Uk Nhs Therapy

[Ice_Fire]

Okay, at least I might be able to get it through to someone. To be honest, I doubt I'd actually go to A&E even if I was in a 'meltdown'. :cautious:

So frustrating though...although I guess it serves me right for never making enough of a 'fuss' when I did have that one-off meeting with a CPN. :banghead:

 

[amethist]

There is also the SANE website, they have a phone line that is operational from 6 pm until 11 pm.

Maybe they could help if you find a therapist.

 

[Meadowsweet]

Ice-fire, it seems best to ring them. The bit I didn't add to my post, was that I left it months before I finally found that a letter had not got to me, and I'd been forgotton about.

So yes, phone and ask if they've forgotton you.

 

[rainy_daze]

I hope it is ok to revive an old thread. I have a lot to say, and thought about posting a new thread, but it feels appropriate to post here. I also won't rant on as much as I normally do to save everyone the hassle of too many words [too late - it seems quite large. Sorry!].

I waited 3 whole years on mine (actually, I waited 2 and a half on the waiting list, and over 3 years in total).

I am not doing well. I have an erratic schedule for appointments (times and place). I was suddenly told that I am more than half way through, and I have "at least two" sessions left. I have been told I am "not ready yet", and that (wait until you read this) "maybe you will be ready in 2 years, or 5 years, or 15 years". Also that "next time you won't have to wait so long for help, and I am sorry you had to wait so long in the first place". I was speechless and in tears. I love how the Psych has a crystal ball in predicting that I won't be shoved back into a system that ignores me calling each month to ask where I am on a waiting list.

I don't want to live with this for years. I felt ready. I don't know where I went wrong with the therapy. I thought I had between 10 and 20 sessions (this is what she said at session 1; now at session 5, I am more than half way through?).

I have looked into other therapists, some who have had experience of working with PTSD, but they cost £70 an hour. As if the bank would give me a loan for therapy, do you know what I mean? Silly, silly life. I feel like going to the Trauma Centre in Edinburgh and refusing to leave until someone listens. Which is even more silly than asking the bank for a loan. I bet their waiting list is just as bad, considering they took me off it and gave me to this Psych, who clearly has no clue how I am feeling. I will be telling her what that sessions accomplished, which was: nothing.

I now have a Psychologist who is currently off work for who knows how long until my next appointment. I know I need to look after myself, and see how the last two or however many sessions go. I guess I was just looking for a place to write it down so I could get my brain to stop thinking about it.

If other posters wish to share how their NHS therapy went, or where they are at now, or what they did, this would be greatly appreciated. I feel lost, once again, completely lost. Thank you for reading UK people, I don't feel as bad knowing you're out there.

 

[Abstract]

Rainy daze, my Dr advised me not to go with NHS and rather look at charities. They unfortunately have lots of limitations as well though. It is darn hard. Can you dig your heels in and ask to see a psychiatrist?

A lot of the therapists I looked at here at one point were well over £100.

 

[Sandstone]

Oh RainyDaze, I sympathise. I've been through the mill of NHS waiting lists, been lost on the list and passed from hand to hand while my life and condition deteriorated. Do you have anyone who can fight for you?

In the end it was a combined attack by my GP and Occupational Health Consultant writing repeatedly and my husband phoning that got me move on to Tertiary MH, who provide a weekly therapist, monthly psych, fortnightly MH nurse visits and were offering a support worker to go out weekly. They don't limit the number of sessions, and the therapist says she expects to be seeing me for at least a year, (but that isn't a target).

What seems absurd is that I had to wait to fall apart before this was available. They could have intervened sooner, but that just isn't what the NHS do. I used to work in the NHS and saw the same thing in Surgery waiting lists.

I don't know what your diagnosis is, but it might help to ask your GP and your Pych whether your care is in accordance with the NICE National Clinical Practice Guideline Number 26 (National Institute for Clinical Excellence). You can read this at this website

It's particularly relevant to your current issue if you have had more than one trauma or have additional diagnoses.

