Our primary service offering is our weekly professionally facilitated group sessions.  These sessions last about two hours and are made of up a mix of adults from all backgrounds.  Our services are available to any adults who:

• Are committed to moving away from persistent self-destructive behaviours and
• Undertake a slow journey of inward understanding and appreciation

Our groups are facilitated by ex clients who continue in various ways on their journeys of growth and development. They have a range of experiences, educational qualifications and accreditations.  They are all committed to stringent ongoing self-development, clinical supervision and adherence to a range of ethics, policies and controls in line with best practice for group facilitation.

We also offer a one to one counselling service as a small number of clients prefer this recovery approach delivered through accredited professional counsellors. 

Our belief is that addiction is an ongoing destructive compulsive pursuit or relationship with a mood altering substance or behaviour. Through group counselling, SharingPoint supports adults, directly or indirectly affected by addiction to move from a negative to a positive and compassionate view and better understanding of themselves. 

This is done by supporting them through a journey of discovery which centres on building awareness and understanding around the different aspects of themselves i.e. physical, mental, emotional and spiritual leading towards valuing, caring and appreciating self and others.  Recovery to those attending SharingPoint means having the courage to be themselves and to experience life to the full in the present moment.

Although they offer their services on a voluntary basis, each facilitator is bound by a set of stringent requirements which are continuously monitored.  These include:

• Attendance at monthly supervision sessions with a Clinical Supervisor accredited by the Addiction Counsellors of Ireland
• Attendance at fortnightly professional development sessions
• Attendance at ongoing training and development seminars
• Abiding by all SharingPoint’s policies including code of conduct and code of ethics adapted from those developed by the Addiction Counsellors of Ireland

All facilitators are fully covered by Professional Indemnity and Public Liability insurance.

Contact our assessment coordinator, Robert Mooney at 085 872 8033.

It is critical that the person seeking help makes the initial approach. SharingPoint does not take second hand referrals and there is no need to be referred by a doctor or outside agency.

After initial contact, a confidential meeting with a SharingPoint counsellor will be arranged so that a prospective client can be assessed. The assessment stage involves a series of one-to-one, hourly meetings over a number of weeks with a member of the Sharing Point team.  These meetings offer prospective clients the space and opportunity to get a clear understanding of the approach, support and services offered by SharingPoint and, equally, the opportunity to outline their own needs.

If, after the assessment stage, clients are invited and agree to join one of SharingPoint’s weekly Recovery Groups, they must first undertake the following firm commitments:

• To honestly identify persistent self-destructive behaviours and have an earnest commitment to moving away from them.
• To undertake a journey of self-understanding, acceptance and appreciation.
• To build positive relationships with other group members we encourage contact and engagement outside of weekly meetings. We do however strongly advise clients not to engage in a personal (intimate) relationship with anyone within SharingPoint.
• To make every effort to make group meetings as safe as possible for everyone concerned.
• To undertake not to disclose any information shared or discussed within a group outside of the group. (if any information is deliberately and intentionally shared outside of group by a client then we will discontinue our services to them immediately).
• To attend group meetings every week. Punctual weekly attendance is mandatory

We charge a nominal fee for attendance at a group meeting or one to one sessions / assessments. We are proud to say that SharingPoint is founded on the principle of never turning away a client, who is committed to their growth and development , because of an inability to pay.

The client contributions go directly to SharingPoint to contribute toward the annual operating costs. The costs of operating the groups far exceeds clients’ contributions when costs such as rent, insurance, specialist support for clients, accountancy fees, supervision fees, Facilitator training and development etc.

No.

No.

Our group sizes vary but our aim would be to maintain our client numbers to a max of 10 per group.

No.  All our groups are a mix of recovering from addiction and people who are not addicted themselves but have been directly impacted by the addiction of a significant person in their lives e.g. partner, parent, child etc.  There is no time limit for those indirectly affected by addiction i.e. they may be currently affected by the addiction of another or equally this affection may have been up to 50 years ago.

Yes.  We typically have an even mix between male and female clients.

Our priority is always to existing clients in group i.e. if in the exceptional circumstance that a newcomer is known to an existing client then it will be reviewed between the Facilitator and the client and if deemed appropriate the new client may be transferred to an alternative group.

Yes.  However our policy is that couples join separate groups.

We have had clients joining group with clean times ranging from 1 day to 15 years. Each person is assessed on an individual basis.

Yes. Our clients must be at least 18 years old.

It can vary depending on each client’s particular needs but typically averages at around 3 years.