Network of therapists to improve mental health care outcomes

MENTAL health practitioners are setting up a “database of safe psychiatrists” for people seeking therapeutic care rather than the mainstream model of medication and hospitalisation.

Basil Miller of the Wellbeing Foundation, a campaigning organisation founded by the late Dr Michael Corry, said it was imperative to set up a network of doctors and therapists people can trust.

“When people are depressed they don’t want to be just put on anti-depressants.

“We want to find qualified psychotherapists or ‘safe doctors’ to whom we can refer people on if need be.”

Mr Miller said he knew of a woman who was trying to safely get off lithium but who could not find any doctor to help her.

“Another person is seriously concerned about a relative but cannot get him to access services so getting on a bus to a doctor in Dublin is out of the question.

“We have queries from people all the time looking for a doctor who will not just use medication as an answer.”

Mr Miller said people in rural areas were more at risk than in other places.

He said the Institute of Psychosocial Medicine, co-founded by Dr Corry, and which provides counselling, psychotherapy was “bursting” with clients.

The Institute was established in 1987 as a psychotherapy practice and while its 22 practitioners are drawn from a variety of professional backgrounds in psychotherapy, clinical psychology, general practice and psychiatry, there is a unifying ethos of “psychosocial” care.

“Unfortunately people often only go to the institute as a last resort,” Mr Miller said.

“They come to us when they have had no satisfaction with the psychiatric services. They have taken the regular approach and it is not working, they are on a cocktail of drugs and they are not getting any better.”

He said people from all over the country should not have to travel to Dublin to get treatment.

“So what we are doing is building up this network, if someone contacts us from Longford or Limerick we can say this doctor is nearer to you.”

However, outside of Dublin there are not that many people who practice in the same model of therapeutic care.

“There is Dr Terry Lynch in Limerick and he is so busy and can’t get to see everyone, but we are trying to improve this for people by building up names,” Mr Miller said.