Youth Mental Health Signposting Tool
What is it?
The youth mental health signposting tool aims to provide young people, parents, caregivers, and those working with young people, with reliable up to date information on where to access supports and services at both a local and national level for a variety of mental health issues.
To use it, simply select the issue affecting your mental health or the mental health of the young person you are supporting and the area in which you live.
Services
You can narrow your search by choosing a region, a service offered, or both.
Ballyboden Family Resource Centre
Working in the community to support the development of resources, and creating an environement where everyone can enjoy a meaningful, healthy and rewarding lifestyle. Offers one to one counselling, children counselling, seperstion counselling, bereavement counselling, family/parent support and community educaton
Ballyfermot Family Resource Centre
Aims to promote and enhance the personal, social, edcucational and economic development of individuals and families in the community. Offers a variety of services including STAR family support service: a support treatment aftercare rehabilitaion, offering support, guidance and education to drug users, their families and the community, parents and loved ones. Traveller action programme, counselling, social groups, mindfulness and meditation practices at little or no cost to the individual
Ballyfermot STAR
Counselling – Free. Family members, parents and young people. Specifically those effected by drug use in the home. One-to-one support & groupwork for 15-18 yrs for weed/alcohol/cocaine use and misuse.
Ballyhaunis Family Resource Centre
Ballyhaunis Family Resource Centre is in the heart of the community of Ballyhaunis and serves the town and surrounding areas. The FRC works with communities and individuals to improve outcomes around children’s education, youth development and parent and family support. The FRC provides a low-cost one-to-one counselling service for adolescents aged 12-18.
Ballymote Family Resource Centre
At Ballymote Family Resource Centre, the aim is to offer everybody, particularly those who experience disadvantage and marginalisation the opportunity to improve the functioning of the family unit and ultimately to fully realise their own potential through total involvement in the work and programmes of the Family Resource Centre.
Ballymun Child and Family Resource Centre
Ballymun Child and Family Resource Centre is in the heart of the community of Ballymun and serves the surrounding area and community. Ballymun FRC works with communities and individuals to improve outcomes around children’s education, youth development and parent and family support. The centre offers a low-cost counselling service and play therapy from the ages of 4 to adulthood along with an extensive range of other mental health supports & services.
Ballymun Regional Youth Service (BRYR)
Ballymun Regional Youth Resource is a youth organisation that operates in the heart of the Ballymun community, their purpose is to serve the young people of Ballymun with the support and opportunities to build their sense of self-worth and to enable them to contribute positively to society. BRYR do this by offering a range of group and individual supports and programmes that aid the personal and social development of young people aged 10-24 years.
BRYR have a mental Health support programme called What’s Up Counselling Service, this provides the opportunity for young people in Ballymun to avail of free counselling when they are in need.
Ballyogan Family Resource Centre
Family support service in Ballyogan striving to support the community to create a peaceful and thriving environment. Offers many services such as low cost counselling, children programmes, family support services and community education programmes.
Ballyspillane Family Resource Centre
Supports families in need in Killarney town and municipal district areas. Offers a range of family support services. Offers low cost counslling for adults and adolescents, strengthening families programme, personal development courses, LGBT supports, assistance with job seeking, pathways to further education, health and wellbeing initiatives, youth activity programme, meitheal and social prescribing.
Nationwide Services
Teen Line
The ISPCC operates Teenline, a national active listening service for children and young people up to the age of 18 in Ireland.
Teenline can be contacted 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, by calling 1800 833 634.
The service is free to contact and is confidential, non-directive and non-judgmental
The Irish Aftercare Network
The Irish Aftercare Network provides advice and support to people working with care leavers in Ireland. This service is available to people aged 18+ that have left care.
Turn2Me
Turn2Me provides an online 3 tiered approach to supporting mental well-being to people aged 18 years and over. It includes an online Self Help programme, Peer Support through online support groups, and Professional Support in the form of free online counselling. This online counselling is also free to Irish citizens living abroad.
Twxt About It- 50808
Text About It is a free, anonymous, 24/7 messaging service providing everything from a calming chat to immediate support for mental health and wellbeing.
Text About It provides a safe space where you’re listened to by a trained volunteer. You’ll message back and forth, only sharing what you feel comfortable with. By asking questions, listening to you and responding with support, they will help you sort through your feelings until you both feel you are now in a calm, safe place
Walk In My Shoes
Walk in My Shoes (WIMS) is the flagship awareness-raising and education campaign of St Patrick’s Mental Health Services (SPMHS).
They run a number of campaigns and events throughout the year to promote positive mental health, and there are tonnes of ways that teachers and students can get involved, spark conversation, tackle stigma and foster wellbeing.
Key activities include the following-
Working to promote positive mental health, to tackle mental health stigma and to change how people, particularly young people, think about mental health.
They offer free wellbeing resources for:
• young people
• parents and guardians
• primary school and secondary school teachers to use in the classroom.
Youth Advocate Programme (YAP) Ireland
The Youth Advocate Programme (YAP) provide intensive, needs-led, wraparound, focused support to children, young people and families who are struggling with a range of issues in their lives. YAP Ireland matches community-based advocates with those referred, leading to more positive engagement and outcomes. The organisation has a disability and mental health intensive support service that provides a 12-month programme to young people aged 8 – 18 years and their families who require support in achieving their goals. The Independent Advocacy Service is provided to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and adolescent in-patient units. A Crisis Intervention service is also available for young people at particular risk. YAP is a nationwide service operating in 22 counties from their 5 centres, details of which can be found here https://yapireland.ie/contact-yap-ireland/
The development of the YMHS tool
In 2015, the NYHP recognised the need to capture the voice of the sector in more depth through a rapid mental health needs assessment. One of the key findings from the Mental Health Needs Assessment was the need to support organisations, practitioners, and young people to access appropriate services. The Youth Mental Health Signposting tool was developed in response to this need.
The tool was revamped in 2024 to meet the emerging needs being communicated to the NYHP by Youth Workers and other professionals through consultation and engagement in the programme’s training and workshops.
We endeavour to keep this tool up to date. However, we are aware that new services and initiatives are being developed and launched all the time.
If you have a new service or an existing one not currently on the tool that you believe should be included, please add your information below.
Many thanks
The National Youth Health Programme would like to acknowledge the time, input and resources provided by a range of organsiations which contributed to the development of Youth Mental Health Signposting tool.
Disclaimer
The content of Youth Mental Health Signposting is provided for information purposes only. The National Youth Council of Ireland is not responsible for any interaction or outcomes between a client and a service provider listed. The NYCI does not endorse any professional or programme included in it map.