Meet Our Training & Policy Officer

Mary began her journey into social care, working as a Family Support Worker with Barnardos in Limerick City and obtaining her BA in Applied Social Studies.  Subsequently, Mary became a Project Worker and continued her studies, receiving a Master of Arts through Research.  During her time in Barnardos, Mary gained exceptional experience working with children and their families, developing and delivering group work programs, supporting people in the community with mental health difficulties, and becoming a trainer in Children First, Child Protection Training. 

 

In 2017 Mary joined the Northside Family Resource Centre in Limerick as a Community and Family Services coordinator.  This role involved supporting and accessing appropriate services for community members, including those with mental health issues and suicidal ideation.  Mary is an avid believer in professional and personal development and received many training certificates while working in the Northside Family Resource Centre.  These include the FRC Suicide Prevention Code of Practice and Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) Facilitation Training.  Of all the programmes and courses Mary has delivered and facilitated over the last 20 years, WRAP is her favourite programme and has had the most positive impact on her health and wellbeing. 

 

Since August 2021, Mary has become a valued member of the National FRC Mental Health Promotion Project team.  Having familiarised herself with all the various training programs that the project offers, Mary's goal for the coming year is to provide:  

 

• FRC Suicide Prevention Code of Practice to all Regions over the next 12 months

• WRAP Seminar 1 to All Regions over the next 12 months.

• Wrap Seminar 2 to those who work in FRCs who wish to take the next step in their WRAP journey and facilitate WRAP in the community in 2023.

 

So far, Mary has been developing relationships with co-facilitators from the HSE and Mental Health Ireland and has delivered the Suicide Prevention Code of Practice training to FRCs around the country.  She has also asked you about your training needs and scheduled many more training events to support your health, wellbeing, and professional development over the coming months.

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A word from Mary:

"I have been getting to know many of the fantastic FRC Staff through telephone calls, zoom meetings, and visits to your FRCs and hearing about your many achievements in the community and the challenges you face daily.  Very committed frontline workers talk of exhaustion, being overwhelmed, not sleeping, and having an unequal work-life balance.  We know this is an ongoing issue for workers in the caring profession and is some of the signs of secondary trauma.  To help alleviate some of the stress of the job, I am currently in the preliminary stages of researching and developing a training programme based on combating Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Trauma, specifically for the management, staff, and volunteers of the Family Resource Centre Programme.  In the meantime, I will continue to deliver Code of Practice, WRAP, and Self-Care Sessions to help you on your journey to better health and wellbeing".

 

If you want to find out more or schedule training in your FRC, Area or Region, please don't hesitate to contact me on 0868379763 or email me at marymulcahy@familyresource.ie.