Persephone
Psychotherapy
Meaningful therapy in
Kilkenny City, Ireland
Welcome!
I’m Sarah Jane, a qualified psychodynamic psychotherapist.
I work with people who are seeking deeper and more lasting change, whether you are navigating relationship difficulties, anxiety, low mood, loss, or simply a longing to understand yourself on a deeper level. My approach is rooted in psychodynamic and psychoanalytic thinking, which means we explore how your past experiences and relationships may be shaping your present life.
Together, we work to uncover patterns that may be keeping you stuck, heal emotional wounds, and strengthen your capacity to live in a way that feels authentic and meaningful. This is not about quick fixes, but about genuine curiosity and self-acceptance.
I offer a compassionate, non-judgemental space where all parts of you are welcome, including the parts you may find difficult or painful. Our sessions provide a place to explore your inner world at your own pace, so you can deepen your self-understanding, improve your relationships, and find new ways of relating to yourself and others.
I provide therapy for a range of concerns including relationship and attachment issues, anxiety, OCD, depression, stress, grief, burnout, addiction, personality disorders, and trauma.
Sessions are available in-person from a calm, confidential space in the heart of Kilkenny City, Ireland, or online for those further afield.
Why Persephone?
In Greek mythology, Persephone was the daughter of Demeter, goddess of the harvest. One day, while picking flowers in a meadow, she was abducted by Hades, god of the underworld, who wanted her as his queen. Demeter searched the earth in grief, and during her mourning the world’s crops withered. Eventually, Zeus intervened, and a deal was struck and Persephone could return to her mother, but because she had eaten a handful of pomegranate seeds in the underworld, she was bound to spend part of each year with Hades and part with Demeter. This cycle explained the seasons of spring and summer when Persephone is reunited with her mother, and autumn and winter when she returns to the underworld.
The story can be seen as a metaphor for the human journey through loss, trauma, or periods of darkness. Like Persephone, we may be “taken” into an inner underworld by life events such as grief, depression, anxiety, or old wounds. In therapy, we sometimes need to descend into these shadowy places to understand and reclaim parts of ourselves that have been hidden away. It’s not about staying there forever, but learning to move between the “light” and “dark” in a way that brings balance. Just as Persephone’s annual return brings renewal to the earth in Spring, revisiting these inner worlds can lead to growth, integration, and new life in the psyche.
The pomegranate seeds Persephone ate can also be symbolic. In therapy, these “seeds” might represent moments, memories, or parts of ourselves that we can carry between our conscious mind and our unconscious mind. Working with all the parts of ourself allows us to notice which aspects of us live mostly in the light and which have been exiled to the underworld. By bringing them into dialogue, we plant the seeds of integration, so that even what was once dark can also feed our growth.
