01/11/2018
Some common questions when a person or those who care about them realises they may have a mental health difficulty are: what is happening? who can help me? and how can i find out more about what is happening to me? I hope to give you some guidance in answering these questions. The most common response to signs/symptoms of mental health problems is to ignore/dismiss them and keep them to yourself. Understandable but often facilitates these issues becoming more of a problem. If you feel there may be something you need help with, even if in doubt the first step to seeking help and hopefully more understanding of what is happening is typically through your GP. GPs are the primary provider of care and gateway to more specialist services for the majority of people. Most of us know however that GPs have limited time to meet with their patients, to assess and treat the difficulties being presented to them. Some may have more or less training to recognise and treat mental health difficulties. Some have more or less belief in talking therapies as a helpful support for their patients presenting with mental health difficulties. Most will offer emotional support where possible, information/diagnosis of what may be happening and treatment which may include antidepressant/anxiety medications, referral or signposting to talking therapy, community or other specialist support services. In terms of talking therapies, there are a wide variety of approaches to working with the wide range of emotional and psychological mental health difficulties people need help with. In Ireland there is psychological support available in primary care through counselling in primary care (https://www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/4/mental-health-services/counsellingpc/). This is a service for people with mild to moderate diffiuclties. There are a limited number of counsellors available and this is primarily accessed through GP referral. The demand and need for psychological services is typically much greater than the services offered. This leaves the majority of people seeking support may be left with no alternative but to seek private paid psychological support. I am a Cognitive Behaviour Therapist (CBT) which is an evidence based approach to treating a wide variety of mental health conditions. There are a great many more evidence based therapies. What is important is to seek evidence based talking therapies with accredited therapists as far as possible. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE: https://www.nice.org.uk/) is a good resource for approved therapies based upon evidence based practice (what has been shown to work). Ireland is only beginning to establish a registered protected status for therapies, meaning previously anyone could call themselves a therapist, whether they had core training or not. Different organisations provide accreditation for different therapists such as the IABCP/BABCP (http://www.babcp.com/IABCP/) for CBT therapists, the IACP (https://www.iacp.ie/) for counsellors and psychotherapists amongst others. In time it will be easier to check if the therapists advertising their services have recognised training and qualifications for the service being provided. You can find accredited therapists through these sites also. There are a wide range of books, leaflets, websites and resources available to help you understand and address your difficulties. Here are a few helpful links: https://www.octc.co.uk/; https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/Resources/Looking-After-Yourself)
I hope this may be of help to you.
Regards,
Sean Lonergan
CBT Therapist
Guidance, advice and information services for health, public health and social care professionals.
