Pieta House, the centre for the prevention of self-harm or suicide opened its doors a decade ago with Lucan the centre of operations. In the intervening years over 25,000 people in suicidal distress or engaging in self-harm have turned to Pieta House and the staff of its nine centres around the country for help and support. In 2003, founder and former CEO, Joan Freeman, a practising psychologist, closed down her own counselling business and dedicated her time to finding out how she could help people who were suicidal - what would be beneficial to them and help them get through their dark time. After three years of research, she opened up Pieta House, which quickly became a respected and recognised service for those who were suicidal. Having counselled many people in the past who were self-harming, Joan realised that this was a topic never discussed and rarely understood, and she decided to also help people with this debilitating issue. From humble beginnings, Pieta House has grown to almost 250 therapists and administration staff, and the demand for our service hasnÕt let up. To that end, in 2015 alone, in excess of 5,000 people came through our doors suffering from suicidal ideation or engaging in self-harm. As it has been from day one, everything is free of charge and our staff are fully qualified and provide a professional one-to-one therapeutic service for people who are experiencing suicidal ideation, people who have attempted suicide and people who are engaging in self-harm. A doctorÕs referral or a psychiatric report is not required.