2 1/2 year wait for psychotherapy.

[sobs1962]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum and would like to know what other people's experience of being on a waiting list to receive psychotherapy in the UK. I was diagnosed with chronic clinical depression back in 1990 and we are now 30 years down the line and I've been on waiting lists before for counselling and CBT, but I've never waited more than a year at any time during those 30 years. My official up to date diagnosis is severe recurrent depressive disorder(treatment resistant) and generalised anxiety disorder with suspected Borderline Personality Disorder ( no definite diagnosis). I just want know if anyone else has waited over 2 1/2 years,or am I unique, because I'm really starting to take it personally as I do most things.

[Shanpa69]

Hi

The situation around psychotherapy is difficult especially when you want to receive it through the NHS l have a long history of mental health difficulties l have been waiting since 2016 for psychotherapy l kept getting pasted from one service to another. Last year l attended another assessment for psychotherapy and have now been placed on another waiting list for psychotherapy for complex trauma they told me there is a long waiting list for this service. I know it might be even longer now with the current situation with the coronavirus.

I hope you manage to get your treatment soon l understand as it’s hard to cope when your waiting for talking therapy

[Hidden]

Yes and yes! I have the same diagnosis in depression and anxiety with some other treats thrown in to stick my front bike wheel dead in my tracks.

My last available appointment is luckily a week today so I have been 3 years previously despite multiple referral letters from my GP. He retired so I have a new Dr in my area now, had a false start with one practice managed 4? weeks until they struck me off their books because I was (insert bull-s here) but the real reason... I am expensive to their budget and they just got a new build move.

Hospitalisation got me the last referral and that was 3 months ago, would I have not gotten it so quickly that hey, I am thankful I do. But this is not acceptable too much is going from the adult mental services and more to young person's, in the hope to fix it quicker and cheaper than us treatment resistant peeps are.

I hope you see or at least hear sooner rather than later.

[Thetealharp in reply to Hidden]

CAMHS still sucks tbh. And until you have multiple admissions to general or psych hospital they won't help, tbh they couldn't help me anyway because they don't have the specialists, goodness knows if they external specialists (funded through social) will actually help. A lot of people get discharged from psych with just the crisis team and end up right back in. They also love to just give up especially if your tricky. I can believe that adults is worse just because they are allowed to drug you more (I avoid that because I'm extremely medicine sensitive and just have reactions).

[Hidden in reply to Thetealharp]

Yep. That's for sure. I am complicated and expensive. I have had 2 admissions to ICU for major OD in '08 and '15 and Again this year but for my back after being wrongly manhandled by the locals finest, never had psych hospital admissions as I am scared of that so I 'put on the mask' and usualy avoid, but is this hurting me rather than helping me? Maybe I should be admitted? The crisis team lol, what a joke, they know of me but don't know me.

Dom

[Thetealharp in reply to Hidden]

Crisis team are a joke, my local one there is one person there who I love, he is amazing but more because he is funny and took me to see animals than anything else. I put in the mask to, just last time I was stupid enough to think they would let me die... I was wrong. Are you talking about police as locals finest? Just because I have always had a positive experience with police and ambulance yes they have restrained me but they didn't hurt me and they were trying to be nice even if they did stuff by the book which I appreciate.

For some people admission can be helpful. Unfortunately being autistic and other disabilities meant for me it was extremely unhelpful but good things did come out of it because I have 10x more support now (not for psych) but all my other stuff. Forced social to get involved and yeah. Meant I got more funding because I cost them a lot. Therefore they want to keep you out. I know for many people on ward they got the help they needed.

[Hidden in reply to Thetealharp]

Castle districts finest and yes the police! Apparently they were not told I had mobility problems so when I told the 6 or so officers that it was the case they slammed the kuick cuffs on (still have markings on my left wrist from them being too tight, cuffing me at the rear where my back pain is, dragging me down the stairs (every step hit on the way down) and ended up in A&E while I was waiting for the ambulance. I was lying on my back on my wrists, my middle finger tendon is also tight and hurts as a result of the trauma. Ended up on a spinal board. MRI and a CT, and many ultrasound later I am fit enough for questioning... Long story short the ex fained common assault against my eldest who is 15 and hates me. She is mini-mummy as She feels the same.

