Frequently Asked Questions

COUNSELLING

  • No, you don’t need a doctor’s referral. If you feel that you need help you can contact us directly.

  • We strive to be affordable for everyone in the community. We do not charge a fee for our counselling however we ask that people make a donation to cover some of the cost of their counselling if they can. Typically people donate between €10 - €20 per session.

  • You can call the Kilkenny office on 056 779 6592 or the Laois office on 057 864 1391 to talk to someone.

    An appointment will be organised to meet one of the support team in order to register for the service. The registration will take about 30 minutes but booking is essential.

    The next step is meeting your assigned counsellor, who will contact you directly and arrange your first counselling appointment.

  • Parental consent is needed for all under 18s to register for the service. Once consent is given and the teenager is registered in the service, there is no need for a parent to attend the counselling sessions. Confidentiality and respecting boundaries is an essential part of the therapy process.

  • It can come as a shock if someone tells you they are suicidal and want to end their life. You may feel afraid or upset and not know where to turn. It is important to take the person seriously. When someone talks to you about this, they are asking for help. Talking to someone about their suicidal thoughts doesn’t make them more likely to end their life.

    Listen without judgement

    Be compassionate and empathetic

    Seek help - Teac Tom has a 24-hour phoneline where you can get immediate crisis support and book an appointment to speak to a counsellor.

  • The core team of therapists with Teac Tom are trained and accredited by a professional psychotherapy body (IACP, ACI, APCP etc) and are registered in Ireland to provide therapy. Teac Tom also supports trainee therapists who are working towards their qualification.

  • At Teac tom we encourage people to seek support as soon as possible. Our experience suggests that people who seek help early are less likely to enter into crisis with their mental health.

  • We provide 8 initial sessions of counselling. Additional sessions can be discussed at the end of this period if required.

FUNDRAISING

  • First of all, thank you! We rely on the community for their support and fundraising efforts. We are happy to offer advice and guidance for coordinating your event but we cannot assist with the running of the actual event.

    The overall running of the event including expenses, venue organisation, sponsorship, promotion and management is ultimately the event holder’s responsibility. As a small organisation we focus our limited resources on providing frontline mental health services and cannot assist with running individual fundraisers.

  • Yes, please complete this booking form before your fundraiser. Once your event is approved we will send you an authorisation letter to fundraise on our behalf.

  • Click here to bring you directly to the iDonate page for Teac Tom. Here you can support individual fundraisers or donate a sum of your choosing directly. You can make a once off donation or set up a standing order to give regularly.

  • At Teac Tom we provide up to 100 hours of counselling every week in our centres in Kilkenny and Laois. Your funds help us cover the cost of these counselling sessions so that we can continue to provide immediate support and professional counselling to those who need it.

  • It can take us a few weeks to process your donations once we have received them. When your fundraiser is finished and we have received your donation we will send you a thank you letter by way of receipt.

OTHER

  • No, we do not receive any funding from the government or HSE. Occasionally we apply for grant funding that supports projects or helps cover our operating costs.

  • Please click here to request more information on school talks.

  • Please click here for more information on becoming a Corporate Partner.