Irish Council for Psychotherapy website

Help for those affected by Suicide

Ann Daly — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:23:06 +0000

Irish Times: Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Help for those affected by suicide
EVELYN GORDON
Psychotherapy can help those who have been affected by suicide
SUICIDE IS back in the news again with the release of the Monageer report and reports on the inquest of Rosemary Toole Gilhooley last week.
The Monageer report documented the suicide of Adrian Dunne and the deaths of his wife Ciara and their young daughters Leanne and Shania at their Co Wexford home in 2007.
Meanwhile, Ms Toole Gilhooley died in Dublin 2002 in what was believed to be an assisted suicide. Rev George Exoo and his partner, Thomas McGurrin, were investigated for assisting her suicide but efforts to have them extradited from the US in 2007 failed.
The increasing rates of suicides and attempted suicides in Ireland in recent years and their impact has led to a range of responses at social, political and professionals levels.
While some of these responses are aimed at suicide prevention in the general population, many, such as psychotherapy, are aimed specifically at helping the suicidal person, the family and those bereaved by suicide to address the issue in a constructive way.
The impact of suicide and attempted suicide cannot be underestimated. Far from being an uncommon experience, many people think about suicide at some time in their lives and some consider suicide as a real option in times of severe distress.
About 500 Irish people die by suicide each year while about 11,000 AE admissions are the result of suicide attempts.
Suicide and attempted suicide also have a wider impact, affecting family, friends and community.
It is estimated that in the region of six other people close to the deceased are affected by the death of a person by suicide.
This reality is overshadowed by the social and moral stigma that still surrounds suicide. The taboo silences people, making it difficult for society and the suicidal person to acknowledge and address their experiences. This increases the sense of isolation, fear and anxiety experienced by the suicidal person and other concerned people.
The psychological feelings of those who are suicidal include acute distress, fear, anxiety, helplessness, hopelessness and confusion. Socially the person can struggle to manage their daily and family lives and to continue with study or work, leading to financial and other worries.
As a result, people often feel desperate, alone and misunderstood. Those who are aware of or suspect that someone is suicidal often have similar experiences. People in these situations frequently do not know where or how to avail of help for themselves or their loved ones.
Indeed, due to the stigma associated with suicide, people often fear the type of response they might get if they seek help. The suicidal person may worry about being viewed as insane or inadequate while the family may be concerned about being blamed.
It is important that people know that help is available and that recovery from a suicidal crisis is possible. Psychotherapy can assist the suicidal person to identify the sources of their distress, the resources and supports they need, and how best to approach their life situation in order to regain a sense of control over their own life and future.
Psychotherapy can also help concerned family and friends identify how best to support the person in crisis. Overcoming a suicidal crisis may take time and psychotherapy can help all those involved to feel understood and to make sense of their situation.
In circumstances where somebody has died by suicide, those left behind can frequently feel alone in their grief. While grief following suicide is similar in many ways to other bereavements, it is characterised by a strong sense of shame, blame, confusion and stigma.
Sometimes it can be more extended and ambiguous and be accompanied by extreme and unexpected mood changes. While many of those bereaved by suicide do not feel that they deserve help or do not realise that help is available to them, psychotherapy can assist with the grieving process and with getting life back on track again.
If you are concerned about your own suicidal thoughts or feelings, about a loved one, or you are struggling to overcome the loss of someone close, do not be afraid to talk. It will not do any harm and will probably help to alleviate your distress. Trained psychotherapists are available within the public and private sectors.
The Irish Council for Psychotherapists is the professional body representing psychotherapists and it maintains a register of more than 1,000 psychotherapists who have undergone in-depth training and are committed to the highest professional standards.
Accreditation as a psychotherapist generally requires at least seven years of training comprising a primary degree, a foundation year and three years’ part-time training in one of the psychotherapeutic disciplines.
You can contact the Irish Council for Psychotherapy at 73 Quinn’s Road, Shankill, Co Dublin or visit the ICP website at www.psychotherapy-ireland.com where you will find the register and contact details of trained and experienced psychotherapists all over the State.
Evelyn Gordon is a registered psychotherapist, a member of the Family Therapy Association of Ireland and the Irish Council for Psychotherapy.
She is currently undertaking a PhD in suicidology at Dublin City University and is part of the Research Team on a HRB-funded Suicide Project at the School of Nursing, DCU.
Anyone who is emotionally distressed by suicide can contact the Samaritans on 1850-609090 to talk in confidence
“Those left behind can frequently feel alone in their grief. While grief following suicide is similar in many ways to other bereavements, it is characterised by a strong sense of shame, blame, confusion and stigma.

