Need to Talk
Many people find it helpful to talk through their feelings with someone outside their usual circle of family and friends. If you need to talk, we're here to listen.
Our Need to Talk team can offer free support to adults and young people (over the age of eleven) who are blind or partially sighted, and anyone who supports a person with sight loss.
Who is Need to Talk for?
If you live in Northern Ireland, the border counties of the Republic of Ireland or Western Scotland, our Need to Talk service can offer you free counselling and confidence-building sessions.
The Need to Talk team is made up of skilled counsellors and confidence-building professionals who have extensive experience in supporting people impacted by sight loss.
So if you have experienced sight loss and feel worried about the future or changes you are facing, feel sad, angry or anxious about things that affect your day-to-day life, contact the Need to Talk team today.
“I have been struggling with sight loss for 30 years, trying to live in a sighted world where no one really understood. Now, since receiving counselling, I’ve a whole new lease of life. I am now filled with hopes and dreams and my world is a much brighter place filled with endless possibilities.” – Helen
How Need to Talk works
Firstly, you'll need to tell us a bit about yourself by completing an online form. Within five days, we’ll contact you over the phone to carry out an assessment.
- Telephone counselling - available in Northern Ireland, the border regions of the Republic of Ireland and Western Scotland
- Online counselling - available via email, video conferencing or instant messaging
- Face-to-face counselling - available in the border regions of the Republic of Ireland and is delivered by Fighting Blindness
- Face-to-face confidence-building sessions - available across Northern Ireland and the border regions of the Republic of Ireland
Read the latest edition of our newsletter
Download either a Word or PDF version of our Need to Talk project newsletter. Produced every six months, it’s a handy way to stay up to date with recent project milestones and developments. It’s also a great way to hear how the Need to Talk project team are making a real difference in the lives of people affected by sight loss.
- Need to Talk project newsletter edition 1 (PDF, 1.22MB)
- Need to Talk project newsletter edition 1 (Word, 24KB)
About the project
Contact us
Out of hours
Project sponsor
The €1.8million cross-border project is funded by the European Union's INTERREG VA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).
