Poll How Would You Rate The Mental Health Services In Your Area?

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I have experienced the mental health system in 3 different areas of the U.S.

It was pretty clear from the first two places that mental health in this country is poor. However, where I am at now makes those areas look like an oasis for people who are suffering.

Honestly, I have never been so appalled by how hard it is to get services at all. When I first started seeking help it was a 3 month wait for emergency services. Now it is nearly 5 months. I have heard that it is impossible to get a bed in a hospital here because they are always full.

The wort though is that all crisis line including the national suicide hot line goes through the local university psychology department. I believe they are dangerous. They just published a paper that states pollution as the number one cause of suicide.

In the previous places I have lived, the quality of the services was hit and miss based on the professional providing the service , but you could get in anywhere in a timely manner giving you more options.

 

[darrenS]

i have experienced the mental health system in 4 states , along with another country. In all honesty i think the services here range from good to excellent. Sure ive had some questionable therapists and have had the run around in ER , but in all honesty i think its a matter of how you access the services and what your expectations are. I have also had no problem getting an inpatient stay when its been critical. Mental health services are and always have been strained , regardless of the country, it is the nature of the beast.

I have never felt the need to admit myself for inpatient services otherwise , other than the 2 times i needed admission urgently, so i cannot speak from that point, but overall i have been very happy with what i have received overall. I have accessed services in LA (9YRS) Boston 4yrs NM 1yr and MD 2 yrs

 

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but in all honesty i think its a matter of how you access the services and what your expectations are.

I would have agreed before I moved here. Granted, I probably had the same expectations that it would be similar to the other two states, which I would have rated:Good but needs improvement.

However accessing services here is impossible. I have probably logged of 80 hours in phone calls chasing down leads and following referrals.I have goggled searched, revived referrals from medicare, the police, medical dr.s, crisis lines ect. all referrals just lead to another referral.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

I'm in the same state as @darrenS and I agree that services down near the city are excellent (not just for mental health, but all areas of health as there are top national hospitals and such here). But, I live out in the rural area of the state, so services are a bit harder to come by. There are services if you need general care, but not so much for trauma. Its the main reason I am not currently therapist hunting as I don't want to drive an hour+ to go to therapy. However, overall, not bad.... Just not many specialists out this way.

 

[Sandstone]

I'm in the UK. I've posted before about the appalling mess in my area. My (charity funded) support worker said yesterday that of the all the people she works with, I am the only one currently getting any therapy. I've not heard from my care co-odinator since November, except to tell me they are going to withdraw their contribution to the support worker funding.

Admitted care is next to invisible. When I was sectioned I spent three days in a general medical emergency ward, being told that I would be going to a bed in four different places, all over 100 miles away. In the next bed to me was a teenage girl, also sectioned. I heard them tell her mother that she had to decide whether to take her home or send her to an adult unit as there were no adolescent beds in the whole country

 

[digger]

Also in the UK. Services here seem to be pretty hit and miss depending on where you live. Where I live, NHS services are shite. I ended up in a much worse state through their inadequacies and f*ck ups. I live in a rural area, so access to private services are also limited. I am very lucky that the T I did manage to find is practically on my doorstep. There really isn't much other choice for me otherwise.

I never know whether to laugh or cry when I see comments from members in other countries telling people that they have to/need to/should see a specialist in x,y or z!! The options just don't exist here for a lot of us unless you're able to travel for several hours per appointment and spend an absolute fortune (insurance is pretty much not a thing here)

 

[Neverthesame]

They just published a paper that states pollution as the number one cause of suicide.

What? Seriously? I don't know whether to laugh or bang my head against the table. I have got to know, how did they come up with that conclusion?

 

[jaccat]

Ditto with the UK. It very much depends on where you live. I managed to get all of 6 therapy sessions from the NHS, and was told it was talking therapy but when I actually got there it was CBT. I was misdiagnosed with GAD even though the therapist told me I didn't display the usual symptoms of anxiety (duh). I've also dealt with the mental health services with my father's dementia. That was laughable. After diagnosis they lost all interest and provided almost no support. What they promised never materialised, the contacts they gave me vanished off the earth, but they were all to ready to blame me when things went wrong. Grr. Sensitive subject.

 

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Yes, this is one spin on the original study. I have having difficulty finding the first one I found. http://www.medicaldaily.com/air-pol...short-term-exposure-might-change-brain-322288 I still want to rip it to shreds though. Especially the last paragraph.

The last paragraph is due to the fact that no one can get help here and if they call the crisis line it gets fed too the people who did this study and will make you apologize over and over for calling and wasting their time because you called due to feeling suicidal.