Masterclass in Psychotherapy - 23rd January 2009

Ann Daly — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 11:37:16 +0000

Following on from the success of the first Masterclass, the Irish Council for Psychotherapy is organising a second class which is being presented by La Touche Training. The title of the presentation is Psychotherapists and the Law and the presenter is Martin Fitzgerald. Further details and an application form can be downloaded below.

download-masterclass-23-january-2009

Psychological Therapists call on Government to introduce statutory registration for their professions in Ireland

Ann Daly — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 10:14:39 +0000

An umbrella group representing over 5,000 counsellors and psychotherapists in Ireland has called on the government to introduce statutory registration for their profession in this country without delay.

This afternoon (September 23, 2008) the Psychological Therapies Forum presented agreed recommendations for the statutory training and regulation of counselling and psychotherapy to Mr. John Maloney, T.D., Minister of State at the Department of Health & Children with responsibility for mental health.

They called on the Minister to include statutory registration of psychological therapists in the next phase of the Health & Social Care Professionals Bill 2004. The Bill already provides for the statutory registration of 12 other health and social care professions including psychology and social work.

The Psychological Therapies Forum is seeking a registration board titled “Psychological Therapists” for counsellors and psychotherapists and has recommended baseline academic qualifications for entry to training and baseline qualification and experience for registration and for grand parenting practising practitioners.

“We believe it is imperative that the public is protected by promoting high standards of education, training, competence and conduct among the counselling and psychotherapy professions.” Forum representative, Derval Ryan told the Minister at the presentation of the submission to him in the Davenport Hotel, Dublin.

She said that at present this protection is provided by a process of self regulation by a number of professional organisations which lay down for their members strict standards of on-going education, training and ethics as well as a complaints system to protect the public.

“While this works very well for those who are accredited to a professional body, there is no redress for complaints against practitioners who are not members of a professional body. It is possible for anybody to call herself or himself a counsellor or psychotherapist and to set up in practice without the required training and competence and there is no redress board or sanctions for complaints against them and indeed no way to prevent practitioners who have been disciplined by their accrediting body from continuing to practise.”
In November 2005, Mr. Tim O’Malley, the then Minister with responsibility for mental health initiated a consultation process on the statutory regulation and registration of counselling and psychotherapy in Ireland. He requested the organisations to engage in a process that would result in an agreed framework for standards within these professions. He said this work should be carried out with a view to including counselling and psychotherapy in the next phase of the Health & Social Care Professionals Bill 2004.

Following the Minister’s request, the Psychological Therapies Forum, which represents the professional organisations for psychotherapists and counsellors in Ireland was formed and has spent the last three years drawing up the current submission to government.

Forum representative, Gillford D’Souza said “We would like to strongly urge that counselling and psychotherapy be included in the next phase of professions to be regulated under the Act. We are unified in this submission and we believe we need regulation for the protection of the pubic by establishing standards, holding practitioners to a regulation and taking action when practitioners do not meet the standards set.”

John Farrelly who chaired the event, concluded that “The recommendations we have made here today should create a consensual and smooth pathway into the future, ensuring Ireland is at the cutting edge of psychological therapy while offering the public optimal protection.

download-registration-of-psychological-therapies-submission-september-2008

download-minister-maloneys-speech-23rd-september-2008-psychological-therapies-forum

download-derval-ryan-icp-speech-psych-therapies-23rd-september-2008

download-psychological-therapies-forum-presentation-lord-alderdice

download-prevailing-on-wise-counsel-irish-times-23rd-september-2008

download-call-for-registration-of-psychotherapy-sector-irish-examiner

Gillford D’Souza; Derval Ryan; Minister John Moloney; Rhoda Draper; John Farrelly at the Psychological Therapies Forum Launch 23 September 2008

ICP Inaugural Master Class - Squaring the Circle

Ann Daly — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:25:38 +0000

The Irish Council For Psychotherapy (ICP) organised an inaugural Master Class on Friday, 26th September 2008 in St. Patrick’s Hospital.
This Master Class was presented by Ms. Isolde Blau, Director of Laragh Counselling Service and Founding Member of the HSE National Counselling Service.
The Master Class was entitled :
Squaring the Circle
Balancing Child Protection and Risk Management
In Clinical settings
Attached is the presentation by Isolde Blau, together with questions which arose from the floor.

download-squaring-the-circle-presentation-isolde-blau1

download-masterclass-questions-from-the-floor4

NIIHR Upcoming Events

Ann Daly — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:46:47 +0000

niihr-upcoming-events

‘Engleby – “Reduced to half a dozen non-sequiturs in blue bic on an HMSO form”’ : A Seminar by Rob Weatherill

Friday 10^th October 2008

Institute Seminar Room, 2 Malone Road, Belfast

Further Details: David Smith - 00 44 791 9907136

- niinstitutehr@googlemail.com

The first part of this full day seminar will centre around a discussion of Sebastian Faulk’s 2007 novel, Engleby – the aim being to provide an enjoyable and accessible introduction to the three registers of Lacanian theory.

