Talking About Talking Therapies

Tuesday, 22 July 2008 14:21

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As part of Schizophrenia Ireland’s Lucia Week, the national schizophrenia awareness week, Dr. Edmond O’Dea, Chairman of the Mental Health Commission, launched Schizophrenia Ireland’s new document, Talking about Talking Therapies: Psychotherapy and Psychosis in the Trinity College School of Nursing and Midwifery in Dublin on 22nd July 2008 at 11am.

According to John Saunders, Director of Schizophrenia Ireland, “The need for greater access to psychological or talk therapies has been clearly articulated by many groups. The demand for psychological and social therapies and the evidence for their effectiveness has been growing in recent years, and the consensus among users and service providers is that they should be regarded as a routine component of basic mental healthcare services, rather than being viewed as additional options that are not consistently available.”

Talking about Talking Therapies outlines the arguments for psychological interventions. The reader will find:

• A simple analysis of what psychotherapy is
• How counselling and psychotherapy can work for carers of people with schizophrenia
• The usefulness and benefits of psychotherapy in psychosis
• A personal story of a service user’s experience of psychotherapy
• The evidence for the use of psychotherapy in schizophrenia and how it can aid the process of recovery
• Schizophrenia Ireland’s counselling service and its role in providing support for both carers and users of mental healthcare services
• Information on choosing a Psychotherapist or Psychologist

John Saunders said, “We hope the reader will find Talking about Talking Therapies as a useful and informative resource on psychotherapy and its role in psychosis, and that it will provide further support for the inclusion of psychological therapies in the range of statutory mental healthcare services.”

Schizophrenia Ireland is the national organisation dedicated to upholding the rights and addressing the needs of all those affected by enduring mental illness including, but not exclusively, schizophrenia, schizo-affective disorder and bi-polar disorder, through the promotion and provision of high-quality services and working to ensure the continual enhancement of the quality of life of the people it serves. The organisation offers a wide range of services including support groups, information helpline (1890 621631), social and vocational rehabilitation initiatives, suicide prevention programmes and counselling.

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