On page 63-4 - I've put in bold the the key parts

Recommendations for psychological treatments for chronic PTSD
All PTSD sufferers should be offered a course of trauma-focused psychological treatment

The duration of trauma-focused psychological treatment should normally be 8 –12 sessions when the PTSD results from a single event. When the trauma is discussed in the treatment session, longer sessions than usual are generally necessary (for example 90 min). Treatment should be regular and continuous (usually at least once a week) and should be delivered by the same person.

Healthcare professionals should consider extending the duration of treatment beyond 12 sessions if several problems need to be addressed in the treatment of PTSD sufferers, particularly after multiple traumatic events, traumatic bereavement or where chronic disability resulting from the trauma, significant comorbid disorders or social problems are present.

Trauma-focused treatment needs to be integrated into an overall plan of care.

 

[Hashi]

I was put on an NHS waiting list for counselling, but there are no mental health services in my area unless there's a suicide attempt. The waiting list is only in case other services are ever reinstated. I was told it was already a three year wait (for the non-existent service) when my name went on the list. That was nearly three years ago now, and there are still no counselling services. It's an interesting take on the idea of a waiting list.

I think it must be very difficult even if you do get NHS therapy. rainy_daze, what you describe is awful but sadly I'm not surprised. I'm wondering how the fluctuating number of sessions can fit with their policies and protocols. Is there an independent organisation that could give advice on your rights/your treatment? I'm thinking of MIND in England, but I don't know if their helpline service covers Scotland.

I had to go to a charity, and the only issue for me was that it was time-limited. That ended up being a big problem, because I wasn't allowed to continue to see my therapist privately or have any contact outside the centre. She would have been willing to charge me a low fee in order to continue, but the centre would not allow it. It was still worth going thre for the time I did though. If I went back in time to that point in healing, I'd do it again.

Now I'm paying privately (someone else). It's £60 a week and I'm using up my savings. I'm trying not to think what will happen if I don't get a job soon. The one good thing I can say about paying privately is that I don't waste a minute of therapy time. I can't afford to. Occasionally, people here post about "marking time" in therapy - eg showing up each week to meet their veteran's insurance criteria but only for the sake of putting in an appearance - and it makes me want to cry with frustration at them throwing away what's so hard for a lot of us to get.

I know people have different reasons for PTSD, so this may not apply to anyone posting in or reading this thread. In case anyone's looking for support in healing from rape or sexual abuse, there's a good list of charity/other resources for England, Scotland, Wales and NI here:
http://pandys.org/forums/index.php?showforum=45

 

[rainy_daze]

Abstract, stenni and Hashi: Thank you for replying to me and sharing your experiences and advice. I am sorry I am not in the best of moods and can't really reply to all the things you have said properly (I do want to).

@Abstract: £100 = unbelievable. I used to go to a charity for counselling, and the counsellor was very good and I trusted her, but the focus wasn't on trauma. It did allow me to start remembering and I finally opened up to someone, and I will keep the charity idea in mind. If it really comes down to it, I think I could go back there. I could ask to go and see the psychiatrist again, but I really don't get along with him. I actually really detest him. I could see if there are other psychiatrists in my area, but I assume it would be the same as the one I have seen, which is basically telling me to take medication I do not want to take. I will try not to let the one bad psychiatrist put me off them all though.

@stenni: The NICE guidelines are a good idea; I will add this into my second letter for the Psych and see what response I get. This does not sounds anything like the therapy I am receiving. I am considering asking for a copy of my file; it's be interesting to see what has been written about the treatment that has been recommended for me.

@Hashi: What a shocking area you live in; it makes me feel grateful my area has some sort of resources, even if they are poor. That is true about not wasting a minute of time; I will make sure I do not do this in my last sessions. I have heard of MIND, and I think we may have that in Scotland too, I will need to search for them.

It is good to know I have options and that I am not the only one who feels the NHS weren't what they were expecting after waiting for so long. It is very sad that charities have to pick up where the NHS fails. It is also sad people spend their savings on treatment, but I guess it is worth it to feel better. I am considering ways I could get money to go privately too, although bills and food have to come first. My other option is to use every self-help resource I can find on this forum, and possibly start a trauma diary or a journal, and make sure I know how to support myself from the feelings that would arise from that. Lots to think about, as usual. Thank you all so much again for replying.