Mother of Elisha Gault criticises mental health services for teens

The mother of Elisha Gault has spoken about the struggle the family faced to get the teenager the help she needed in the year before her death.

Elisha, 14, went missing from her home in Carrick On Suir in Tipperary on St Patrick's Day last. She was last seen alive on Dillon Bridge in the town that night. Her body was discovered in the River Suir after an eight-day search of the local area. Elisha had tried to take her own life last summer after an incidence of cyberbullying, her mother Gráinne Gault wrote on Facebook. Ms Gault said Elisha was "dismissed" from Clonmel Community Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Services after one appointment. After the assessment, the family "were then sent home to try and cope without direction other than to remove medication from the home and told a follow-up appointment would be made. "We were left to our own devices and no matter how much love and care we had for our daughter and how much we tried to support her, we are now experiencing the biggest dread of all. "I am a mother who has lived in fear of the unknown for so long. I have had to watch pain and suffering and even when we presented with a teen who had made a serious suicide attempt were told she didn’t fit the profile." Gráinne said that she'll be "taking to the streets" for Pieta House's Darkness Into Light walk next month in her daughter's memory. "Bullying isn't just about strangers attacking you, it can be those closest to you and we need to learn a better way and focus on solutions rather than focusing on the problem," she wrote. Darkness Into Light takes place on Saturday 12 May. To find out more, visit the official website. Find details on your local Pieta House here. You can talk to the Samaritans by free-phoning 116123 or texting 087-2609090.