Two new services for young people

A new adolescent sexual health service is to be established in Wexford which has the highest rate of teenage pregnancies in the south-east while a Therapeutic Team providing mental health support to young people in the care system, will operate from the same premises.

Adrian Hogan, manager of Squashy Couch, the Tusla-run adolescent health service which has been running successfully in Waterford since 2003, and Anne Goodwin, Therapeutic Team manager for Wexford and Waterford attended a Wexford District Council meeting and requested permission to move into the old County Hall building in Spawell Road which already houses Wexford Local Development and Its Good to Talk.

Mr. Hogan told councillors that Squashy Couch offers information, advice and support to 14-19 year olds in the areas of sexual health and mental health along with nursing and GP care and a teen parenting programme.

Explaining why the service is needed, he said CSO figures show Wexford has the highest rate of teenage pregnancies in the south-east while it has the fourth highest rate of suicide in the country, above the national average. Also, the national register for deliberate self-harm shows that Wexford has the 11th highest level with 15 to 19 year olds accounting for 12% of presentations.

The report of the Children and Young People’s Services Committees (CYPSC) Plan for 2017 to 2019 which was launched in Wexford recently, points to the absence of a co-ordinated approach to teen sexual health education in the county .

The Wexford Local Economic Community Plan for 2016 to 2021 includes a goal to support and promote the development of socially inclusive, sustainable communities, to ensure that all citizens enjoy optimal health and well being and to establish a dedicated sexual health project for young people in the county with Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender and Inter-Sex (LGBTI) young people included in any programmes developed.

A Wexford Rape crisis study of sexual attitudes and behaviours of young people aged 12 to 18 in County Wexford by Brian Harvey and Dr. Kathy Walsh, highlighted the need for ‘an independent, confidential, non-judgemental service, readily accessible by young people in the county, combining the functions of information, advice, support, specialised help’, adding that the Squashy Couch model from Waterford would appear to offer the optimum combination of services and ethos’.

Squashy Couch is already delivering a six-hour sexual health programme in schools and youth clubs in County Wexford, to help young people make informed choices about their sexual health, to address myths and misconceptions about sexual activity, to help them discuss sexual health issues in a safe and relaxed environment and to inform young people about the different forms of contraception and the risks of sexually transmitted diseases.

In relation to mental health, the new Squashy Couch service will offer a counselling service, links to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health services (CAHMS) and the Psychology and Therapeutic teams as well as the SHIP (Self-Harm Intervention Programme) and group work to help deal with anxiety, self-esteem, anger management, social phobias and bullying.

A six-week programme on health and well-being was delivered as a pilot project in Gorey Community School to create awareness and a better understanding of healthy living.

All Squashy Couch services can be accessed by self-referral or by parents and teachers and by other agencies.

While the service will be located in Wexford town, it will be a countywide programme with outreach through the FDYS, Youth New Ross, Barnardo’s Enniscorthy and Gorey Youth Needs. There will also be links to other therapeutic services.

‘We intend it establish it elsewhere in the county, not just in Wexford but in satellite offices in other towns in the county’, said Mr. Hogan.

The Squashy Couch manager said the Spawell Road premises would offer welcome anonymity to participants as there is a range of other services on site.

The Tusla-run Therapeutic Team for the Waterford/Wexford area will also be based in Wexford town, offering assessments and tailor-made sociological and psychological support to young people who are in difficulty.

Ms. Goodwin explained that all referrals will be through social workers and the target group will be children and young people in difficulty at home, on the brink of entering the care system or who those already in foster care and residential care. Team members will work on an outreach basis around the county, assisting young people where they are based and linking in with local services such as family resource centres.

The team which is divided between Wexford and Waterford consists of a psychologist, two social workers, two social care leaders, a manager and administrative staff and additional therapeutic services will be commissioned to meet the particular needs of individual young people.

‘We are in the process of recruiting an external psychologist in Wexford. We will seek to commission other services as we need them, including play and equine therapy’, said Ms. Goodwin. She said the service will assist young people who have complex needs and has to be based in the local community so as to link the young people back to their own area. ‘They are complex cases but they are still members of the community’, she said. The Tusla Prevention Partnership Family Support (PPFS) manager will also be located in the office.

Ms. Goodwin described the old County Council offices as ‘a fantastic location’ where the Therapeutic team would have an office space for a social care leader and a separate consultation room for the psychologist. It would also be used for direct work with children and families. The Tusla PPFS manager for Wexford and Waterford would be located in the building. The Therapeutic Team service was launched last September by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Catherine Zappone is a pilot programme and a new project for Tusla.

The Council’s Community and Enterprise Officer Ger Mackey said there is no commitment as yet on the provision of a premises for Squashy Couch and the Therapeutic Team in the old County Hall. ‘It’s at the preliminary stage. There is no deal done’, he said. The Mayor of Wexford Cllr. Jim Moore welcomed the arrival of the two services in Wexford while Cllr. Lisa McDonald decribed the initiative as ‘a very worthwhile project’.

Cllr. Frank Staples said there is a great need for mental health services for young people in Wexford. ‘There are services but people can’t access them’.

‘Cllr. Carthy said he thought it was good that the Council was endorsing and supporting such services and he knew the local authority would not be found wanting in assisting with the provision of a suitable site.

‘We desperately need more services. Mental health is a major issue for young people’, commented Cllr. David Hynes.

‘Drink and the abuse of substances are factors and since ‘a Vision for Change’ was implemented, the addiction services are not fit for purpose’, he said.

WE DESPERATELY NEED MORE SERVICES. MENTAL HEALTH IS A MAJOR ISSUE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE