Community Therapy Ireland

25/11/2024

With final preparations underway and excitement building for our National Conference, the is playing a bigger role in our day than expected!

This election is a pivotal time in Ireland's history. The provision of professional, affordable, and accessible therapy across Ireland is now more important than ever.

Our General Election Manifesto 2024 calls for prospective public representatives to commit to to our sector, to sustainable funding, stronger collaboration, and meaningful partnerships.

Thank you to the candidates who have supported our manifesto so far. We look forward to discussing , amongst other things, at our National Conference tomorrow!

Check out our Manifesto here: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:EU:5ec87fb2-0305-4625-a430-5e98de370a05

Check out our National Conference here:
https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/community-therapy-ireland-national-conference-tickets-1049713690907?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

13/11/2024

Thank you to Mental Health Reform for organising both a hustings & an information session on the reform of the Mental Health Act 2001 in University of Galway this week. Every party was represented in addition to independent candidates. This is a reflection of the importance of mental health as a political issue, but we need to see real commitment once parties are in government and in the Programme for Government.
Thanks to MHR for their tireless work engaging and raising awareness on this issue.

Check out Mental Health Reform's work here:
https://mentalhealthreform.ie/
HSE Ireland Child and Family Agency - Tusla

25/10/2024

The Community Therapy Ireland National Conference is live!

We invite clinical and non-clinical practitioners from the community therapy and mental health sector to join us for a day of reflection, discussion, learning and connection.

We are delighted to announce our special keynote speaker, renowned social and organisational psychologist Louize Carroll BA, MA, C.Psychol. Ps.S.I. Louize will kickstart our day with an insightful and engaging session set to inspire and challenge!

Through a series of tailored workshops and speakers, this conference will create a unique space for attendees to learn, build relationships and foster a sense of connectedness across our sector.

This conference aims to acknowledge, value and support the vital work of our member services and the wider sector in the delivery of professional, affordable and accessible supports across Ireland.

Lunch and light refreshments will be served. Public transport options available and paid parking nearby. This conference offers 5 CPD hours.

We hope to see you there!

Connecting Communities of Best Practice & Learning

17/10/2024

Community Therapy Ireland was represented by the Coalition of Túsla Funded Organisations and Mental Health Reform today at the office of the Taoiseach. This group of charity representatives published an open letter to the Taoiseach Simon Harris TD, calling on the Government to implement a sustainable funding model for our sector.

Read more on RTÉ News: https://www.rte.ie/news/2024/1017/1475874-charity-salary-funding/

27/09/2024

With just days before the Budget 2025 announcement, we urge the Government to make meaningful investments in mental health services.
We are encouraged to see opposition parties including Social Democrats, Sinn Féin, and The Labour Party calling for investment in mental health and community therapies, and for multi-annual funding for community and voluntary services.
Ireland is a wealthy country, with a budget surplus exceeding €8 billion in 2024. Despite this, we consistently underspend on mental health, leading to unnecessary crises.
The justification for this underspending is the misleading claim that we overspend on health. While it’s true that health budgets are exceeded, this is primarily because they are unrealistic from the outset, and funds are often allocated to low-value, short-term expenditures, such as agency staffing.
This reality is frustrating for crucial services, such as Community Therapy Ireland members, and the broader sector working on the front lines of communities across Ireland.
We call on the Government to leave a lasting positive legacy in mental health through Budget 2025.
See our Pre-Budget Submission 2025 here: https://communitytherapyireland.ie/event-entries/cti-pre-budget-submission-2025.html

13/09/2024

On behalf of the members of Community Therapy Ireland, we are proud to share our Pre-Budget Submission paper 2025.

Together, we developed this clear, considered and modest proposal with the goal of demonstrating how, if sustainably and adequately funded, Community Therapy can support the State in its mission to deliver accessible, affordable and professional therapy to those who need it, when they need it.

We have taken time to consider how our services can play a more pivotal role in addressing the State's challenges in meeting demand for services, particularly since the pandemic.

No one is more aware of the issues Ireland faces in mental health than our members. Our members operate within their communities, responding to needs, some for over 40 years.

Our members are ready to do more, and our Pre-Budget submission provides a clear pathway for how we can do this.

We look forward to engaging with key decision-makers about our solution-focussed and progressive proposal in the coming weeks 🙏


HSE Ireland
Child and Family Agency - Tusla

16/08/2024

Thank you to Mark Ward, Sinn Féin’s Spokesperson for Mental Health, for inviting us to review and contribute to the development of his party’s mental health policy over the past year or so. We welcome the publication of this Mental Health Action Plan 2024.

The Action Plan acknowledges the vital role of community and voluntary sector in delivering services to people that otherwise would not be seen in the public system. It calls for a system of partnership, where public sector services work with core service partners to develop an efficient, sustainable mental health ecosystem.

This Plan's focus on the creation of appropriate and accessible mental health services for young people is urgent and vital.

An article published yesterday by the Examiner reported that "the mental health of young people is now in “global crisis”, according to authors of a new study, who are calling for the problem to be made an “international health priority”.” It states that mental illness now accounts for 45% of the overall burden of disease internationally in people aged between 10 and 24.

Currently, 3,842 young people are waiting for their first appointment in CAMHs, with Cork and South Kerry facing the biggest challenges in demand and supply of services.

Timely access to counselling is vital not just for the person who needs it but also at a clinical level. The earlier therapy can be provided the more likely there is to be a positive outcome in terms of improved client well-being, symptom reduction and reduced psychological distress.

If leveraged through State recognition and sustainable investment, the community and voluntary sector can play a pivotal role in creating a better mental health system for children and young people across Ireland.




https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/politics/arid-41456842.html

01/08/2024

This week, Mental Health Reform launched their Pre-Budget campaign which calls on the Government to invest €120M in Ireland’s mental health services in .

The optimum & recommended level of investment in mental health is 10% of the health budget - we remain around 5%. This needs to change as we face challenges meeting the needs of a growing population, changing demographics, and increasing demand.

This budget an opportunity for this government to leave a positive legacy of investment and commitment to mental health in Ireland.

As governing members, we are proud to support Mental Health Reform's campaign again this year & thank them for their tireless work.



You can support and out more here: https://mentalhealthreform.ie/budget-2025/

12/07/2024

We absolutely love Shine: Supporting People Affected by Mental Ill Health's Pre-Budget submission this year 💚

The wonderful visual representation of peoples' voices and lived experiences is a powerful way of telling their story and highlighting what is needed in our sector. Well done to Shine, it's great to see creativity like this! 👏

Shine - Supporting People Affected by Mental Ill Health



https://shine.ie/

25/06/2024

We are delighted to present our Annual Report 2023 for Community Therapy Ireland 👏

2023 was a busy year for us. In collaboration with our members and key stakeholders, our small but dedicated team and voluntary Board of Directors:

✅ Rebranded to Community Therapy Ireland
✅ Published our first Pre-Budget Submission paper
✅ Conducted an Impact Assessment on our charity's work and purpose
✅ Published Our Strategic Plan 2024 - 2028
✅ Achieved full compliance with the Charities Regulator Governance Code
✅ Developed our Clinical Standards Research Report - Advancing Clinical Standards in Community Therapy
✅ Conducted our Digital Transformation project - Chartering a path for digital transformation in our sector.

This year we met milestones and set foundations for the years ahead.
Thank you to all who supported & contributed to our work.

Read our Annual Report here: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:EU:657a2bfa-67a6-458f-a727-4d6bd46fb7d8