Culturally Responsive Counselling

Talk Therapy Dublin has continuous demand from clients of diverse backgrounds, nationalities & minoritized perspectives.  This reflects the evolving demographics of the Republic of Ireland. 

 

This Irish Times article brings attention on the pressing need to address Irish psychotherapy with respect to EDI. Significant demographic change presents new challenges for responsive mental health services.

We provide a culturally responsive counselling service reflected in the diversity amongst our team of therapists. A number of our therapists having undergone specific training on cultural competency and culturally responsive counselling.  We aspire to provide practitioner options to all clients (within ethical guidelines) and embrace diversity and intersectionality in all its manifestations. 

We can also help provide access to multilingual therapy services and currently have therapists working with us who can provide therapy in Spanish, Irish, Romanian, Yoruba, Portuguese, Tagalog, Croatian, Serbian and French aside from English.  

We also have direct links to therapists who speak other languages like Ukrainian,  Igbo, and German .

If we are unable to to offer a suitable therapist from our core team we will certainly help assist with a relevant referral.

Multicultural Orientation Training 

Talk Therapy Dublin has been involved in advocating for an increased Multicultural Orientation in all social care and mental health service provision. 

Ravind Jeawon MIACP has provided training in this area for a number of different institutions and organizations such as.

• Dublin City University – Psychotherapy Maters Students
• Health Service Executive (HSE) – National Counselling Service
• Warwick University  – Mental health and Psychological Support Teams
• ICPPD – Course Tutors of their Holistic Psychotherapy Training
• Irish Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy – IACP – general membership
• Permanent TSB – (Discrimination & Mental Health presentation)

We have also been lucky to collaborate with Outcomes Matters who have developed a Deliberate Practice Multicultural Orientation (MCO) Training  tailored for all types of  practitioners delivering care. 

The training aims to ignite a process, encouraging practitioners to “lean in” and be more culturally responsive to all individuals who may be accessing their services.   

How is this achieved?

1) By rooting the content in the most up to date, high quality international research in the area, particularly around client outcomes.

2) By using relevant contemporary clinical examples in different settings, (including our own mistakes and difficulties) to create permission to learn from one another – fear and confusion are often what practitioners communicate training in this area and we don’t want to close down reactions/responses but use them to further learning.

3) By providing those attending actual opportunities to practice the Orientation approach in real time (with full privacy). This is done innovatively using deliberate practice principles and video recordings – harnessing the potential of online training delivery in this area.

For any professionals or service providers interested in exploring training on the topic  please do make contact.