COUNSELLING TO BEREAVED NOT OF ANY VALUE
Counselling to bereaved 'not of any value'
BY LESLEY-ANNE HENRY
lhenry@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
FAMILIES bereaved by the Omagh bomb received inadequate and inappropriate treatment, a top UK psychiatrist told the Belfast High Court.
Giving evidence during week six of the Omagh civil action, Dr Nicholas Cooling, a psychiatrist with 25 years experience dealing with catastrophic events such as the Hillsborough disaster, the Harrods bombing and most recently a fire which killed 15 young backpackers in an Australian hostel, suggested that some of the plaintiffs may have been able to move on if the right treatment had been available.
Dr Cooling told the court that "most" of the relatives suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, as well as chronic depression and the counselling offered in the aftermath of the bomb was "not of any value at all".
Dr Cooling carried out three assessments on the plaintiffs in 2002, 2004 and in January of this year.
He told the court that psychotherapy sessions with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or Eye Movement Desentisation and Reprocessing, considered 'gold star' treatments, would have been better than the counselling offered.
"Unfortunately the help available was not effective. None of these people had any effective psychotherapy intervention," he told the court.
The families are suing five men they believe were responsible for the 1998 atrocity which killed 29 people and unborn twins. Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Colm Murphy, Seamus Daly and Seamus McKenna all deny any part in the bombing.
A number of the plaintiffs, including Michael Gallagher, whose 21-year-old son Aiden died, have been given a bleak prognosis, and none are likely to make a full recovery.
The consultant psychiatrist said Michael Gallagher suffered "complex mental health" problems as a result of the bomb and became so "pre-occupied with the pursuit of justice it became his life".
BY LESLEY-ANNE HENRY
lhenry@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
FAMILIES bereaved by the Omagh bomb received inadequate and inappropriate treatment, a top UK psychiatrist told the Belfast High Court.
Giving evidence during week six of the Omagh civil action, Dr Nicholas Cooling, a psychiatrist with 25 years experience dealing with catastrophic events such as the Hillsborough disaster, the Harrods bombing and most recently a fire which killed 15 young backpackers in an Australian hostel, suggested that some of the plaintiffs may have been able to move on if the right treatment had been available.
Dr Cooling told the court that "most" of the relatives suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, as well as chronic depression and the counselling offered in the aftermath of the bomb was "not of any value at all".
Dr Cooling carried out three assessments on the plaintiffs in 2002, 2004 and in January of this year.
He told the court that psychotherapy sessions with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or Eye Movement Desentisation and Reprocessing, considered 'gold star' treatments, would have been better than the counselling offered.
"Unfortunately the help available was not effective. None of these people had any effective psychotherapy intervention," he told the court.
The families are suing five men they believe were responsible for the 1998 atrocity which killed 29 people and unborn twins. Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Colm Murphy, Seamus Daly and Seamus McKenna all deny any part in the bombing.
A number of the plaintiffs, including Michael Gallagher, whose 21-year-old son Aiden died, have been given a bleak prognosis, and none are likely to make a full recovery.
The consultant psychiatrist said Michael Gallagher suffered "complex mental health" problems as a result of the bomb and became so "pre-occupied with the pursuit of justice it became his life".
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/1095
Published Date: 06-Jun-08
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