In a first for Ireland’s mental health, farming and rural communities, Turn2Me has partnered with AgriLand in the rollout of its new digital counselling service.
Turn2Me, an Irish online mental health organisation, has this week launched its innovative digital support programme for adults affected by mental health difficulties. The Engage Programme will use a combination of weekly, online one-to-one counselling sessions provided by professionals as well as other services, such as online support groups and a mood-tracking tool called Thought Catcher. All services can be accessed free of charge at the organisation’s website www.turn2me.org.
Turn2Me CEO Oisin Scollard said: “Turn2me is delighted to partner with AgriLand on offering our Engage programme to the rural and farming community. With a rise in mental health-related issues in Ireland, support and crucially access to services is vital. The engage programme can be accessed from anywhere in Ireland, by people over 18 and is free accessible and can be confidentially delivered within the member’s home.”
“We are delighted to support Turn2Me in the rollout of its innovative programme,” said AgriLand managing director Cormac Farrelly. “Diarmuid and Oisin Scollard are two of the most amazing people you could ever meet. It’s amazing to think what they have achieved with Turn2Me in such a short period of time. They have developed a pioneering way of using technology to reach out to people affected by depression and mental health issues. We are privileged to have been chosen by Turn2Me. This is just one of the many partnerships planned in the months and years ahead for AgriLand, bringing the power of the internet to the farming community.”
Speaking on the Engage programme, Eoin O’Shea, director of research and policy at Turn2me, said: “Many people today are going online to access support for a broad range of mental health issues. This makes sense as our society progressively moves towards greater engagement through technology. Turn2me has been online since 2009 supporting those most in distress as a result of difficulties involving their mental health.
“The Engage Programme is a new way of providing as much support as possible – and all at the click of a button. Nowhere in Ireland is a service quite like this available online, delivered by professionals and offered free of charge. In the context of our recent austerity measures and rising suicide rates, Turn2me views accessible, professional support available online as an important step forward for many people in this country. It’s time to engage more with our mental health.”
A study conducted by the National Suicide Research Foundation (NSRF) in 2012 found that 12.5 per cent of people who died by suicide were working in the agricultural sector, this figure was second only to those employed in the construction sector.
In an earlier report, the NSRF suggested that: “There is a need for improved services in rural Ireland. If the various available services are to help reduce the suicide rate, then a mechanism must be found to deliver these in areas of low population density where the need could well be greatest.”
Pieta House, which works with suicidal and self-harming individuals in a face-to-face format, have also recognised the risk to those living and working rural and agricultural sectors, respectively. It has recently launched a rural nationwide campaign.
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