The foot and mouth crisis was a devastating experience not only for rural communities as a whole but also for a large number of individuals in the farming communities.

The Primary Care Counselling Service is a joint initiative by the North West Wales NHS Trust and Gwynedd and Anglesey Local Health Groups and is being provided in all 38 GP practices in Gwynedd and Anglesey and the aim is to provide counselling services as locally as possible and in the familiar environment of the GP surgery.

The Service was initially launched in January 2002 to provide counselling in GP practices and to help people in areas affected by the foot and mouth crisis. This could include farmers, vets, agricultural officials, slaughter men and others involved in the disposal of animals and people running businesses related to agriculture and tourism.

The Counselling Service, provided by qualified counsellors, is free and confidential.

The Counselling Service offers help to people who have been affected by the foot and mouth crisis. People may be experiencing anxiety, depression, irritability, distressing memories of events they experienced during the foot and mouth crisis, sleep difficulties and other problems. These are all normal reactions to abnormal events, and can be helped significantly through counselling. Seeking early help can also prevent these problems becoming longer-term and more difficult to resolve.

For those who feel that they may need help in this respect, the first step is to make an appointment with the GP who can then make a referral to the Practice Counsellor.

Counselling: the facts

What is a counsellor? - A counsellor is someone who is trained to help people with difficulties such as stress, anxiety, depression or sleep problems, and who works to professional codes of practice and ethics.

How can they help? - The qualified counsellor based in your local surgery may be able to help people affected by the foot and mouth epidemic.

What is counselling? - If you are feeling anxious, low, feeling that you're not coping with life as you normally do counselling is a way of helping you understand these thoughts and feelings and helping you make sense of what is happening to you, as well as supporting you through a difficult time in your life. Counselling cannot solve all problems, and sometimes may not be the most suitable form of help.

In confidence - What you tell the counsellor will normally be held in strict confidence between you.

What's the next step? - If you decide that you would like to see a counsellor you will need to let your GP know. Only a GP can refer people to the counsellor. You will then be offered an appointment by the counsellor.