LISTEN: Northern Ireland's 'The Thrive Programme' highlighting mental health issues

by Gráinne Connolly

A consultant from the locally based "The Thrive Programme" is trying to raise awareness of mental health issues across Northern Ireland. 

The programme is a psychological training programme that teaches people how to overcome a wide range of illnesses and problems such as depression, anxiety, phobias and anorexia. 

It was first developed in England, however it's recently branched out in Northern Ireland with consultant Niall McAlinden offering services in Dungannon, Coleraine and Enniskillen.


Niall's been telling Q Radio about some of the work he does for his clients and says he teaches people how to overcome their mental health problems by identifying what issues they have, why they have them and how they can overcome them. 

In particular, the consultant is trying to target men in Northern Ireland who struggle to speak out about their problems and don't know how to accept they may have a mental illness. 

Listen to Niall's full interview below about the services he delivers with The Thrive Programme, why he got involved due to his own anxiety growing up and how local people can seek help: 

Through Niall's 'Thrive with Niall' twitter account, he's shared a comment from a young man called Mathew who say's the programme helped him in terms of confidence and overcoming self esteem issues: 

"It's really helped with my confidence...I back myself a lot more" says Matthew, who's looking forward to a #Thriving Christmas after overcoming his low self-esteem and confidence issues. Suffering in silence? You don't have to: https://t.co/sM7cDMQMER pic.twitter.com/EZLGwbocjl

— Thrive Republic (@Thrive_Republic) December 13, 2017

Niall has also received extremely positive feedback from clients he has helped identify their problems and ultimately overcome them. 

One in particular is a girl called Sinead Daly who said she was "extremely nervous" before speaking with Niall but found him very comfortable to talk to and said she felt like she could change her negative train of thoughts from that day: 

For those interested in seeking help through the programme Niall is in Dungannon, Enniskillen and Coleraine every week. 

Below is both his twitter and facebook accounts where you can find out more about the programme and how to get in contact: 

https://twitter.com/thrivewithniall

https://www.facebook.com/thrivewithniall/