IRELAND HAS a shortage of affordable, discreet and out-of-hours counselling services, according to the director of a community facility launched yesterday.
The Village Counselling Service was set up in Tallaght in 2004 to meet the demands of the local community and provide low-cost and available counselling, explained counsellor Marcella Finnerty, who chairs its board of directors.
More than 40 counsellors volunteer a minimum three hours per week each. Some are training or working towards accreditation, and are closely supervised. The service addresses a gap in general counselling support that still exists in other areas, said Ms Finnerty. "People were being asked to wait six weeks to three months. If you phone for therapy, it's very courageous and you don't want to have to wait."
The Village Counselling Service sees about 70 people a week. Clients come through GP referrals, word-of-mouth or other community services, and are placed with a counsellor within a week, according to Ms Finnerty. Clients contribute an average of €15 to the centre, which also receives funding from the HSE and the Family Support Agency, but the fee can be waived if necessary, she said.
The out-of-hours set-up accommodates people who may be unable to attend during the day or may need immediate support, said Ms Finnerty. "We have had people call threatening suicide, and we have stayed with them or called an ambulance."
The facility was officially launched yesterday, marking a new phase of evaluating the model as a blueprint to addressing a State-wide shortage of counselling services, said Ms Finnerty. "There's no reason why it wouldn't work in other areas."