60 Minutes for Christmas is the name of a pre Christmas support just launched by Aceord, the marriage counselling service in Dublin.
"We were discovering that, for lots of people Christmas can be a time to dread," says Father Pat McManus, director of Accord. "People are in bad relationships, or they're separated, lonely, isolated. And Christmas makes everything worse. We've noticed over the years that calls increase greatly at this time of year and asking people to wait until January can create huge difficulties.
"We're offering one hour of support counselling which people can avail of relatively quickly. We're asking our existing counsellors to give one night or one morning extra on top of their regular workload and that is their gift. Our experience shows that even in an hour, people can receive a lot of help and clarification."
In September Accord opened a drop in counselling service which by passed the normal two to three week wait for an appointment.
"People come in because they've had a row, or there's a crisis. We find that for some, what we've offered is enough. Others want to go on to more long term counselling," says Father McManus.
60 Minutes for Christmas is available to individuals and couples at Accord centres in Ballymun, Blanchardstown, Clondalkin, Dun Laoghaire, Harcourt Street, Marino, Phibsboro, Swords, Tallaght and Wicklow town. For an appointment, telephone 01 4780866.
