The hugely popular yet criticised 13 Reasons Why Netflix series has returned for a second season today. The first season, which racked up over 3.5 million social media impressions and 600,000 news reports  sparked concern from many mental health professionals, including the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland, Headspace, and RCPsych, for its “dramatic and detailed” […]

The issue of suicide will be accorded particular focus at the upcoming Spring Conference of the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland, which takes place in Athlone on 12-13 April. This article by Catherine Reilly was published on Medical Independent on 26/03/18 A presentation on ‘Suicide in Doctors — What we Should Know’ by Dr Justin […]

The College of Psychiatrists of Ireland requested a 10 per cent increase in basic specialist training (BST) places for 2018, but it was only accorded a 5 per cent increase. This article by Catherine Reilly was published on Medical Independent on 26/03/18 The HSE’s National Doctors Training and Planning (NDTP) unit has sanctioned 63 BST […]

Dr Colin O’Gara, Consultant Addiction Psychiatrist, spoke to Pat Kenny on NewsTalkFM about his study on online gambling activities in Ireland. This is the first national survey of its kind and was published in the Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine. Listen to the full interview below: Abstract Objectives: The aim of this study is to look […]

Image courtesy of TheDyslexicBook.com The HSE has said that more training is needed for health care professionals in adult psychiatry working in the area of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), writes Mark O’Flynn on RTE.ie It comes after a charity which provides supports for people with ADHD said that around 200,000 people are affected by the […]

Unpaid and unheralded, those who care at home for their loved ones urgently need our support, writes Dr John Hillery in the Sunday Independent The recent RTE Prime Time special on ‘Carers in Crisis’ caused much comment and empathy. However, carers don’t want empathy or sympathy or admiration. They just want a little help. Our […]

The National Safeguarding Committee (NSC) has kicked off a nationwide public awareness campaign to encourage greater vigilance among the State, Financial and Nursing Home sectors as well as among family members and carers to root out Financial Abuse of vulnerable people. The College of Psychiatrists fully supports the campaign as a member of the NSC. […]

Funding falls far short of international norms, says College of Psychiatrists. This article was published in the Irish Times on 14th October 2017 Anne Foley (54) describes feeling “absolutely worthless” in a hospital emergency department when her mood so low she could hardly speak. Having told a doctor she could “no longer live this life”, she […]

Goverment accused of ‘misleading public’ on mental health budget. €20m of the €35m announced in Budget 2018 was ‘already promised’ in 2017 This article was written by Sarah Burns and published in the Irish Times on October 11th, 2017 An umbrella group for mental health agencies says the Government has “failed to deliver promised funding for […]

Some addiction experts are now coming to the conclusion that Alcoholics Anonymous is a flawed enterprise. Are they right, asks Alex Meehan in the Sunday Business Post. When a New York stock- broker named Bill Wilson met a surgeon named Dr Bob Smith in 1935, they were both hopeless alcoholics and desperate to find a […]