Working Life: Babies are striving to be seen as more than their diagnosis

Catherine Matthews, principal clinical psychologist on the cardiac team, CHI at Crumlin

Catherine Matthews, principal clinical psychologist on the cardiac team, CHI at Crumlin. Picture: Moya Nolan

“I’m up at the crack of dawn to beat the traffic. As soon as I arrive at the hospital, I check out how children on the wards are faring. It can be an anxious time. I fuel myself for an inevitably busy day with a coffee.

“I have always had an interest in paediatrics and love how the medical and the psychological marry in the role of clinical psychologist. Supporting families to cope is what I do, working alongside a skilled cardiac multidisciplinary team in caring for the child and family.

“There can be acute surgical challenges and lifelong challenges, and families can feel very at sea. It can be a very vulnerable time when parents are dealing with a diagnosis. The fact that the rest of the world can’t really relate to what they are going through can feel isolating, and so psychological support is validating at this time.

I support families in many ways, but mindfulness practice helps everyone to feel more regulated mentally and physically, and more able to make clear choices about how best to cope.

“Parenting in hospital is challenging initially as it can feel like professionals know more about their child than parents do. It’s important to support parents’ and baby’s attachment. Babies are striving to be seen as more than their diagnosis. There can be lines and cannulas everywhere, which can be intimidating.

“I also work with teenagers living with heart conditions who don’t want it to define them. For some children, having a heart condition means that sport and even going to school can be challenging. As a teen’s cognitive capacity grows, they can have worries and also feel angry about their heart condition, which is so normal. We work together to help reconcile that taking care of their condition can [align] with having goals and aspirations.

“It is a rewarding job but sometimes challenging and sad. Living in Wicklow, surrounded by mountains and sea, helps me regain perspective.”

• Catherine Matthews is a speaker at Heart Children’s ‘The Beat Goes On’ conference, for people with congenital heart disease and their families, in Dublin on Saturday, February 21. The event is part of Global Congenital Heart Disease Awareness Month. Register at heartchildren.ie
• To access Catherine’s free book’Let’s Get Ready: A Psychological Guide for Childhood Cardiac Surgery’, log onto media.childrenshealthireland.ie