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.
Tullamore Rape Crisis Centre
One-to-one counselling for victims of sexual violence/sexual abuse. Available to young people from 14 to 18 years of age, both male and female. No fee – donation based. Support for families whose lives have been affected by sexual violence. 24hr accompaniment to SATU, court and garda accompaniment.
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
Vita House Family Centre
Centre founded on a commitment to social inclusion, innovation and regard for the diverse expressions of family life. Provides a welcoming, safe, compassionate environment for thousands of families in the county. Offers a variety of services such as individual, group and family therapy at an affordable price as well as cancer support, suicide bereavement supports, rainbows, community outreach, counselling and psychotherapy.
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.
WASP- Whitechurch/Rathfarnam
WASP (Whitechurch/Rathfarnham Addiction Support Programme) is located in Loreto Community Facilities Project. They offer one to one counselling (provided by an independent counsellor) for people touched by drug and alcohol dependency, Relationship problems, Loss and bereavement. They also offer Life Skills workshop, Family Support, Family Mediation, Men’s Support Group, Arts & Crafts, Personal development and Adult education groups all of which are dealt with in strict confidentiality. There is a sliding scale charge for the services.
Waterford Autism Social and Sports Action (WASSA)
Supporting children with ASD through a range of social and sporting actvities and help them to navigate various life changes like starting secondary school through various workshops
Waterford Counselling and Psychotherapy
One-to-one, confidential counselling available for all ages (parental consent is required for minors). Each one hour session is approx. Counselling style: person centred therapy and CBT.
Waterford Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre
One-to-one counselling for victims of sexual violence/sexual abuse. Available to people aged 14 upwards. No fee – donation based, Support for family members and friends, Accompaniment to gardaí, SATU, court etc. Information, advocacy, education, training and raising awareness
Nationwide Services
Exchange House Ireland- National Travellers Service
Exchange House Ireland National Travellers service is a leading provider of front-line support services to Travellers, many of whom are marginalised. Exchange House is a large provider of youth services to the Traveller Community in the greater Dublin area.
Among the supports and services on offer are onsite activities and programmes including Arts, leadership, anti-bullying, and educational opportunities. The organisation also provides detached youth work. Family support programmes are available.
In addition, Exchange House provides the National Traveller Mental Health Service, which provides a counselling service for travellers to help them deal with the issues affecting them. This service provides counselling to those 18 years and older.
FirstLight
FirstLight offers free professional support and provides information to families in Ireland that have experienced the sudden, unexpected death of their child if aged from 0 to 18 years. They provide support to all family members who have lost a child (up to 12 years of age) in a number of ways including
(1) Crisis Intervention- by providing support around the time of death (call their crisis line – 087 2423777)
(2) Free Counselling through their list of counsellors around the country
(3) Family weekends
(4) Phone support
(5)Children’s groups and more.
Fóroige
Fóroige is a national Youth Organisation that has Youth Projects and Youth Clubs all over Ireland. Fóroige aims to enable young people to involve themselves consciously and actively in their development and in the development of society. Fóroige offers a wide range of development programmes for young people, details of which can be found on their website. Foróige groups and clubs operate Nationwide, to view a map of services in your area, go to: https://www.foroige.ie/foroige-map
GROW Mental Health Ireland
Find out about the many GROW meetings across the country on their INFOLINE @ 0818 474 474 and website @ https://grow.ie/join-a-support-group/. The purpose of the meetings is to support people who have or had a mental health illness. Some youth-specific groups take place for people aged 18-30 years. There is also the option to join online support meetings. Check the website for more information.
HSE – Mental Health
This website aims to improve awareness and understanding of mental health and well-being in Ireland. You will find tips for minding your mental health and supporting others. The website is also useful to help you search for supports in your local area. It also gives you information about what to do when someone tells you they are suicidal or self-harming.
I Fight Depression
The iFightDepression tool is a multilingual internet-based guided self-management tool for individuals with mild to moderate depression. The iFightDepression website promotes greater knowledge of and awareness of depression with the aim of increasing recognition of depression and decreasing the associated stigma.
Inclusion Ireland
Inclusion Ireland is the National is the National Association for People with an Intellectual Disability.
They work towards the full inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities by supporting people to have their voices heard and advocating for rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. They also run a number of programme and have a variety of resources available on their website.
Involve
Involve delivers a wide range of programmes for young Travellers through their six centres across Ireland; details of the centres can be found on the Youth Services section of their website. Mental health promotion work is woven through these programmes; one example is the No Shame Mental Health Project
Irish Wheelchair Association
The Irish Wheelchair Association provides a wide range of services for people with physical disabilities. They have a young adult sevice designed to support young adults with physical disabilities to pursue their goals and build confidence. They offer life skills training to young adults in Clontarf, Kilkenny and Wexford.
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.