I strive to make my counselling practice inclusive. I am aware that, historically, counselling and psychotherapy have not been inclusive businesses. They have their roots in white elitism and, to a great extent, this still exists today. I don’t believe that counselling should only be available to a certain type of person with a certain amount of money in their bank account. And I believe that counsellors and psychotherapists should be as inclusive as possible. I will never turn away a client on the basis of race, culture, age, gender, sexuality, size/body shape, socio-economic status, disability, family status, or marital status.
For my own practice, I strive to:
-Be aware of my own privilege as a white, straight, cisgender woman. My pronouns are she/her.
-Educate myself on the impacts of power and oppression to mental health and the counselling relationship and experience.
-Educate myself on the relevance of race and culture to the counselling relationship and experience.
-Educate myself on the relevance of sexuality and gender to the counselling relationship and experience.
-Educate myself on the relevance of disability to the counselling relationship and experience. My practice is neurodiversity-affirming. I am Autistic.
-Educate myself on the relationship between body shape and size and marginalisation and the relevance of this to mental well-being and the counselling relationship.
-Educate myself on the impacts of trauma.
-Strive to work from environments that are accessible to all abilities.
-Offer low-cost counselling for those who cannot pay the full fee. Unfortunately, in Ireland, the current mental health system is in need of a massive overhaul. People are on long waiting lists to see the counsellors within the public health system. Sometimes this wait is too long and people do not get they help that they need. I think that if you want to speak to a counsellor, then this should be as readily available to you as seeing a medical doctor. If you would like to speak to me about low-cost counselling availability, please contact me. I ask that those who can pay the full fee, do so. It is also worth noting that there are excellent support services in Ireland offering low-cost or free sessions. I am also aware that I may not be best suited to meet your needs as a client. I have made a list of relevant support services here although it is not complete.
Finally, I am always open to feedback about how I can be a better ally and be more inclusive. Feel free to email me or ring me if you have any feedback about how I can do better.
April Bergin 