Womens Breakthrough Programme – Evaluation Report

The Evidence is In. This Model Works.

Women in Ireland face a disproportionate mental health burden, with young women twice as likely as men to experience psychological distress. Despite this, structural barriers – including caregiving duties and lack of flexible, local services – often keep help out of reach. 

In response, and with support from Cairn and the Irish Youth Foundation the Beacon of Light Counselling Centre developed a novel, gender-sensitive intervention: The Breakthrough Programme for Women.

This first-of-its-kind 10-week programme for women integrates traditional one-to-one psychotherapy with group boxing sessions. We commissioned Maynooth University to independently evaluate the pilot, and the results are definitive.

“The evidence now exists: this model works. What we need now are the committed funding partners to help us grow our capacity and reach the women currently on our waiting lists.”
— Geoffrey McCarthy, CEO, Beacon of Light Counselling Centre 

Download the Full Report

Gain full access to the data, methodology, and participant stories that prove why this model is the future of community-based women’s mental health. You can download the full report here. 

Partner With Us to Scale

Our pilot programme is currently oversubscribed, and the Maynooth University report explicitly recommends immediate expansion and sustained funding. 

We have the evidence and a scalable model. We are now looking for corporate partners, philanthropic organizations, and policymakers to join us in making this programme a permanent pillar of support for women in West Dublin and beyond.

Ready to make a measurable impact? We’d love to hear from you.

Key Findings from Maynooth University

  • Clinically Meaningful Results: Participants demonstrated strong, clinically meaningful improvements in mental health outcomes in just 10 weeks.

  •  Unique Engagement: The combination of physical activity and talk therapy acted as a primary driver for engagement and social connectedness.

  • Psychosocial Benefits: Beyond symptom reduction, participants reported improved self-esteem, better emotional regulation, and higher body satisfaction.

  • Barriers Removed: By offering the service free of charge in a local community setting with flexible scheduling, the programme successfully reached women previously excluded from care.

Download the full report here