New Counselling Practice established in Ballinasloe - Sky Blue Counselling Service - Marie Lyons

Marie Lyons - Sky Blue Counselling, Ballinasloe

​Originally hailing from New Ross, Co. Wexford, Marie Lyons has recently set up her own counselling practice in the town. Marie is the daughter of the late James Cullen, former business owner and the late Maureen (nee Lyons), who hailed from Portumna, Co. Galway, and is sister to Brendan, who currently resides as an accountant in Attyrory, Creagh, and the late Seán.

Although at first pursuing a nursing career following her training in Jervis Street Hospital, Dublin, Marie came to Ballinasloe in 1988, has one daughter Tracy, and began working in Square D Company, where she remained until its closure in January 2003. From there, she held periods of work in Whyte’s Nursing Home, Garbally View and finally St. Brigid’s Hospital. After her brother Seán took his own life, Marie took some time out of work to deal with the tragedy, which had a devastating impact on her life. She obtained a diploma in Drugs Counselling & Intervention Skills, and went on to work in residential addiction treatment Centres and community based organisations throughout Ireland, before returning to education in 2017, where she was awarded an Honours Degree in Counselling & Addiction Studies from the Irish College of Humanities & Applied Sciences.

Having struggled with mental health issues herself, Marie believes she is a much stronger person who has a deeper understanding of all issues relating to mental health. “In my opinion there are never too many therapists in one town. Since the closure of St. Brigid’s Hospital, there are a lot of people suffering with mental health issues and I firmly believe the town has an opening for another counselling service. We’re only two hours from Dublin, with a variety of bus and train facilities servicing either side of the country throughout the day. The BEC offers affordable rates whilst also offering great support and encouragement to all new business ventures. The location is easily accessible, as it’s only a short distance from town centre and the M6 motorway. It provides free onsite parking. My office is located at the back of the BEC which is very private for my clients” states Marie.

Marie, like many other new business owners, is a member of the Pulse Club. “It is a great asset to the town for excellent networking and mentoring service and workshops on how to start your own business, managing finance etc. There have been many guest speakers which were all very informative, including presentations by entrepreneurs above the Library on the first Tuesday of every month. Personally, I felt very welcome when I first joined the group, and have been supported by fellow members. It is a very positive group which gave me the initiative to start up my own business” added Marie.

Marie Lyons’ Personal Counselling and Addiction Therapy offers the following therapy services:

• Addiction (Alcohol, Drugs, Gambling)
• Bereavement/Loss
• Relationship difficulties
• Anxiety, Stress, Depression
• Self-Esteem
•  Anger
•  Emotional/Physical Abuse.

The business is open from 9:30am to 7:30pm Monday to Friday, and Marie can be contacted at 087 782 6020. ​