Counsellors

Counsellors can help you change things

Counsellors are people who you can help you to cope with, or try to change, the things that cause you distress. A good counsellor will work with you to find a solution to your problem, even if that solution just means accepting that a particular situation cannot be changed, and helping you to cope with this. Counsellors often work at schools, health centres, youth health centres, colleges, crisis support organisations, or family planning clinics. Some may also work privately. Your doctor can tell you about counsellors in your area or you can look up Counselling Directory for details of a service near you.

Going to see a counsellor may be a big step and you may feel scared, embarrassed or nervous. People of all ages and backgrounds see counsellors for all number of reasons.

Different approaches to counselling

Not all counsellors are the same, each counsellor has their own personality and different styles of counselling. Finding someone to suit you is important. It may be helpful to remember that this can take time and the first counsellor you see may not be the right one for you. Try not to give up.

If you do not feel comfortable with the first person you see, or if you think they are not listening to you, it is a good idea to go and see someone different.

For more information about finding a counsellor that is right for you, see the other fact sheets in the Getting help section.

Usually you will need to make an appointment to see a counsellor. To find a phone number you can look up the Counselling Directory website for a list of counsellors near you, you could search Golden Pages online for 'counsellors', or you can also ask a doctor to refer you to a counsellor who can help you.

If you have made an appointment but you want to talk to someone now, you can lo-call the Samaritans on 1850 60 90 90.

Getting free sessions with your counsellor/psychologist through the HSE

The HSE community mental health teams in Ireland offer a range of services, and a variety of professionals can be accessed through referral from a GP or hospital. However, counsellors can also generally be accessed through self-referral.

The specialist psychology services can only be provided to people with 'an assessed mental health problem' (as assessed by a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist) and are directly referred from a psychiatrist or a paediatrician (for treatment of a child).

For more information, look at the Health Service Executive website.

Ask about your privacy

It is a good idea to talk to the person you see about keeping your information private. In most situations, unless you say so, counsellors have to keep what you tell them confidential. For more information you may want to read through the Confidentiality fact sheet.

After speaking to a counsellor

After speaking with a counsellor, you may have mixed reactions. It may be that you feel calmer and clearer about your concerns. It is also not uncommon to feel confused, stressed, or sad after you have spoken to your counsellor. This may be because the session has brought up some scary stuff for you. It may take a number of visits to your counsellor to deal with this stuff. If this is the case it is a good idea to talk to your counsellor about your reactions and the best way to manage them.

There are other people to talk to

Samaritans (1850 60 90 90) provide a 24-hour confidential helpline that offers listening support. You can also find out about other services on this site, or look them up in your local phone book. Your counsellor can tell you about other people you could talk to.