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25/02/2014
Stronger Regulation Of Mental Health Professionals Urgently Needed
Concerns have been raised over the use of services offering suicide and mental health counselling that have not been properly vetted.
President of the Irish Association of Suicidology and Fine Gael TD for Limerick Dan Neville has welcomed comments by Gerry Raleigh of the HSE’s National Office for Suicide Prevention (NOSP) about the dangers of using un-vetted services.
People in distress have been cautioned against using these services, with Mr Raleigh saying that counsellors may not be fully trained or may not basing their counselling on best advice.
Deputy Neville said: "I strongly welcome Mr Raleigh's comments. Currently there are no statutory regulations in Ireland for the registration of psychotherapists and counsellors.
"This means there is no State control over what qualifications are held by those practising in these areas. Anyone can put up a sign stating they are a counsellor or psychotherapist and charge €80 per hour for a service which they may not be suitably qualified for.
"We need a system of statutory regulation to ensure these professions are properly monitored and that adequate standards are met.
(MH/CD)
President of the Irish Association of Suicidology and Fine Gael TD for Limerick Dan Neville has welcomed comments by Gerry Raleigh of the HSE’s National Office for Suicide Prevention (NOSP) about the dangers of using un-vetted services.
People in distress have been cautioned against using these services, with Mr Raleigh saying that counsellors may not be fully trained or may not basing their counselling on best advice.
Deputy Neville said: "I strongly welcome Mr Raleigh's comments. Currently there are no statutory regulations in Ireland for the registration of psychotherapists and counsellors.
"This means there is no State control over what qualifications are held by those practising in these areas. Anyone can put up a sign stating they are a counsellor or psychotherapist and charge €80 per hour for a service which they may not be suitably qualified for.
"We need a system of statutory regulation to ensure these professions are properly monitored and that adequate standards are met.
(MH/CD)
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