Commissioner says Garda must address stigma on mental health

It was crucial the Garda broke down any lingering stigma around mental health issues and that members of the force understood seeking help was not a sign of weakness, Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan has said.

While gardaí aided victims of crime and accidents they are often confronted with “unthinkable” scenarios and crime scenes and it was imperative they looked after their own mental health, she said.

Speaking at the launch of a new confidential counselling service for gardaí, Ms O’Sullivan said policing was a challenging and exciting career but it was also a dangerous one in which great trauma could be encountered.

“It’s something you go into with your eyes wide open. Sometimes it can be a lonely job; doing protection posts on your own or out doing a traffic check. Other times you can find yourself dealing with unthinkable situations.”

The Garda uniform did not prevent the person wearing it “having all of the emotions and the feelings” everyone else in society experienced. “You have to think about those gardaí who have to go to a scene; who have to pick up the pieces, literally, and who have to deal with the fall-out with the families.

“It’s about dealing with everything from a murder to a serious traffic accident where people are seriously injured or killed. You have to understand what it means for that person; perhaps for somebody who has had a handbag stolen but half their life is in it,” she said.

The new counselling service for Garda members is run by Carecall, which has been providing counselling services to workers in a variety of justice-related jobs in both sides of the border including prison officers, military personnel, probation officers and the PSNI.

Gardaí can call a 24-hour helpline and up to eight face-to-face counselling sessions will be provided at a location with one hour’s drive of the Garda members’ home or work place. The service is free of charge and confidential, with Garda Headquarters receiving only data around how frequently the service was used rather than details of the gardaí availing of it.

Ms O’Sullivan said the service was need at a time of what she believed was great change was underway across Irish society and abroad.

“There’s a lot more violence in society, the recent gangland murders have shown the incredible murderous intent of some people prepared to carry out these atrocities. And that’s what gardaí are dealing with; from the mundane to the unthinkable.”

She added interacting with people who were “very drunk” or on drugs was also stressful and where gardaí needed to very quickly develop the skills to deal with some situations. “And sometimes when you go away and reflect and when you’re on the way home in the car, you’re thinking to yourself ‘oh my God, what’s after happening there’.”

She believed the new service would greatly aid members dealing with such scenarios. “We’ve people dealing with very traumatic events like child sexual abuse (or) breaking the news to somebody that their loved one, their family member has been hurt or murdered in horrific circumstances.

“And our job is to ensure that the supports are there, to support victims and loves ones, but also to support our own people and recognises it’s not a weakness to look for that help.”