Abuse survivors’ ‘lives transformed’ with counselling

UP to 80% of child abuse survivors availing of the state’s National Counselling Service (NCS) say their lives were transformed by the service.

The NCS was set up nine years ago to provide free therapeutic services to those abused in childhood, with priority given to those abused in institutional care. It experienced such a flood of referrals in the wake of the Ryan report that it was given additional resources last May by Minister for Children Barry Andrews.

Confidential questionnaires completed by 352 respondents shows that 90% were satisfied or very satisfied with counsellors’ ability to listen and understand their issues. The research was completed by a student of the Masters in Counselling Psychology at Trinity College Dublin, Frank Reddan, under the supervision of lecturer, Barbara Hannigan. The surveys, which were completed between May 2006 and June 2008, were presented at the Psychology Society of Ireland conference in Wexford.