Counselling outreach service for victims of sexual violence launched in County Roscommon

A new counselling outreach service for victims of sexual violence has been launched at the Boyle Family Resource Centre (FRC).

The new service, launched recently by the Athlone Midlands Rape Crisis Centre (MRCC), will provide essential support and care for women and men who have experienced rape, or sexual abuse of any form, recent or historic.

The outreach service will run at the Boyle FRC every Tuesday.

Clinical lead and deputy manager of Boyle FRC, Sinéad Raftery, said that the centre was continuously
striving to meet the needs of the community, “whether its within our own service where we provide a rainbows programme or the drop-in clinic for families on a Wednesday or the wide range of other services that are available in this centre,” she said.

Pauline Cahalane, Manager of Athlone Midlands Rape Crisis Centre, thanked those in attendance and extended her gratitude to all the Boyle FRC staff. “The Athlone MRCC is a counselling and support service for women and men recently or historically affected by sexual abuse. We also support families of people that have been affected. We are a free service that offers free face-to-face counselling or online and we also offer telephone counselling sessions.”

She detailed how support for victims of sexual violence/abuse had grown since the Athlone MRCC first opened its doors in 1995.

“Thankfully, over the years more awareness has been brought to child and adult sexual violence and abuse. Ireland has become more open about acknowledging that sexual abuse does happen and the devastation and damage that does to a person’s life,” she said.

She explained to those in attendance at the launch how people could avail of the MRCC’s services, adding: “Very importantly, we support our clients in their reporting process or if they are going to be going to court later on. To avail of our service you call our freephone number which is 1800 306 600.”

Caitlín Hester, an accredited counsellor and psychotherapist, will be working in Boyle on Tuesdays as part of the new service. She spoke on her background in counselling. “I started out working with Roscommon Safe Link in domestic violence, so I worked with trauma in that area with families. I also work in a private capacity in Castlerea and also at the Technological University of the Shannon Athlone.

“I work with anxiety, stress, depression, loss and bereavement, all those different areas. The focus is always on the individual person, how they are, so it’s very trauma informed care.”

She concluded by saying that the long-term goal of the service was to have it “more accessible to people so that they will feel that it’s ok to seek help for themselves. It’s a free service, available to everybody.”