St. Patrick’s Mental Health & Wellbeing Fair

St. Patricks held a Mental Health and Wellbeing Fair in Cork last Saturday to promote positive mental health as part of the launch of their Adolescent Mental Health Service in Cork, which will operate through the community Dean Clinic and will be led by Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist Dr. Sarah Buckley. 

Ag Eisteacht had a stand at the event. We enjoyed hearing about the great work frontline practitioners do, as well as telling them about our training. The event was also a great opportunity to become aware of all the services which are available to children and families to support them with their health and wellbeing. 

 Alan Shortt chaired the event and added some humour and fun to the day Speakers included: Paul Gilligan, CEO of St Patricks’s Mental Health Services, Grace Mongey (FacesbyGrace), lifestyle blogger, and Minister Kathleen Lynch. Paul Gilligan spoke about a parents role in their child’s mental health and how they need to help their child to develop self belief and learn the ability to be happy. However, he highlighted the importance of parents looking after their own physical and mental health to have the capacity to look after their child’s mental health. This realisation shows the value in working with and supporting families as a whole, rather then individual service users. 

Grace Mongey shared her personal experience with anxiety and depression. Grace is sharing her story to help people realise that these experiences are normal and that they should be talked about for the benefit of everyone. 

Minister Kathleen Lynch acknowledged that mental health services in Ireland are ‘not there yet’, but also emphasised that value in moving goals for mental health services in order to constantly improve service provision. 

Workshops ran throughout the day at the event. These included yoga, laughing yoga, mindfulness, zumba, and drumming. These workshops were tasters for activities people could take part in to improve their mental health. 

The day had a very positive vibe. We we’re delighted to be a part of the day and look forward to the opportunity to participate in future events which advocate for mental health.