LawCare co-ordinator qualifies as integrative counsellor

Lawyers’ mental health charity LawCare’s co-ordinator for Ireland, Mary Jackson, has become a qualified integrative counsellor.

Ms Jackson studied part-time for four years for the qualification awarded by the Counselling & Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body, which included 100 hours of voluntary counselling, several case studies, and a commitment to personal therapy during the final two years.

She will shortly take her final exam to register with the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy. She will continue volunteering for Young Devon, where she sees 16- to 18-year-olds.

Ms Jackson said: “What I find striking is how anxiety is on the increase and how young people are worried about all kinds of things. These include where the world is going, how they are going to cope financially and if they will ever find a significant other.

“I am also encouraged by their desire not to be held prisoner by their anxiety, and their determination to live with it and use it to their advantage. This mirrors my experience on the LawCare helpline, where we find that our callers are presenting with complex mental health difficulties such as stress, anxiety and depression.”

Ms Jackson has also completed an intensive course with CRUSE, a UK charity that specialises in bereavement support. She intends to become a Bereavement Volunteer for CRUSE and to write articles and a new factsheet on bereavement and how to cope with grief for LawCare.

She said: “We find that often callers will mention the death of a friend or family member almost as an afterthought, without really understanding the additional impact the bereavement may be having on them.”