Mental health in Ireland

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Mental health in the Republic of Ireland is the subject of state and community sector intervention in Ireland. The Irish state devolves responsibility for mental health to the Department of Health. Community groups and charities also provide support in the prevention and management of mental illness as well as suicide prevention.

Contents

Government strategy

As of 2022, the Minister of State at the Department of Health with responsibility for Mental Health and Older People is Mary Butler, TD. [1] Health services are delivered by the Health Service Executive (HSE).

National Suicide Research Foundation

The National Suicide Research Foundation leads research on the topic of suicidology. [2]

Non-governmental organisations

A number of non-governmental organizations have historically been involved in delivery of health and educational services, including by religious orders and congregations. The impact of mental health services has been highlighted by research and media reports in recent decades,[ when? ][ citation needed ] and a number of organisations have been created to deal with the area.

Amen

Amen (amen.ie) is a charity based in Navan, County Meath, [3] [4] [5] which works with male victims of domestic violence. It dealt with over 3,600 contacts in 2009. [6] [7] [8] The organisation was awarded a People of the Year Award [9] and a GSK Ireland IMPACT Award in 2016. [10] [11]

Aware

Aware is a voluntary organisation which aims to assist people affected by depression. It was founded in 1985 by a group of patients, relatives and health professionals.

Console

Console was a charity that offered suicide bereavement services including a 24/7 Suicide Helpline, Suicide Bereavement Liaison Service and a Suicide Bereavement Counselling Service. [12] [13] [14] [15] Its founder, Paul Kelly, received a People of the Year Awards, award in 2014. [13] Reports emerged in 2016 that the charity was mismanaged and the charity closed. [13] [16] [12] [17] Campaigner David Hall was appointed interim CEO during the winding-down process. [18] A national Charities Regulator was appointed in the same year. [19]

Cycle Against Suicide

Cycle Against Suicide is an organisation that seeks to raise awareness and bring support to those dealing with mental health issues. [20] A compilation album Simple Things was released in 2013 for the charity. [21] [22] [23]

Men's sheds

The Irish Association of Men's Sheds is a non-profit organization which promotes good mental health through creating sheds for men to meet and create projects in. [24] Projects, as varied as woodwork, electronics and jam-making, are chosen by the participants. The organisation was awarded a People of the Year Award. More than 10,000 men use over 300 sheds. [24]

Nightline

Nightline is the name given to various confidential and anonymous overnight listening, emotional support, information, and supplies services, run by students for students at universities around the world. Individual Nightlines are autonomous organisations, but are affiliated to the Nightline Association, which is an umbrella organisation founded to facilitate cooperation between Nightlines in the UK and Ireland. [25]

Pieta House

Pieta House deals with suicide prevention and counselling for those bereaved by suicide. [15] The annual Darkness into Light event at locations across Ireland and the world act as a fundraiser for the charity. [26]

Other organisations

The Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God have run institutions in Ireland since 1882. [27] The Samaritans charity also runs a helpline for suicide prevention. SOSAD ("Save Our Sons And Daughters") Ireland is a suicide prevention and bereavement agency which was set up in 2006. [28] International organisations such as Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous operate in Ireland. The Rutland Centre, founded by recovering alcoholic Mary Bolton treats addicts of gambling, narcotics and alcohol. [29]

Youth mental health

Jigsaw is the National Centre for Youth Mental Health. [30] ReachOut.com deals with young people aged 12 to 25. (Previously 15 to 25) Ireland|Childline]] runs a helpline and online chat service for those under 18. [31] BodyWhys offers online support centring on eating disorder issues. [31] Children at Risk In Ireland (CARI) is an organisation that primarily provides therapy and counselling to victims of child sexual abuse. [32] [33] [34]

Mental health among males

At this current time[ when? ] in Ireland, there is a push to nullify the stigma towards mental health and raise awareness of the widespread epidemic of mental health issues among males (over four in five suicides in Ireland are male) [35]

See also

Related Research Articles

Samaritans is a registered charity aimed at providing emotional support to anyone in emotional distress, struggling to cope or at risk of suicide throughout the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, often through its telephone helpline. Its name derives from the biblical Parable of the Good Samaritan, although the organisation itself is not religious.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NSPCC</span> British child protection charity

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is a British child protection charity founded as the Liverpool Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (LSPCC) by Thomas Agnew on 19 April 1883. The NSPCC lobbies the government on issues relating to child welfare, and creates child abuse public awareness campaigns. Since the 1980s, the charity has had statutory powers allowing it to apply for help on behalf of children at risk. In the 1990s, the charity's publication, Satanic Indicators, fueled panic in social workers who went and accused parents and removed children from homes when they should not have. It operates a help line. The Paddington Bear character has partnered with the charity to raise funds for the charity. NSPCC operates telephone helplines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Childline</span> British youth phone counselling service

Childline is a British counselling service for children and young people aged up to 18 in the United Kingdom provided by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. They deal with any issues which cause distress or concern; some of the most common issues include child abuse, bullying, mental illness, parental separation and or divorce, teenage pregnancy, substance misuse, neglect, and psychological abuse.

