Financial pressures, marriage breakdown and other difficulties due to Ireland's situation are leading to an increase in people seeking psychotherapy, the annual conference of the Irish Council for Psychotherapy has been told.
Its chairperson, Mary Lalor, said that psychotherapy was not well supported by the State and that more people need access to services.
She said that while medicine obviously has a role, psychotherapy needs greater recognition and can be very helpful in assisting people to live their own lives.
Speaking at the conference earlier, President Michael D Higgins said there was much work to be done in the area of mental health in terms of access, settings and the use of language.
The Irish Council for Psychotherapy represents 1,250 psychotherapists.