In the second part, clinical material will be presented and explored from a variety of perspectives – including Lacanian, Freudian and Kleinian. Any participant who wishes to present carefully anonymised case material within a strictly confidential setting should contact Christine Christie on 02890 668598 to discuss this.

A member of the Irish Psycho-Analytical Association, Rob Weatherill is a psychoanalyst and author with over thirty years clinical experience of working in private practice. He has taught psychoanalysis in both Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin, and describes himself as ‘a committed eclectic’.

Publications include Cultural Collapse (Free Association Books 1994) a survey of the levelling out of meanings and values in contemporary culture, and Our Last Great Illusion (Imprint Academic 2004), a radical psychoanalytic critique of therapy culture. He is the author of two books on the death drive – The Sovereignty of Death (Rebus 1998) and The Death Drive (Rebus 1999). His forthcoming book entitled Forgetting Freud? Psychoanalysis and Indifference examines the ethics of psychoanalysis and the nature of the suffering of the subject.

An archive of published journal articles and conference papers can be viewed at www.criticalpsychoanalysis.com.

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‘Psychotherapy and Spirituality: Where the Waters Meet’: A Conference hosted by the NI Institute of Human Relations in association with the All Ireland Spiritual Guidance Association

Friday 14^th November 2008

Slieve Croob, Castlewellan, County Down

Further Details: Gordon Graham - 00 44 28 4372 6175

- gorbargrah@aol.com

This will be the fourth annual ‘Psychotherapy and Spirituality’ conference, furthering the dialogue which has been ongoing now since 2005. This year’s keynote address will be given by counsellor and author David Buckley, whose recently published Where the Waters Meet (Karnac 2008) has been hailed as a landmark in establishing intersections, parallel lexicons and important boundaries between psychotherapy and spirituality.

Jarlath Benson, psychotherapist and group analyst, and Dr Anne Codd, theologian and facilitator, will lead concurrent seminars in response to David Buckley’s paper.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Ann Daly — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:04:02 +0000

An Evidence-based model for understanding and treating PTSD.

A 2-day workshop with Dr. Kate Gillespie and Dr. Michael Duffy. Guest Speaker: Professor David M. Clark.

Friday 19th and Saturday 20th September 2008 in Tallaght Cross Hotel, Tallaght, Dublin 24.

cognitive-behavioural-therapy-workshop.pdf

9th EPCA Conference: Construing PCP: New Contexts and Perspectives

Ann Daly — Tue, 27 May 2008 14:24:10 +0000

The 9th EPCA Conference will be held in London from the 29th June 2008 to the 1st July 2008. EPCA bi-annual conference is aimed at bringing together scholars and practitioners who are interested in Personal Construct Psychology (PCP). We explore the use of PCP and its tools in research, clinical and organisational practice.

construing-pcp-9th-epca-conference-information.doc

The Psychoanalytic Therapy of Severe Disturbance International Conference

Ann Daly — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:59:51 +0000

This is an international event designed to offer a state of the art communication of the key psychoanalytic thinking and approaches to the conceptualisation and treatment of severe disturbance.

Download the-psychoanalytic-therapy-of-severe-disturbance.pdf

Download the-psychoanalytic-therapy-of-severe-disturbance-registration-form.pdf

Despair Dialogue Desire 14th European Symposium in Group Analysis

Ann Daly — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 12:35:42 +0000

The 14th European Symposium in Group Analysis will be held in the University of Dublin, Trinity College on the 18th - 22nd August 2008. For further information please see the Symposium website at http://www.dublin-gas-symposium.com

Psychotherapists, Counsellors should indeed be regulated

Ann Daly — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 13:39:40 +0000

Irish Medical News: Published 12th November 2007

Psychotherapists, Counsellors should indeed be regulated

The emerging consensus is that psychological therapies should be regarded as fundamental to mental health services at primary, secondary and tertiary care levels.
Psychotherapy in Ireland is regulated by the Irish Council for Psychotherapy. We have currently over 1,050 psychotherapists on our register, which can be accessed via our website, www.psychotherapy-ireland.com.

ICP standards are in line with the European Association of Psychotherapy, and accreditation as a psychotherapist generally requires at least seven years of training, a primary degree, a foundation year and three years part-time training in one of the psychotherapeutic disciplines. The total duration of the training for psychotherapists accredited with ICP is 3,200 hours, spread over a minimum of seven years.

There are five Modality Sections of the Irish Council for Psychotherapy: humanistic and integrative, cognitive behavioural, constructivist, systemic family therapy, and psychoanalytic. All sections have codes of ethics which oblige therapists to uphold a high standard of professional competence and personal conduct in their practice with their clients and each section also has a complaints and disciplinary procedure.

We are at present seeking to have our profession statutorily regulated and are currently working with other mainstream psychotherapy organisations on proposals in this regard which should be ready for submission to the Health Minister next month.
Ms Derval Ryan, Chairperson,

Irish Council for Psychotherapy,

Quinns Road,

Shankill,

Co Dublin