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.
Brill Family Resource Centre
Aim to support families and young people on the enhancement of education and development for the community. Provides a range of universal targets like family supports, After school horus education for 2nd level pupils, suppoerts for unemployed, PArentchild+, Waterford parent hub, ATEC community education courses, Creative therapies: horticuluture, play art and music, social clubs for parents of children with additional needs
Bud’s Family Resource Centre
Provides facilities and supports for families and individuals in the commuinty. Offers many services to the community. Low cost children and adult counselling, youth and children groups, further education supports, mental health and wellbeing workshops and self development programmes.
C-Saw (Community Suicide Awareness Workers South Tipperary)
Provide services aimed at reducing the number of suicides in Souith Tipperary. Targeted age: 18+ . Drop in listening service, Free phone listening service, Free phone text service, offer free counselling
Cabra and Drumcondra Village Counselling Service
Cabra & Drumcondra Village Counselling Service provides child, family and adolescent counselling and psychotherapy. Based on a sliding scale.
Cabra For Youth
Cabra for Youth is a community based independent youth service that has been working with young people aged 10-24 years in the greater Cabra area since 2008. They offer young people in Cabra a fun, safe and supportive environment within which they can voluntarily engage in programmes and activities based on their needs and interests. Cabra for Youths priority is to promote and encourage the active participation of young people from the Greater Cabra Area who are deemed to be at risk, vulnerable, and/or marginalised within our community.
Cabra for Youth also offers counselling for 12-21-year-olds through the collaboration project, the Listen Project. The Listen Project is a free early intervention service with up to 9 sessions available to those that need the service. Call 1800 303 638 between 4 pm to 6 pm, Monday to Friday, to talk directly to a youth worker about the project.
Cairdeas Kilmovee Family Resource Centre
Cairdeas Family Resource Centre is in the heart of the community of Kilmovee 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.
Candle Community Trust
Community Project in Ballyfermot, child centred service addressing the needs of young people. Provides appropriate space for the nurturing and development of young people. Offers a variety of training programmes for young people from marginalised groups, therapeutic services as well as counselling and psychotherapy at a reduced rate
Cara House Family Resource Centre
Includes activities, courses and interest groups as well as services, provides a valuable resource for the Letterkenny community from cradle to grave. Offers peer support, friendship and acceptance. Socially inclusive offering high quality services and activities offered at a rate that makes them accessible to all. Runs youth service, training and education for young people as well as health and wellbeing courses.
CARI
CARI (Children at Risk in Ireland) provides child-centred therapy for children and adolescents affected by sexual abuse. CARI also provides therapy to children up to 12 years of age who present with sexually harmful behaviour.
Lo-call HELPLINE 0818 925 567 for professionals and parents seeking advice on support and counselling for children who have been sexually abused. Child & Adolescent Therapy is also available on a sliding scale cost, depending on people’s circumstances.
CARI have bases in Limerick, Dublin and Wexford, details for each centre can be found on their website.
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.