I work as a psychotherapist and I am also a client of a psychotherapist. The pandemic has affected us all subtly and significantly, individually and also collectively. We have had to deal with restrictions, separation, isolation, grief, anxiety, relationship difficulties to name just a small sample. For many it has been a time for examining their lives, for engaging with long tolerated unease, searching for something better.

In Ireland, the current crisis of mental health has been born out of years of neglect. It is time for something better.

We have come to a place where we can consider our futures, our values and our priorities. The frustration and pent-up emotions over the pandemic have affected all of us. People are reaching their limits and finding their voices. Our eyes have been opened to personal and societal issues that we had become numbed to. We are looking more and more to mental health professionals to support us as we sort through our experiences and search for our way to grow from them. If we are to take our mental health seriously we have to place it on the same level as our physical health. In this I can see a desperate need for change. 

The government’s negligent attitude to mental health remains entombed in an age where we were taught that the best way to deal with something was to dismiss or avoid it. Public mental health services are vastly over-subscribed and dangerously under-resourced. All the while the private sector continues to be dismissed and denigrated. Eighteen months ago I wrote a letter to the Irish Times , exploring the government's indefensible attitude to mental health. They continue to underfund mental health services and to maintain barriers that prevent clients from accessing professional services. It has been an incredibly challenging period for large parts of society, people are suffering, and the services we so vitally need are made more expensive and less reliable by the government’s inaction.  

We have seen how quickly a crisis can be effectively engaged with, how with enough resources and planning we can put practices in place that restrict the worst consequences. The Irish Government's attitude to mental health is an example of how something deteriorates and festers without the proper supports. With this petition I am seeking to address 3 fundamental issues with the provision of professional counselling, psychotherapy and psychological services. By signing this petition you agree that... 

1. Without delay, counselling, psychotherapy and psychological services are deemed an eligible expense for tax relief in line with other health expenses. This reduces costs and gives more people the chance of benefiting from those services.
2. That the opening of the registers for counsellors and psychotherapists be completed with the urgency it deserves so that clients can have confidence in the services provided. At the moment anyone can call themselves a counsellor or psychotherapist and there is no standardisation of qualification across the different accrediting bodies. 
3. That counselling and psychotherapy services become Vat exempt. While mental health services are recognised as essential services, they are also liable to a vat levy of 13.5%. Taking care of our mental health is as essential as taking care of our physical health.

We deserve more than lip-service, empty promises and sound-bytes that make the various parties appear as if they are taking the problem seriously. If you or anyone you know has considered engaging a mental health professional, please sign to ensure that we have access to the best possible services without being subject to unjustified taxes. Together we may be too hard to be dismissed and ignored.