Mental health online chat service connects

An online mental health and counselling service has been encouraged to work with the HSE to reach even more vulnerable people across Ireland.

The Irish Online Counselling and Psychotherapy Service (IOCPS), founded in 2011, has assisted almost 300 people since it was founded and registered 47 more last year.

With encouragement from Minister for Mental Health Jim Daly, who met with them earlier this year, the 12 strong team are hoping to be able to reach many more in the near future.

Co-founder of the initiative, psychotherapist Dr Mary McHugh said that IOCPS can play a major role in combating the mental health crisis.

“We are in crisis heading for disaster. Services like ours are vital and becoming so much more so,” she added.

“With the explosion of people using social media technology we are seeing huge rises in social anxiety. People are finding eye contact difficult,” said Dr McHugh.

“In an age where we are so connected, there is a tsunami of disconnect and loneliness.”

“We came into existence just as the Celtic Tiger left Ireland and we have been a beacon to many people who had to emigrate to find work.”

The IOCPS deal with issues commonly found in private practice, according to Dr McHugh, including depression, anxiety, relationship difficulties, suicidal thoughts, self-harm and addiction.

Dr McHugh realised the need for IOCPS when she saw that many people’s mental health needs were not being met in the conventional face to face way.

While working for a suicide prevention centre, Dr McHugh was contacted by a woman who accidentally found the centre’s number while seeking suicide methods online.

“She was locked in her room by choice, had alcohol addiction, was self-harming and bulimic,” she explained.

Dr McHugh worked with the woman on a voluntary basis, initially using instant messaging before moving to video chat.

“I was blown away by the work that was happening, the healing that was taking place,” she said.

“Today this woman works full time and is taking zero medication,” she added.

From there, the idea grew. “The main benefits we have found is the ease of accessibility it gives people, especially with offering the choice of therapist, thereby giving them their power, which we feel is instrumental in their healing,” explained Dr McHugh.

IOCPS currently see clients from 6am to 10pm over seven days a week.

Founded with no funding or financial support, IOCPS does charge for its services, but only according to their client’s means, explained Dr McHugh.

“None of our therapists work on a voluntary basis but our motto is ‘Wherever you are, we are’, geographically, emotionally or financially,” she said.

“We ask that all our therapists work with at least two clients at a low cost.” Dr McHugh admitted that when it began, the IOCPS could not afford to advertise their services.

“We knew we had a fantastic service but no money to market it and inform people about it.

“However in spite of that, nearly 300 people have found us through our website,” she added.

“We could not afford to source them but in their need, they sourced us.” Some clients have stayed for one session, others for four years.

“I was very happy to meet with the IOCPS and to hear of the services they are delivering online,” said Minister Daly. “I have invited them to attend a special conference on delivery of mental health services that I am hosting in September.

“I also advised them to discuss possible options of reaching more service users with the HSE who have responsibility for delivery of mental health services nationally,” he added.

One client, Elizabeth, aged 71, from Cork, spoke of the importance of the service. Before accessing the service through Skype, she said she was broken, empty and lonely and felt her opinion and very being stood for nothing. “I chose counselling on Skype to feel comfortable and at ease in my own surroundings, to open up and build up a good rapport of trust and sensitivity of what was going on inside me.

“It was by far the greatest gift, I have given to myself, putting myself first for the first time in my life, having some worth and belief, and liking myself, learning to say no, where appropriate.”

The IOCPS is keen to work in partnership with the government to expand the number of low-cost places that they can offer.

“We are meeting a need that is not being adequately met by current services,” said Dr McHugh.

“We seem to hit blocks when it comes to funding and support for us.

“In saying that, we know what we are doing works and have a good solid foundation and an excellent conceptual model that is very functional with capacity to expand with ease,” she added.

“We feel we could play a major role in the mental health crisis.”

Dr McHugh said that we cannot abandon people who cannot attend for services.

“For many of our clients that reality means that right now they cannot attend for face to face counselling because of anxiety, trauma, lack of services, family or work commitments or stigma,” she added.

“We cannot ethically wait until these are no longer issues or until everyone is able to attend for face to face counselling. We must respond to the reality of people’s lives as they are now,” said Dr McHugh.

“We would see that in the coming years that online counselling will be seen as a mainstream mental health option.

“I believe our mental health crisis is not going to be solved today or tomorrow but we can start sowing the seeds of change, nurture them with a coming together of all political parties, all mental health practitioners,” she added.