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Updated 8.47am
SCHOOL CURRICULUMS NEED A “built-in system” of mental health education, the founder of Console has said.
Paul Kelly said that Irish schools need more programmes where children are taught about, and how to handle, mental health issues.
He said that the ‘fragmented’ and ‘overstretched’ state of services means that, in some cases, children might not know who to turn to. There may also be delays in seeking professional help.
Kelly told TheJournal.ie:
Young people need to realise that it’s quite normal to face difficulties, and that, above all, there’s hope. They should always feel comfortable talking them through.
“Better education would mean we can better identify who is at risk, and to be able to ensure they can get the support they need.”
Kelly noted that in many schools, cuts have affected the role of the guidance counsellor, who previously would have acted as a point of contact for children facing issues:
“Those roles have been diminished. Cutbacks have badly affected these people on the front-line who would acted as a point-of-contact for children seeking help.”
He was speaking after the body of a 15-year-old girl was found in south Dublin yesterday. The incident is being treated by gardaí as a personal tragedy.
There has been contact between the school close to where she was found, Cabinteely Community School, and the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) in order to provide psychological services to anyone affected.
“Our sympathies go out to the whole family, the school, the parents,” Kelly said, “This can be hugely traumatising for a school community.”
Local Fianna Fáil councillor Jennifer Cuffe echoed Kelly’s call for increased support for school guidance counsellors, and said that improving services nationally needs to be made a priority.
“It’s not high on the agenda,” she said. “We have to be able to help people in difficult situations and to ensure that the stigma behind mental health is removed.”
Helplines
Samaritans 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org
Console 1800 247 247 – (suicide prevention, self-harm, bereavement)
Aware 1890 303 302 (depression anxiety)
Pieta House 01 601 0000 or email mary@pieta.ie - (suicide, self-harm, bereavement)
Teen-Line Ireland 1800 833 634 (for ages 13 to 19)
Childline 1800 66 66 66 (for under 18s)
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Why is it that everything done by a council or a government in Ireland takes forever to get done? Five years to fix a roof.
@Mogh Roith: Like saying Notre Dame just had a bit of fire damage. Have you been inside the building?
@Mogh Roith: watch the documentary, you *might* understand then.
@JustBEERbarry: The documentary was great. It’s always worth a visit but obviously the building does need strengthening after so many years, given the priceless collection there. I remember when the stairs broke, so better safe than squashed!
@Fiona Fitzgerald: I enjoyed the documentary and only wish there was more than 1 episode, maybe this new construction work will give us the episodes that would definitely be watched.
Enough of the ‘dead zoo’ title, over and over again….
@Conor Ryan: why? It’s accurate and a fond colloquiasm.
@Conor Ryan: That’s what it has been called for generations! My father calked it that and my grandfather too!
@Conor Ryan: My grandparents were new to Dublin and that’s what they learnt to call it. Always worth a look, great place.
Buffons running the show. Closed for at least five years, was that estimated time given by the same crowd building the children’s hospital.
@fergusob: watch the documentary, you might understand then.
Best day’s entertainment I’ve ever had. Great place to take visitors. Like PT Barnum meets Dr Doolittle. Sad-looking moth-eaten creatures held together with hessian and creosote. Will miss it. Please don’t make any major changes?
Shuttering or shutting?
They must be using the same builders as those working on the childrens hospital it’s taking that long to sort the place
have your say