Counselling and psychotherapy should be routinely provided to people with mental illness, instead of being seen as an extra option, Schizophrenia Ireland said this morning as it launched its national schizophrenia awareness week.
John Saunders, director of Schizophrenia Ireland, said that the need for greater access to talk therapies had been clearly articulated by many groups for some time.
Such therapies were available in some parts of the country but provision of such services across the 26 counties was inconsistent, he said.
"The demand for psychological and social therapies and the evidence for their effectiveness has been growing in recent years, and the consensus among users and service providers is that they should be regarded as a routine component of basic mental healthcare services," Mr Saunders said.
This morning Schizophrenia Ireland launched a document Talking About Talking Therapies which explains how psychotherapy can help the process of recovery.
In it, psychotherapist Dr Terry Lynch wrote that psychosis had frequently been seen as a purely medical issue. When people sought counselling, they were "often informed that counselling would not be good for them, indeed it would be likely to cause a deterioration in their condition".
Dr Lynch said this was a misguided view and the issue must be revisited.
