The top free Irish counselling services

Counselling is something that most of us are going to need at some point in our lives. There is never any shame in seeking help, in reaching out, in needing someone to talk to about things. In Ireland, there are a number of vitally helpful free counselling services for those who need them—it’s just about knowing where they are and how to access them.

Today, we’re going to help you with that by looking at the top free counselling services in Ireland. Let’s get started.

  1. National Counselling Service

One of the best options for a free counselling service in Ireland is the National Counselling Service. Established in 2000, it has ever since been providing excellent, robust care and psychotherapy to the broadest imaginable range of patients. They offer services for adults with childhood trauma, for primary care, for fomer residents of mother and baby homes—as well as for virtually anything else that you need.

  • FREE Counselling Project

Partnering with the Department of Health, the FREE Counselling project aims to offer a vast amount of counselling session hours to those in Ireland who need them. They have been providing effective, world class support since 2020, and appointments are carried out in person at their centres across the country. Online appointments are also an option, and there is no necessity for a GP referral.

  • Samaritans Ireland

If your situation feels a bit more urgent, or if you just want to talk to someone, then Samaritans Ireland is a great place to look. They have 20 branches in the country with volunteers answering the phones. You can talk to them about just about anything, no matter your age. Conversations are off the record and no personal details are taken for the sessions.

If nothing else, the Samaritans can point you in the right direction, and find you the professional help you may need.

  • Aware

Aware are another counselling support line specialising in cases of severe depression. They operate a phone and mail service seven days a week, and they also offer services to employers highlighting the importance of mental health in the workplace.

They are one of the best organisations for counselling in the country, doing fantastic work to support the more specialised efforts of the NCS and others.

One thing is for sure, then: you are not alone. There are plenty of options available to get you talking to someone without any money involved. Everyone’s situation is different, and it may be that you need to try a few different choices before you find the counselling that you need. Just rest assured that it is out there and you can find it.

How to access online counselling 

ounselling is a more valuable tool than many of us realise. Talking through your issues with someone, whether a healthcare professional or just a keen ear and a good listener, is one of the best things you can do for yourself in times of hardship.

Accessing counselling online is now easier than ever, but it can still be a bit hard to know the best ways to do it before you’ve tried it. So, today, we’re going to look at how to access online counselling services. Let’s get started.

Online appointments

There are a few ways of making use of online counselling. One of them is by making online appointments. Many counselling services offer online appointment booking systems, which can be used for both online and in-person appointments. As more and more of us move online, online serivces have become more widespread. We know do everything online, from shopping to gambling at online casinos, as as such online counselling services are more popular than ever.

All you need to do is search for local services, such as the Online Counselling Service of the U.K. They provide professional, accessible counselling over the internet. In Ireland, you also have the National Counselling Service. All of these can be accessed through their dedicated websites.

These appointments, as I said, might come in a few different forms—knowing which will be best for you is important in accessing these services.

Video calls

Video calls are a very popular way of running counselling services today. It is easy and convenient, allowing you to access the services no matter where you live. As long as you have a steady, strong internet connection, you’ll be able to do video call counselling online with no problem.

Many people prefer this to a phone call as it breaks down the barriers of not being able to see one another in the face. However, this is also down to preference, as you may prefer something a bit less up-front.

Chat appointments

If a video call, or indeed even a phone call, is not right for you, then you also have the option of chat appointments. These are like instant-messaging based appointments which don’t involve a phone call or a video appointment. There might be any number of reasons you prefer this, and the demand for it has meant there are now plenty of options for doing it this way.

24 hours a day, seven days a week, for most of the year, services like the UK Online Counsellors offer some form of chat appointment online counselling.

Whatever you’re looking for in terms of the form of the counselling, there will be an option out there for you. Hopefully we have given you a better idea of what you need to do to get access to these services, and it should now be easier for you to find the help and support that you need.

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