Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 11 September 2023
759. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Education if an organisation (details supplied) can apply for funding announced this year for counselling within DEIS schools; to outline the qualifying criteria and application process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39149/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Education is committed to supporting the emotional well-being of our children and I was delighted to announce the establishment of a programme of counselling and mental health supports to be piloted in a number of primary schools from September 2023. There are two Strands to the pilot:
Strand 1 will see the provision of one-to-one counselling to support small numbers of children in all primary schools, including DEIS schools in counties Cavan, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Mayo, Monaghan and Tipperary. Schools in the pilot will be allocated a number of blocks of up to eight sessions of counselling per child.
My Department will establish county panels of pre-approved experienced counsellors to work in the selected schools for the duration of the pilot. In view of the fact there is no single recognised counselling qualification and no national regulatory body for counselling in Ireland at this point in time, the Department has liaised with three main accrediting bodies for counsellors in Ireland the Irish Association of Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapists in Ireland (IAHIP); the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP)) and the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI) in relation to supporting the counselling pilot in primary schools. This ensures that
• the high level of governance and quality that is required for this landmark project is achieved particularly in view of the highly sensitive nature of providing counselling for children.
• that the counsellors have appropriate training, skills and competencies to engage ethically, professionally and effectively with this age group.
• that the counsellors operate and adhere to the Code of Ethics of their relevant accrediting body .
The Irish Association of Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapists in Ireland (IAHIP); the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP)) and the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI) advertised the application process for the pilot and shared the Terms and Conditions for Counsellors to be placed on the panel with their members.
The qualifying criteria for counsellors to be considered for placement on the panel are as follows:
• currently hold a recognised qualification at Level 7 (primary degree) or higher in a relevant human science as well as an accredited qualification in counselling or psychotherapy. This qualification must be recognised by the Psychological Society of Ireland; or the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy; or the Irish Association for Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy
• AND
• have at least two years’ (minimum of 150 hours), relevant supervised experience of providing counselling for children
• OR
• currently hold a professional accredited qualification in the area of child and adolescent counselling
• AND
• have at least one year’s supervised experience of providing counselling for children
• AND
• be an accredited member of one of the following professional bodies:- the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI); Irish Association of Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy (IAHIP); Irish Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP)
Strand 2 of this pilot will see the establishment of Education Well-being/Mental Health Teams to support selected DEIS and non DEIS schools in cluster areas in Cork, Carlow, Dublin 7 and Dublin 16, under the direction and supervision of the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS). Each team in the 4 cluster areas of the pilot will comprise one NEPS psychologist and four Education Well-being/Mental Health Practitioners. The focus of the support to be provided will be on:
• strengthening whole school preventative approaches to promoting well-being and mental health
• providing psycho-educational support for parents and teachers
• providing early intervention to children using evidenced based programmes and approaches
The Education Well-being/Mental Health Practitioner is a new type of practitioner being introduced as part of this pilot, to provide enhanced in-school support.
The pilot will run from September 2023 – June 2024. Through the pilot and subsequent evaluation we are confident that we will gather valuable learning that will inform future policy and provision in this area.
