Counselling and Psychotherapy

Therapy with an accredited counsellor or psychotherapist, by secure video, from wherever you are in Ireland. You do not need the right words ready before you start.

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Accredited therapists Fully confidential Evening & weekend times

Everything is confidentialWhat you say in a session stays in the session.

Secure video, Ireland-wideFrom wherever you feel comfortable, on any device.

No GP referral neededBook online in a couple of minutes.

Evening and weekend timesSessions that fit around work and family.

Making the first enquiry is often the hardest part. You might have been turning it over for months, wondering if what you’re dealing with is serious enough to bring to someone. Counselling and psychotherapy give you a private, non-judgemental hour to say it out loud to a trained professional who isn’t going to be shocked by any of it.

We work with adults, couples and teenagers all over Ireland. Every session happens by secure video, so you can attend from home, from a spare room at work, or from wherever you feel comfortable.

What are counselling and psychotherapy, and how are they different?

Both are talk therapy. You meet a trained professional, regularly, and you talk through what’s going on for you. The aim is your emotional wellbeing and mental health, and often your sense of how you got here and what you want to be different.

The difference is mostly one of depth and timeframe. Counselling tends to focus on something current: a bereavement, a rough patch at work, a decision you can’t make. Psychotherapy usually goes further back, looking at longer-standing patterns, earlier experiences and the way you relate to people.

	Counselling	Psychotherapy
Usual focus	A current issue or difficult period	Recurring patterns, earlier experiences, relationships
Typical length	Often shorter, sometimes an agreed number of sessions	Often open-ended, reviewed as you go
Common reason to choose it	Something specific has happened	Something keeps happening

In practice the two overlap a great deal, and many practitioners in Ireland are trained in both, which is why the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy uses the terms together. What suits you depends on you, what you’re bringing and how your therapist works. None of this is decided at you. It’s worked out between you.

You might also see therapists describe their work as person-centred. That simply means the sessions follow you and your pace, rather than a fixed programme.

Could counselling or psychotherapy help me?

You don’t need a diagnosis. You don’t need to be in crisis. Plenty of people come because something is quietly not right and they’d like to understand it.

People come to us about:

anxiety, panic and the kind of worry that keeps you awake
low mood, and the flatness that’s harder to name than sadness
stress and burnout at work
grief and loss
trauma, recent or long past
relationship difficulties, conflict at home, disconnection in a marriage
low self-esteem, self-criticism, perfectionism
big life changes, or feeling stuck and not sure why

Some signs it might be worth a conversation: the distress isn’t lifting, you’re noticing the same argument or the same pattern coming round again, you’re coping but it’s taking everything you have, or you simply want somewhere to think out loud that isn’t your family or your friends.

We work with adults, couples and teenagers, and we offer adult ADHD assessment and ongoing ADHD support. What we are not is an emergency or crisis service, and we don’t prescribe medication. If medication is part of the picture, your GP stays involved.

Not sure if this is the right fit?

A first session is just a conversation.

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How do therapy sessions work?

Sessions run for 50 minutes. Most people start weekly and some move to fortnightly later on, though that’s a conversation rather than a rule. We offer both shorter-term counselling and open-ended psychotherapy, and you’re not locked into either at the start.

Therapy is collaborative. You and your therapist set out what you’re hoping for, and you review it together as you go, including whether you still need to be coming. Some people find a handful of sessions is enough. Others stay for a year or more. Anyone who promises you a fixed number is guessing.

For online sessions you need:

a private space where you won’t be overheard, even a parked car
a reasonably stable internet connection
headphones, which help more than people expect
a phone, tablet or laptop with a camera

A secure video link arrives by email before your appointment. Nothing to install, no account to set up. All our work is online, which means no commute, no waiting room, and the same access whether you’re in Dublin or thirty miles from the nearest therapist.

How can I choose a qualified therapist in Ireland?

Counselling and psychotherapy titles aren’t yet protected by law in Ireland, so accreditation matters. An accredited or pre-accredited practitioner has completed recognised training, works under regular clinical supervision, follows a professional code of ethics and keeps up continuing professional development.

The main bodies to look for are:

Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP), which maintains a public directory of accredited therapists
Irish Council for Psychotherapy (ICP)
Irish Association of Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy (IAHIP)
Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI), for psychologists
Family Therapy Association of Ireland (FTAI)

The HSE’s guidance on getting talk therapy privately makes the same point about checking a therapist’s training and accreditation before you book.

Our therapists are accredited, and each profile sets out their training, their approach and the areas they work in most. Credentials are only half of it, though. The relationship does a lot of the work, so trust your own sense of whether you feel comfortable, understood and able to disagree with this person.

How much do counselling and psychotherapy sessions cost?

Private talk therapy in Ireland is usually paid for by the client, as the HSE guidance above notes. Fees vary quite a bit between practitioners and settings, so it’s fair to ask before you commit to anything.

What	How it works here
Session fee	Shown on each therapist’s profile and at booking, before you confirm
Session length	50 minutes
Payment	Taken online by card when you book
Receipts	Issued for every session, for insurance or employer schemes
Cancellations	The notice period is set out at booking

Some health insurance plans contribute towards counselling or psychotherapy, and many workplaces run an employee assistance programme that covers a number of sessions. Both are worth checking before you start, because the rules differ between providers and change from year to year.

Frequently asked questions

What happens during the first therapy session?

Mostly talking. Your therapist will ask what brought you, what’s been going on and what you’d like to be different, and will explain the practical side: confidentiality, fees, cancellations, how often you’ll meet. You don’t have to tell your whole story in one go. It’s also your chance to notice whether this person feels like someone you could work with.

How often will I need to attend therapy sessions?

Weekly is the usual starting point, because it builds momentum. Fortnightly works for some people, particularly further into the work. It’s agreed between you and your therapist based on what you need and what your week can hold, and it can change.

How effective are counselling and psychotherapy?

Talk therapy helps many people, though not everyone and not to the same degree. Research over decades consistently points to the quality of the relationship between you and your therapist as one of the strongest factors, alongside how engaged you are, what you’re working on and whether you attend consistently. Studies comparing video sessions with in-person sessions have generally found similar outcomes for common difficulties such as anxiety and depression, which is why online delivery is now mainstream rather than a substitute.

Is counselling and psychotherapy confidential?

Yes. What you say stays between you and your therapist, and notes are kept securely and minimally. There are limited exceptions, which your therapist will explain at the start: serious risk to you or someone else, concerns about a child or vulnerable adult, or a court order. Your therapist also discusses their work in clinical supervision, which is standard practice and anonymised.

Would you like to arrange a counselling or psychotherapy appointment?

You don’t have to know what to call the problem before you book. Plenty of people start with “I’m not sure this is even worth talking about” and go from there.

Book a session online. It takes about two minutes and you don’t need an account.
Browse therapist profiles and choose someone yourself, or book with no preference and we’ll match you.
No GP letter or referral is needed for counselling or psychotherapy.
Evening and weekend appointments are available, and every session is by secure video from anywhere in Ireland.
If you’d rather ask a question first, use the confidential contact form and someone will come back to you.

One thing to be clear about: this is not an emergency service and we don’t monitor enquiries around the clock. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 112 or 999, contact your GP, or go to your nearest emergency department. Samaritans is free to call on 116 123, any hour of the day or night.