| Ursula O'Farrell | |
| Birth Name: | Ursula Cussen |
| Birth Date: | 24 May 1934 |
| Birth Place: | Newcastle West, County Limerick, Ireland |
| Residence: | Dublin, Ireland |
| Nationality: | Irish |
| Profession: | Counsellor |
Ursula O'Farrell, née Cussen (born 1934 in Newcastle West, County Limerick, Ireland), is an Irish author and lecturer on the topic of counselling, and has worked for over 35 years as a counsellor.
Born in Newcastle West, County Limerick, Ireland, in 1934, and daughter of local solicitors, Robert and Kathleen Cussen, Ursula O'Farrell was educated in Laurel Hill School in Limerick, and subsequently in University College Dublin where she achieved a B.A (1956) and a Dip in Psychology (1981).
She is one of the founding members of the Irish Association for Counselling in 1981, along with Odette Thompson (founder of the Hanly Centre for Addiction in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland in 1978), Ita McCraith, Joan McGowan and Kay Duffy. Carl Berkeley also played a pivotal role in the Association's beginnings [1]. Ursula O'Farrell was Cathaoirleach of the Irish Association for Counselling from 1991 to 1995, which became the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy
Ursula O'Farrell set up her own private practice in the early 1980s, having successfully completed a two-year Diploma in Psychology at UCD. ‘I was a fledgling counsellor … It was thrilling, I loved every busy minute of it … but it was terrifying too.’ [2] At that time in Ireland there was a stigma attached to mental illness and to the idea of being in need of counselling. Today it is generally realised that professional help can be invaluable, and much of this change of attitude, according to the former President of Ireland Mary McAleese, is due to the ″hard work and dedication of the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy″.
Ursula O'Farrell has written 4 books on counselling, and also compiled a book of some of the 'Topical Talks' written by her late husband Myles O'Farrell, which featured in the 1960s RTÉ (Ireland's National Television and Radio Broadcaster) radio series of the same name. In her best known work, 'First Steps in Counselling', which offers a comprehensive coverage of all aspects of counselling, and has been updated in later additions, to take account of the many changes in Ireland since its first publication in 1988, she states: If people are not satisfied with their lives as they are, they look for a different tomorrow. They are searching for change. In 'Considering Counselling' O'Farrell provides an introduction to the Person-Centred Approach pioneered by Carl Rogers, explaining the basic theory and practice of this approach using some fascinating case studies.
Recipient of the Carl Berkeley Memorial Award in 2011 This annual award is made to those who have made an outstanding contribution to the development of counselling and psychotherapy in Ireland.