There has been a small increase in the number of appointments scheduled with HSE's mental health services this year.
New figures released to Newstalk Breakfast show there were over 2,000 extra appointments scheduled compared to this time last year.
There were 105,403 appointments - including face-to-face, online and phone - between January and the end of June 2020.
It compares with 103,276 for the same period in 2019.
Stella O’Malley, psychotherapist and author of Fragile, said 2020 has been a 'weird year'.
She observed: "I think there might have been a bigger jump if people had access to face-to-face mental health services.
"When people are offered Zoom [appointments]... a lot of older people especially... were less likely to take up on it.
"While there might have been a rise in younger people, there might have been a drop in older people."
File photo. Picture by: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire/PA ImagesShe said the marginal increase reflects the "weirdness of the year", in which a lot of people have really felt the impact of the COVID-19 situation.
She said: "I'd say people will turn to counselling this year maybe that never had to before... and maybe people are relapsing who perfectly fine.
"You might have had [anxiety] in check, and then when the COVID picked up there was so much anxiety and fear everywhere."
Ms O'Malley said she would expect more people to seek services if face-to-face meetings were available.
She said: "Zoom is really important, and it's great that we can offer it.
"For some people, it definitely isn't as good and they're waiting."