A crisis hotline is a phone number people can call to get immediate emergency telephone counseling, usually by trained volunteers. The first such service was founded in England in 1951 and such hotlines have existed in most major cities of the English speaking world at least since the mid-1970s. Initially set up to help those contemplating suicide, many have expanded their mandate to deal more generally with emotional crises. Similar hotlines operate to help people in other circumstances, including rape, bullying, self-harm, runaway children, human trafficking, and people who identify as LGBT or intersex. Despite crisis hotlines being common, their effectiveness in reducing suicides is not clear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beyond Blue</span> Australian mental health and wellbeing support organisation

Beyond Blue is an Australian mental health and wellbeing support organisation. They provide support programs to address issues related to depression, suicide, anxiety disorders and other related mental illnesses.

Victim Support is an independent charity in England and Wales that provides specialist practical and emotional support to victims and witnesses of crime.

ReachOut.com is an internet service for young Australians that provides information, support and resources about mental health issues and enable them to develop resilience, increase coping skills, and facilitate help-seeking behaviour. The site contains information about issues affecting young people in the form of fact sheets, stories, podcasts and online forums.

988 is a telephone number used in some North American (NANP) countries for a suicide prevention helpline. In the United States, it is known as the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. In Canada, it is known as the 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline.

Aware is a voluntary organisation based in Ireland which aims to assist people affected by depression, bipolar disorder and related mood conditions. Its CEO is Dominic Layden. It is registered as a charity with the Charities Regulator in the Republic of Ireland and the Charity Commission in Northern Ireland.

The Rehab Group is an international not-for-profit organisation providing health and social care, training and education, rehabilitation, employment and commercial services. Operating primarily in Ireland and the United Kingdom, it was originally established in 1949 as the Rehabilitation Institute, and provided training services to people with tuberculosis. In 2014 and 2015, a number of controversies involving the Rehab Group resulted in the resignation of the organisation's then CEO, a reduction in donations to several charities, and changes to the regulation of charities in Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suicide in the United Kingdom</span> Statistics and causes of suicide in the UK

Suicide is a significant national social issue in the United Kingdom. In 2022 there were 5,642 registered deaths by suicide in England and Wales, equating to an average of 15 suicides per day. 74.1% of suicides in England and Wales in 2022 were males. In Scotland there were 762 probable suicides in 2022, equating to an average of 2 suicides per day. In Northern Ireland there were 203 suicide deaths registered in 2022. Suicide is the single biggest killer of men under the age of 45 in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen McEntee</span> Irish politician (born 1986)

Helen McEntee is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Minister for Justice since June 2020, although her portfolio was temporarily reassigned during two six-month periods of maternity leave in 2021 and 2022–2023. A Teachta Dála (TD) for the Meath East constituency since 2013, she previously served as a minister of state from 2016 to 2020.

Breathing Space is a psychological counselling service in Scotland for people feeling depressed, or with other urgent psychological problems. It has a telephone helpline, a web interface, and a British Sign Language webcam interface, all staffed by trained advisers who offer guidance and referral. The service is funded by the Scottish Government Health Directorate and NHS 24, and is operationally managed by NHS 24.

Vandrevala Foundation is an NGO established by Cyrus Vandrevala and Priya Vandrevala in 2008. In 2009, the foundation launched the "Mental Health - India" initiative to raise awareness and provide services for emotionally distressed individuals.

In 2014, the WHO ranked Nepal as the 7th in the global suicide rate. The estimated annual suicides in Nepal are 6,840 or 24.9 suicides per 100,000 people. Data on suicide in Nepal are primarily based on police reports and therefore rely on mortality statistics. However, the burden of suicide in communities is likely to be higher, particularly among women, migrant workers, and populations affected by disasters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Buckley (Irish politician)</span> Irish politician (born 1969)

Pat Buckley is an Irish Sinn Féin politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cork East constituency since the 2016 general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Freeman (politician)</span> Irish psychologist and politician (born 1958)

Joan Freeman is an Irish psychologist, mental health activist and an Independent politician who served as a Senator from 2016 to 2020, after being nominated by the then Taoiseach, Enda Kenny. She is the founder of Pieta House, a national mental health services charity. She resigned from Pieta House in 2014. She was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2018 presidential election.

Suicide in Ireland has the 17th highest rate in Europe and the 4th highest for the males aged 15–25 years old which was a main contributing factor to the improvement of suicides in Ireland.

Mental health in Australia has been through a significant shift in the last 50 years, with 20% of Australians experiencing one or more mental health episodes in their lifetimes. Australia runs on a mixed health care system, with both public and private health care. The public system includes a government run insurance scheme called Medicare, which aids mental health schemes. Each state within Australia has its own management plans for mental health treatment. However, the overarching system and spending remains the same.

References

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