Mental Health Service Provider MyMind has just celebrated its 15th anniversary of providing affordable mental health services in Ireland. To mark the occasion, they hosted a live webinar which was attended by a broad array of speakers including Minister Mary Butler TD, Minister for Mental Health and Older people. We heard insights from therapists, service users, and the HSE about the issues affecting mental health provision in Ireland at present.
MyMind is a community-based mental health service that works towards giving every person in Ireland equal access to mental health support by offering their services on a discounted scale based on a person’s employment status.
MyMind is delivering more counselling sessions than ever with a 25% increase in demand in 2020 due to the impact of Covid-19 restrictions. Over 35,000 sessions were delivered throughout 2020 in comparison to 28,000 in 2019 and 20,000 the previous year.
Krystian Fikert, founder of MyMind said “It has been truly remarkable to be able to celebrate MyMind’s 15th Anniversary. In those 15 years we have been able to help and support almost 35,000 people in their mental health journeys. With the help of our incredible counsellors, volunteers and our online platform we have been able to provide affordable and accessible sessions for all those in need, and I look forward to continuing and improving our services over the next 15 years.”
Hosted online with contributions from Minister for Mental Health and Older People, Mary Butler TD, Dr Philip Dodd of the HSE and Clinical Advisor to National Office for Suicide Prevention (NOSP) and CEO of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, Tim Griffiths, this event looked at the mental health landscape in Ireland during this time and how social enterprises have developed to deal with and solve social problems, including the challenges posed by mental health.
Minister Mary Butler said in her address “I am hugely supportive of the MyMind model and their vision that is shared with our mental health policies. We are so proud of all the counsellors and volunteers that have been working with MyMind not only through the storm of the pandemic but over the last 15 years. MyMind has truly had a meaningful and powerful impact on people in Ireland and what an amazing 15 years it has been.”
CEO of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, Tim Griffiths commented “It has been incredible to see MyMind grow as a social enterprise over the past 15 years. The work that they are doing is truly valuable in supporting our mental health services in Ireland and supporting people’s mental well-being. I would like to congratulate Krystian and the team at MyMind on the amazing achievements.”
MyMind has five physical centres — three in Dublin and one each in Limerick and Cork, with over 120 therapists delivering a range of therapeutic approaches in up to 15 languages.
For more information or to access the range of services please go to MyMind.Org
