Especially for those who need to seek professional mental help
Pieta House is a non-profitable organisation that aims to help people with suicidal thoughts or participate in self-harm. Pieta House's services are free and it consists of professional volunteers who give up their time to help those who need mental and emotional help. They have, to date, helped over 40000 people since they were founded in 2006 and have 15 centers across Ireland.
Why I went to Pieta House
After struggling for almost a year and after trying many different councilors and CBT specialists we decided to try a new avenue. After my Mum was told about the Pieta House service in Tralee by a friend we decided to give it a try to ease my Mums pocket as in the total of 2018, my parents spent over €3000 on different mental health facilities for me as they just wanted to see me get better.
Starting Pieta House
Before I was sorted with a councilour I had to be assessed first. I went to the Pieta House facility in Tralee for this assessment in September 2018 and this was my first encounter with the service. It lasted for around an hour where she asked me standard questions they would need to know about me. I had to wait for a month for everything to be sorted out and during this time I would receive calls from Pieta House with information if I was in a bad situation but also just to check in with me.
When everything was sorted I was asked to come back for weekly sessions with my new counselor. I admit the first was a bit draining and unsatisfactory only to the fact I had to tell my story again but this is always going to be the case with these things. When I went back for the second week however it was 100 times more beneficial as now the therapeutic process properly began and I saw how brilliant my counselor was.
Harry Potter Cards
Just to let you know how much effort my counselor put in to help me I'll tell a little story about some Harry Potter cards. After working for a few weeks he seemed to have a good understanding of who I was and what I liked, including Harry Potter. So for one session, he went out of his way to buy Harry Potter playing cards with the characters on them so he could get me to name them and explain the character. He would then explain which characters resembled me making me have fun in the session and made me feel good about myself.
General Vibe
Pieta House has a very welcoming vibe from the moment you walk in the doors to reception, where they will ask you how you are and if you would like tea or coffee. The waiting rooms were very nice and relaxing from the calming music to the friendly aroma smells. The rooms where we had our sessions were simple and cozy. I also continued to get weekly phone calls asking how I was and numbers for local helplines up until I finished attending Pieta House.
Finishing up with Pieta House
After 12 sessions, you will be asked whether or not you would like to continue with Pieta House and after doing some great work with my counselor I knew I would be able to manage without our sessions. So on February 14th, 2019, I decided that I would take a break from my Pieta House sessions. Even though I finished my counseling sessions, this would not be the last time I would encounter the works of Pieta House.
Darkness into Light
Since Pieta House is a free service and a nonprofitable organisation, it has to raise money somehow. One way they do this is by holding an event called "Darkness into Light" which is a 5k walk to raise funds which they have been doing since 2009. The walk usually starts in the very early morning when its dark and the point of this is to show that you can get through the darkness to see the Light. So you literally walk from the Darkness into Light.
This year, the walk was on May 11th and started at around 4am. This year was my first year doing the walk and I did it with one of my friends. The track was marked out and decorations were everywhere lighting the way. The 5k walk flew by especially when I was in good company and in a good environment. It is such an amazing experience for such a noble cause.
Conclusion
In total, Pieta House was a great lifeline for me which helped me get through very tough times and was my changing point in the end. I am very grateful to Pieta House and especially to my councilour in particular for everything he has done for me. If you, or someone you know, suffer from self-harm or suicidal thoughts, please know that you don't have to hide in the darkness because only when you open up is when you can truly begin to see the light. Pieta House helped me along with the 40000 other people that have walked through their doors, so why wouldn't it be able to help you?
I have included links to Pieta House's Website, Contact, and Donation pages below.
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