Minister for Mental Health, Mary Butler TD, believes that a new mental health model of care, ‘Talking Therapies’ will have a ‘significant impact’ on the continued development and improvement of mental health services and supports in Ireland.
Speaking following this morning’s launch, the Waterford Minister stated, “I am delighted to launch the Talking Therapies Model of Care today. For people who may be struggling with negative thoughts and feelings, talking therapies can help them to make positive changes. It will also help people achieve a better understanding of what they are going through and what they can do about it.
“The Model of Care launched today will ensure that talking therapies are accessible, evidence-based, and recovery-oriented in providing clear pathways for service users. We want to ensure everyone gets the right support in a timely manner, regardless of their ability to pay or where they live.
“I believe that this will have a significant impact in helping many people living in Ireland who experience mental health difficulties. This is milestone in improving access to, and the quality of, our mental health supports,” stated Minister Butler.
“This initiative will be piloted in 5 CHO sites through 15 participating community mental health teams. Within each CHO pilot site there will be a need to establish a ‘mini-hub’, staffed by experienced and appropriately qualified talking therapists.
“As a more immediate measure, I am working with the Department, in collaboration with the HSE to development an initiative to reduce the number of children and young people waiting over one year to access primary care psychology services.
“This is intended as a focused intervention designed to clear a wait list of approximately 4,800 individuals, many of whom have quite complex needs. It is envisaged that this initiative will supplement the Enhanced Community Care Programme which has received an additional €150 million in new development funding for recruitment of just over 2,000 frontline staff in primary care in support of a new Community Health Network Model.
“It is absolutely essential that we place people who use the services and their families and carers at the heart of our mental health system and empower them to be active partners in the design, development and delivery of the services we build to serve them,” concluded Minister Butler.
