because it offers a way of working directly with experiences that can feel "stuck", while still allowing therapy to be carefully paced and tailored to the individual.

What I value most about trauma work is seeing the shift that can happen when someone begins to understand their responses not as something inherently wrong with them, but as understandable responses to what they have experienced. EMDR can then help us move beyond simply understanding those patterns and towards reducing the hold that past experiences continue to have on the present.

More recently, working with EMDR in an intensive format has allowed me to extend this approach further. Traditional weekly therapy works very well for many people, but there are times when having to stop meaningful work because a 55-minute session has ended can feel limiting. EMDR Intensives create more protected time for preparation, processing and integration, while retaining the careful assessment, pacing and individualised approach that I believe good trauma therapy requires.

I have worked in psychological services for over 20 years and qualified as a Clinical Psychologist in 2010. My career has included working within NHS adult mental health services, specialist and senior clinical roles, clinical leadership, workplace psychological health and, for the past nine years, independent practice.

Throughout my career, I have worked with adults experiencing a wide range of psychological difficulties, from anxiety, depression and the impact of stressful life experiences through to PTSD, complex trauma and longstanding difficulties linked to earlier experiences. This breadth of experience is important to the way I work now: people rarely arrive with a difficulty that fits neatly into a single box, and understanding the wider psychological picture is an important part of deciding how best to help.

Trauma has become an increasingly significant focus of my work. I have worked with people affected by single traumatic incidents as well as repeated, cumulative and more complex experiences, and with difficulties arising in both people's personal and working lives. Alongside my broader Clinical Psychology training, I have undertaken specialist training in EMDR and, more recently, EMDR Intensive Therapy.

I moved into independent practice nine years ago and have since built a busy Clinical Psychology practice, working predominantly with adults experiencing trauma, anxiety and related difficulties. Since 2020, I have also worked extensively online and have found that, for many people, receiving psychological therapy from their own environment can offer significant practical advantages without losing the connection and collaborative relationship that are so important to the work.

My experience means that I bring more than knowledge of a particular therapy technique to EMDR Intensives. I bring the broader assessment, formulation and clinical judgement of a Clinical Psychologist, alongside specialist training and experience in trauma and EMDR.

As a Clinical Psychologist I am registered with the UK Health Care Professionals Council (HCPC), the statutory regulator for practitioner psychologists in the UK. I am also a Chartered Clinical Psychologist and Fellow of the British Psychological Society and a member of the EMDR Association UK. 

Qualifications & specialist training: 

• Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (2010)
• EMDR core training, part 1,2,3 (2010-2011)
• EMDR Intensive training (2026)

Professional registration & memberships:

• Registered Practitioner Psychologist – HCPC
• Chartered Clinical Psychologist – British Psychological Society
• Member of EMDR UK Association 

Why professional registration matters: Clinical Psychologist is a protected professional title in the UK. To use this title, psychologists must complete recognised doctoral-level professional training and be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). Registration also requires adherence to professional standards around areas such as ethics, competence, confidentiality and continuing professional development.

Outside of work, I love travelling and exploring new places, but I’m equally happy with quieter time at home with my family. I’m an animal lover and spend a lot of time walking my labrador, who has endless energy. I’m also kept busy by my two cats, Alan & Bruce, who have fairly strong opinions about how the household should be run. 

Choosing the right person to work with matters, particularly when you're considering working with difficult or personal experiences. If you're wondering whether an EMDR Intensive — and working with me — might be right for you, you can find out more about how intensives work or get in touch to tell me a little about what you're looking for.