Kaitlyn Mac Geoghegan Educational Psychologist

Kaitlyn Mac Geoghegan Educational Psychologist I am an Educational Psychologist practicing in Port Elizabeth.I am passionate about helping children

I make use of an eclectic approach comprising of a systemic focus, while acknowledging both positive psychology and resiliency frameworks. I therefore consider each individual within the environment in which they are nested and the reciprocal influence of these areas on the client. My interventions are client centred in nature, whereby the client is viewed as being the expert on their own life, wi

th their own inherent strengths and resiliency which can be tapped into, in order for them to actualise their true potential and optimise their functioning. Support and therapeutic services offered to children and adolescents:
• Early identification and intervention
• School readiness
• Auditory/visual perception and discrimination
• Remediation
• Psychometric assessments
• Career and subject choice assessments
• Recommendations for further education, career and subject choices
• Aptitude, intelligence, personality, career values and interest
testing
• Support with learning areas such as reading, mathematics and spelling
• Study methods
• Play therapy
• Therapy making use of Theraplay © principles
• Counselling and support

Support and therapeutic services offered to adults-
• Parental guidance
• Psychometric assessments
• Career counselling


HPCSA no: PS 013 4805
Practice no: 0860030675342

Save this one. Screenshot it. Put it on your fridge. 🐾These are some of my favourite quick regulation tools — and yes, t...
17/06/2026

Save this one. Screenshot it. Put it on your fridge. 🐾

These are some of my favourite quick regulation tools — and yes, they work for adults just as well as they do for kids.

When your child (or YOU) is triggered, flooded, or about to tip over the edge — logic and talking WON'T work yet. The brain needs to feel safe before it can think. So we go body-first:

🌬 Long exhale breathing — inhale normally, exhale longer. This signals your nervous system to settle.

🙌 Slow arm shaking — let your arms hang loose and shake from the wrists. It literally helps discharge built-up stress energy from the body.

🧱 Wall push — palms flat on the wall, push firmly for 10 seconds. Releases held tension safely.

👣 Seated foot press — press your feet into the floor, hold, release slowly. Grounds and steadies.

🎵 Hum on exhale — inhale, then hum as you breathe out. That vibration calms the vagus nerve and the whole nervous system.

🤷 Shoulder roll and drop — lift, roll back, let them drop. Softens all that upper body tension we carry.

Try one with your child today. Better yet — do it together. That's co-regulation in action.

Which one will you try first? 👇

Regulating yourself IS parenting your child!Working on YOUR nervous system is not a luxury. It is not self-indulgent. It...
10/06/2026

Regulating yourself IS parenting your child!

Working on YOUR nervous system is not a luxury. It is not self-indulgent. It is one of the most powerful things you can do for your child.

Because co-regulation — the process by which a child's nervous system settles by borrowing safety from a regulated adult — only works when that adult has something to offer.

You cannot pour from an empty cup. And you cannot regulate a child from a dysregulated body.

"Regulating the nervous system means doing daily practices to teach the body to feel safe." Not a once-off event. Not a retreat or a workshop. Daily. Small. Consistent.

And when we teach ourselves that it's safe to feel tired, nervous, uncertain — that discomfort doesn't mean danger — we give our children permission to feel those things too. Without spiralling.

This week I want to challenge you to pick ONE daily practice. Breathwork. A walk without your phone. A moment of stillness before you respond instead of react.

Not because you're broken. Because you deserve to feel safe in your own body. And your children need you to.

"Your nervous system doesn't know the danger is over."This might be one of the most important sentences I share with fam...
03/06/2026

"Your nervous system doesn't know the danger is over."

This might be one of the most important sentences I share with families.

Even when life feels stable. Even when you *know* nothing is wrong. Your body might still be scanning, bracing, waiting. And if that's you as a parent — your child's body is picking it up.

The signs of a nervous system stuck in survival mode often don't look like anxiety. They look like:
• Always tired, but can't rest
• Overthinking everything
• Feeling numb or shut down
• People-pleasing
• Can't slow down

Sound familiar? In children, these patterns show up as school avoidance, emotional explosions, poor sleep, difficulty with transitions, and a constant need for reassurance.

The good news? The nervous system can heal. But it heals slowly, gently, and with repetition — not with pressure or force.

That's what we're working on together.

Do you ever wonder why your child goes from zero to ten in seconds? Or why YOU do? 🧠This is what nervous system dysregul...
27/05/2026

Do you ever wonder why your child goes from zero to ten in seconds? Or why YOU do? 🧠

This is what nervous system dysregulation actually looks like — and I see these signs every single day in the children and families I work with.

A racing heart. Hypervigilance. Catastrophising. Extreme procrastination. Rage. Difficulty focusing. These aren't character flaws. They're not "bad behaviour." They are a nervous system that has learned it needs to stay on high alert to survive.

Here's the thing: before we can help our children regulate, we need to understand what's actually happening in their bodies — and in ours.

Because nervous systems co-regulate. Your child's body is constantly taking cues from yours.

This week I'm starting a series on nervous system regulation — what it is, why it matters for learning, behaviour, sleep, confidence, and connection — and most importantly, what we can actually DO about it.

