This article is from page 25 of the 2014-04-29 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 25 JPG
THE issue of mental health should be higher on the political agenda, a prominent Clare-based social worker has said.
Paul Guckian also praised community groups for stepping in to plug the gap in the mental health services created by cutbacks in public service spending over the past five years.
Mr Guckian, who is the Principal Social Worker with Clare Mental Health Services, was speaking at the ‘No Man Is An Island’ conference in Ennis on Saturday.
In a talk on men’s mental health, Mr Guckian outlined the sign and symptoms associated with depression.
“At the severe end of depression, people can have serious thoughts of suicide, worthlessness, thinking life would be better for me or my family and friends if I committed suicide. That’s not uncommon. A lot of people would have that ideation but it is a warning sign and it is not uncommon.”
He called on politicians to bring the issue of mental health higher up he political agenda.
He said, “The other interesting thing about suicide, and I think this is important for a county like Clare, is that in Ireland, suicidal activity and suicides are a rural phenomenon. It’s much higher instance than in urban areas.
“These are the sorts of issues that are going to have be addressed by everybody in society. I see some of the candidates for the local elections in this room today and there are other people engaged in politics. But it is important this is put on the political agenda,” he added.
Mr Guckian praised the role played by community groups, such as the Ennis Men’s Shed, for the role they have played in assisting people af- fected by depression.
He said, “There are a huge number of community support groups and they really have stepped into the breach in this country since the crash, since the cutbacks in statutory and public services so we have groups like the Men’s Shed movement to help out.
“Unfortunately in the North West area of Clare, there are no social workers in those primary care teams again due to resource issues. For councillors in Clare, maybe that’s an issue they [politicians] could raise on the canvass to have properly funded primary health services,” he added.