Connecting Mental Health, Neurodiversity, Human Wellbeing & Integrative Sleep
Meet Eilís Walklett, a longtime youth worker in Kilkenny, Ireland, whose professional work spans mental health and emotional wellbeing, mentoring, neurodiversity and inclusion, youth development, and nature-based wellbeing.
Eilís currently works with Ossory Youth, where she has been part of the organization for more than a decade. She is now expanding her professional knowledge as a participant in IPHI’s Integrative Adult Sleep Coach Certification Program. Ossory Youth’s current staff directory identifies Eilís as a Youth Worker, while its archived 2013 annual report shows her already serving in that role more than a decade ago.
More Than a Decade Supporting Young People
Eilís’s professional work reflects a long-term commitment to helping young people navigate some of the challenges that can shape their emotional and social wellbeing.
Her work at Ossory Youth encompasses areas such as mental health, anxiety, mentoring, neurodiversity, social connection and inclusion.
On the organization’s mental-health service page, young people experiencing stress, anxiety, worry, relationship difficulties or other challenges are specifically encouraged to reach out to Eilís, with the support described as friendly, caring, informal and non-judgmental.
That relational component, the presence of a supportive person who listens without judgment—has been an important theme throughout her work.
The Power of Mentoring and “One Good Adult”
Eilís has also played a significant role in youth mentoring.
In 2019, she was publicly identified as coordinator of Ossory Youth’s mentoring program, which was created to give young people an individualized, supportive relationship with an adult outside their immediate family and school environments.
She continued advocating for this work in subsequent years. In 2022, Eilís spoke about seeing young people grow in confidence and self-belief through mentoring and was again identified as coordinator of the program.
The philosophy behind this work is simple but powerful: sometimes having one supportive adult who listens, encourages and provides a safe relationship can make an important difference in a young person’s life.
During the isolation and anxiety surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, Eilís also spoke publicly about the mental-health challenges facing young people and the potential for increased digital isolation to intensify anxiety and disconnection.
Supporting Neurodiversity & Inclusion
Another important dimension of Eilís’s current work is neurodiversity.
Ossory Youth specifically identifies Eilís among the youth workers supporting its Neurodiversity and Inclusion services, which seek to create environments where neurodivergent young people can participate comfortably, develop friendships, explore interests and engage at their own pace.
She is also directly associated with the organization’s Autistic Minds program, which provides a space for autistic young people and others who may find socializing challenging to connect with like-minded peers, pursue interests and feel comfortable being themselves.
This experience brings an especially valuable perspective to the broader conversation around wellbeing.
People do not experience stress, regulation, social environments—or sleep—in identical ways. Understanding individual differences is therefore an important part of genuinely person-centered support.
Nature as Part of Wellbeing
Eilís’s work has also extended beyond traditional indoor support programs.
In 2020, she helped facilitate Ossory Youth’s Nature for Wellbeing – Journey Home, a six-month program designed to help young people build confidence, resilience, community, communication and leadership skills through connection with nature, forest-based activities and traditional skills.
Her involvement with nature-based wellbeing continued through programs such as Free Spirits, which encouraged young people to grow mentally, physically and emotionally through outdoor exploration, creativity, foraging, stories, play and connection with the natural world.
It’s another reflection of the broad lens Eilís brings to wellbeing: human health and emotional resilience are influenced by relationships, environment, community, connection and lived experience.
Expanding Into Integrative Sleep
Eilís is now bringing that extensive background into another area of human wellbeing through her participation in IPHI’s Integrative Adult Sleep Coach Certification Program.
Sleep has important relationships with many of the areas that have already shaped her professional life: stress, emotional wellbeing, daily routines, environment, nervous-system regulation and individual differences.
Her existing work with neurodivergent populations adds another meaningful dimension, as individualized support requires recognizing that people may experience their bodies, environments and regulation differently.
For an experienced helping professional like Eilís, studying integrative sleep does not mean abandoning the work that came before it.
It means adding another lens through which human wellbeing can be understood.
An Advocate for Empowering Young Minds
Eilís’s community involvement has also extended into public conversations around empowerment and wellbeing.
In 2024, she participated as a panel speaker in a Kilkenny International Women’s Day event exploring how people invest in the women in their lives. Coverage of the event described her as a “youth worker and advocate for empowering young minds.”
An earlier profile in The Irish Times also identified Eilís as a youth worker from Thomastown, County Kilkenny, and explored her perspectives on family life, women, equality and maternity experiences.
Across these different areas, a consistent theme emerges:
Supporting people means seeing the person, not simply the problem in front of them.
That philosophy creates a natural bridge to integrative sleep education.
Professional Profile
Name: Eilís Walklett
Location: County Kilkenny, Ireland
Profession: Youth Worker
Organization: Ossory Youth
Documented Experience: Youth Worker with Ossory Youth since at least 2013
Professional Areas of Focus:
Mental Health & Emotional Wellbeing
Anxiety Support
Youth Mentoring
Neurodiversity & Inclusion
Autistic Youth Support
Youth Development
Social Connection
Nature-Based Wellbeing
Community Support
Community Leadership: Mentoring Program Coordinator; public advocate for youth mental health, empowerment and wellbeing.
Current IPHI Education: Integrative Adult Sleep Coach Certification Program
Professional Approach: Supportive, individualized and non-judgmental work that recognizes the importance of relationships, emotional wellbeing, inclusion, environment and individual differences.
Continuing a Career Centered on Human Wellbeing
What makes Eilís’s professional journey compelling isn’t a single title or modality.
It is the continuity running through her work.
Listening. Mentoring. Mental health. Inclusion. Neurodiversity. Nature. Connection. Empowerment.
For more than a decade, Eilís has worked directly with young people and communities, creating spaces in which individuals can feel heard, supported and able to develop their own strengths.
Now, through IPHI’s Integrative Adult Sleep Coach Certification Program, she is adding another dimension to that work by exploring sleep through a comprehensive, whole-person lens.
We are honored to have Eilís Walklett as part of the IPHI professional community and look forward to seeing how she continues connecting her extensive experience in human wellbeing with the evolving field of integrative sleep.
Congratulations, Eilís! We celebrate your longstanding commitment to supporting others and your continued dedication to learning, growth and whole-person wellbeing.