Save this post. Share it with a parent or teacher who needs to hear this.

And tell me below — which of these signs do you recognise in your child? In yourself? 👇

20/05/2026

I spend my days working with children and families who are struggling — with anxiety, with focus, with meltdowns, with school refusal, with kids who can't sleep, can't sit still, can't seem to just... relax.

And one of the most important things I've learned — and honestly, one of the things I wish was taught in every school and every home — is this:

Before we reach for a diagnosis, before we reach for medication, before we label a child as difficult or anxious or 'too much'... we need to look at the nervous system.

The nervous system is like the body's alarm system. When it feels safe, children can learn. They can connect. They can play and grow and thrive. But when it's stuck in survival mode — always scanning for danger, always bracing for something bad — a child literally cannot access the part of their brain that learns, reasons, and regulates emotions.

And here's the thing. This isn't just about the child.

Because nervous systems are contagious.

When a parent is regulated — calm, grounded, present — their child's nervous system co-regulates off theirs. When a parent is chronically anxious or dysregulated, the child's body picks that up too. Not as blame. As biology.
So the most powerful thing we can do for our children... is do the work ourselves first.

That's what this series is about.
Not perfect parenting. Not having it all together. But understanding why our children behave the way they do, why we respond the way we do, and learning — slowly, gently, consistently — to feel safer in our own bodies. So our homes can become safer for our kids.

Over the coming weeks I'll be sharing tools, frameworks, and research in a way that's practical and real. Whether your child struggles with anxiety, sensory overwhelm, big emotions, or school stress — or whether you're the one who's exhausted and running on empty — this is for you.

Let's start at the beginning. Let's start with safety.

Follow along — and share this with someone who needs to hear it.

Every time your child practises, they are building a “brain bridge.”Learning something new can feel hard at first — beca...
29/04/2026

Every time your child practises, they are building a “brain bridge.”

Learning something new can feel hard at first — because the brain is forming new connections. It’s like trying to cross a deep gap with no bridge.

The first attempts take effort. They feel slow, frustrating, and uncomfortable.

But with repetition, the brain strengthens those connections —
and the “bridge” becomes stronger and easier to cross.

This is neuroplasticity in action.

As parents, the goal isn’t to rush the process —
it’s to encourage practice, patience, and persistence.

• “Keep going — your brain is building.”
• “It will get easier with practice.”
• “You’re strengthening your brain.”

Because every time they try again,
they’re not just learning the skill —
they’re rewiring their brain to make it easier next time.

What if mistakes are actually part of success?So many everyday things were invented by mistake — which is a powerful rem...
22/04/2026

What if mistakes are actually part of success?

So many everyday things were invented by mistake — which is a powerful reminder for our children: being wrong is not something to fear.

When children feel ashamed of mistakes, they start to avoid trying.
But when mistakes are normalised, they become willing to take risks, learn, and grow.

This is how neuroplasticity works — the brain learns through errors, not in spite of them.

As parents, we can shift the message:
• “Mistakes help your brain grow.”
• “What did you learn from that?”
• “Let’s try again.”

Less shame. More curiosity. More growth.

Because confident learners aren’t the ones who get it right all the time —
they’re the ones who are not afraid to get it wrong.

15/04/2026

Letting your child struggle can feel uncomfortable — but it sends a powerful message: “I believe in you.”

When we step back (instead of stepping in too quickly), we give children the chance to think, try, and figure things out.

That’s where real learning happens.
That’s how confidence is built.

Support them, guide them — but don’t remove the challenge.

Because sometimes, the most powerful thing we can say is:
“You’ve got this.”

One small word can change how your child learns: YET.“I can’t do this”… yet“I don’t understand”… yet“I’m not good at thi...
08/04/2026

One small word can change how your child learns: YET.

“I can’t do this”… yet
“I don’t understand”… yet
“I’m not good at this”… yet

That one word keeps the brain open instead of shutting it down.

Because of neuroplasticity, every time your child keeps trying, their brain is building and strengthening connections.

As parents, we don’t need to fix the struggle — we guide the response:
• Add “yet”
• Encourage trying again
• Praise effort, not just results

This is how we build a growth mindset — and children who believe they can improve.

Keep practising it this week…
because knowledge is power, and there is always room to grow.

01/04/2026

Getting feedback from teachers, OTs, speech therapists, or educational psychologists can feel overwhelming—especially when it’s not only strengths being highlighted.

But this is where the shift happens.

A growth mindset means recognising and using our strengths with intention, while also being willing to face the areas that feel harder. Those “weaknesses” are not fixed—they’re simply skills still developing.

When we can hold both—“this is what I do well” and “this is where I can grow”—that’s where the real power lies.

Because growth isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being open, curious, and remembering that our brains are always capable of learning and changing.

Address

Neurobloom Wellness And Learning Hub/37 Martin Road
Port Elizabeth
6045

Opening Hours

Monday 08:00 - 17:00
Tuesday 08:00 - 17:00
Wednesday 08:00 - 17:00
Thursday 08:00 - 17:00
Friday 08:00 - 17:00

Telephone

+27828571378

Website

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