NHS Mental Health services

[Boc11]

Anyone else have any experiences with mental health services on the NHS? I was referred by my GP to the local mental health service and they did a lengthy assessment with me last week to find out how my depression/SA/low self esteem affect my life.

I was, however, horrified to hear that they will only take on two patients per month for CBT, if you're not the one chosen that month, you lose your chance.

I think this is absolutely disgraceful and no wonder there is such a high suicide rate when it is so hard to get treatment. If I am not chosen, I will be writing a letter to the manager of the local NHS Trust and probably Mr Blair as well although he'll probably just laugh and take money out of the mental health budget so that he can spend it on the war.

[TimB72]

I had to wait 18 months for CBT counselling, not even CBT therapy. It turned out, because I hadn't kept ringing in, my name wasn't bumped up the queue! I was livid, because they knew I didn't phone people unless there was a reason - it never even occured to me I would need to, I thought a queue was a queue, not a lottery. The problem is they have a small budget, so they only help those in most need, or who demand treatment - SA'ers can easily be forgotten as we keep quiet even when we feel ignored/rejected.

I despised the staff as well, they were always dismissive and patronising - I feel they never even tried to understand me. One of the last things a senior member of staff said, was "you are too intelligent to be ill" and that plus a few snide remarks made me put the phone down. Also, the receptionists used to take the piss while I was waiting - I heard them joke about the way I mumble the counsellors name. I just don't want to speak to any of them again.

[Hoople]

hiya
waiting times vary, depending on where you live and how much in demand services are. Its normal to have to wait around a year for CBT and other psychotherapy treatments.
I live in Sheffield where there is high demand for services. The total waiting time for 1-2-1 cbt is at least a year.
Basically there are alot of ppl out there in mental distress and not enough resources for them.

[pboy]

Ive been on a 9 month CBT waiting list and I have to say I hate the NHS with a passion. I have had TONS more help from a voluntry counselling servive that I use, and from SAUK and selfhelp materials.

I say, use the NHS for what they are worth but just dont hold any faith in them, the way I see it we have got to do the work all by ourselves.

[Chris26]

I was prescribed RISPADOL (AVOID) by a shrink that blatantly new nothing.

At the time i felt very low and was trying to get by, she gave me these drugs and said how am i feeling out of 1 - 10.

A blatant 4

Later on i went back as the drugs were terrible, i felt tired but couldnt sleep and super restless - an unbearable feeling - driving my car down the dual carriage way i just wanted to be at my destination - it was horrid.

I arranged the 2nd session only to find a trainee member in with the councillor !! Bearing in my mind this is SOCIAL anxiety!!
She then asked me (infront of this trainee) whether this gal could stay....i felt obliged to say yes... I really couldnt believe it.

She upped my dose yet again and told me to continue taking these god awful pills ...

The long and short of it - i got very bad - i was so lost and unhappy began having irrational thoughts and basically felt lower than i ever could have expected...

I decided myself to stop takin the meds and in a life changing moment 'threw the pills across the room'
Managed to claw my way out of the hell hole of my mind through belief in god and a balanced careful routine...(some good music helps too)
And finally told the councillor to kiss my ass (well i didnt but i didnt see her again - and i spoke to another councillor who wanted to form a complaint against her)...

SO generally speaking NHS hasnt been too good for me...i even prescribed Seroxat for myself from seeing it on the internet...

Ive got where iam today through family and my own will.

NHS for me are Hopeless..

[pboy]

Originally Posted by Chris26

Ive got where iam today through family and my own will.

NHS for me are Hopeless..

I suspect when more of us on here start posting our "how I overcame SA" threads, a lot of people will say the same thing. I think the NHS will always be crap for SA. To me, it only seems useful for mental illnesses like Scizophrenia or whatever that need that sort of attention. What I mean is that they need meds to control it and so on...with SA it is something that we have to change for ourselves.

[diplodocus]

Boc and others, have you considered or are you aware of the national phobics society?

I joined for a measly £19 a year and wrote asking for a list of subsidised private CBT and other therapists (NLP, Hypnotherapy). When I chose one near to me they got in contact with the therapist and I started therapy. I didn't have a job at the time so the rate was £10 a go. Now that I'm in employment its £25 which is a lot better than the unsubsidised £60 a session it would normally cost. I've been very impressed with my therapist so far. She's been very helpful and is very professional.

Incidentally, I had an NHS CBT therapist for a while a year or two before but didn't find it particularly helpful. To be fair the problem could have been my mindset not being receptive at the time.

[bunniesandbees]

I havn't really found much help from the NHS.

I first went to see my GP about 2 years ago, he refered me to the mental health nurse. I was a complete mess at the time, and had broken down really. She was just interested in my anxiety problems, and not the bad state of my depression. She refered me onto an anxiety management course, a group thing, I signed up for it, but didn't go. I wouldn't go to my local shop at the time, and to be honest didn't really care, I couldn't get my arse out of bed to wash my hair, let alone go and sit with a group of people in some other town. I didn't hear from anyone again after that, I called her up again quite along time later, but yeah she said I had lied or something so that was the end of that really.

Even though I had to see my GP every month, no one really did anything, I made them give me meds when I wanted them, and am slowly getting better on my own and with help from my mum.

Asides from my own experience with the NHS, my nan is Scizophrenic, and I can't say they are much better. All in all they seem to act when you are either at a high risk of killing yourself, or others.

They let me tell them my life story, things I don't feel comfortable talking about and even personal stuff to about three different people, all the time, me thinking i might get some CBT or something similar at the end. One didn't take me very seriously and was patronising. In the end the decission on whether i was entitled to CBT came down to a quick questonnaire I did which showed I wasn't in danger of harming myself or others and had no history of suicide attempts. So the whole thing was a waste of time.