I did research and I understand the benefits of being sectioned but still scary stuff. I get the autism, I am sure I am on the spectrum somewhere but so far I have not been tested or taken seriously. As for the need for so many to get me downstairs I tip at about 23-24st depending on the time of the week. Superman I am. Superman I am not.

[Thetealharp in reply to Hidden]

I had more issues with someone in ward restraining me wrong (like literally not allowed in there rules) and hurt my shoulder, wrists, back and still have scars from the carpet burn. Also in probably don't seem that threatening they might have treated me differently, they also knew I was autistic and I happened to both be suicide attempts so maybe that's why.

I was on a section 2+3. You get legal help, I would recommend getting a barrister strait away but don't try to get out, the barrister can a

so help you get more help in getting out.

I have autism but it's like high IQ with high support nees, with sometimes verbal and extreme sensory issue (I have SPD and synaesthesia) and other Nero diverse stuff. Being autistic is a gift and a curse, I wouldn't be me without it.

Also if you cost them lots they want to help you in the community under transforming care budget because they literally work out the coating.

I don't quite understand the last sentence sorry.

[Hidden in reply to Thetealharp]

The last sentence was an expression of my emotions... some times I feel invincible other times I feel self-destruttable.

Autism is a beautiful curse, the atypical way we can see things Vs the brain overload that comes with the IQ and higher functions, over thinking constant relaying of scenarios. I like the completionist side of my personality. But I don't know what I have or what's been missed due to the mask wearing me that sees panic where there should be safety.

Legally yes you get slot more help, from a 2-3 that's tough. I have considered 1 before but it does not carry the benefits (not literally) of the 2&3 help that is legally required for the length time needed. I am proberbly going to end up on a 2 eventually because I am now alone but I have friends. So there is comfort in that as I had pushed them all away by choice and in some cases by external influence from my ex who decided me having female friends threatened her.

[Thetealharp in reply to Hidden]

I know it's not Autism that causing all of the mental stuff because you can be mentally healthy and Autstic. You expect more anxiety but the other stuff not so much.

Because In Autstic I managed to avoid going to a PICU or getting tubed because they were scared to transfer me. Also after 2/3 there are things they legally have to put in place (but you will have to fight for them), which is why I said legal advice (find a good one and keep the number rather than there ones) because when your sectioned you get legal aid.

Being sectioned sucks but you also get more rights than being informal where they will just threatened you with section constantly.

[Hidden in reply to Thetealharp]

Yep. I am a bag-o-mess when it comes to diagnosis, the need to see the same person in a set routine where any variation will cause me to fail to attend.

I could get legal aid now but I find it hard to justify when I can (when lucid) do a lot of that for myself but the local borough council won't accept my need case as medical I am guessing this is a perk of being sectioned even if the expected benefit health wise is low as I am treatment resistant and can be a right royal asshat!

On one administration to ICU the nursing staff were sure I was Aspergers but no one agrees on anything really. One psych said I did not have Anxiety and Depression disorders simply just BPD aka borderline personality disorder

[Thetealharp in reply to Hidden]

I have lots of stuff going on to. Physical and mentally.

Get the legal aid, I understand a lot of the legal stuff but they are so much better at knowing the system, what you need to say when and all that kinda stuff. I would strongly recommended getting one.

Yeah so in old Autism diagnosis in in the cross over between core autism and asperges.

I get the feeling of being pushed from service to service.

[Hidden in reply to Thetealharp]

Alot of Asperger's Syndrome fits me, but so does Generalised Anxiety Disorder, Recurrent Depression (treatment resistant) and even BPD aka Borderline Personality Disorder. Oh then I forget the OCD checking more than cleaning and always knowing in advance if any changes to my routine are going to happen so I can prepare. I prefer seeing the same GP/DR/Psych/Pain Specialist as it's just so much easier for me and I fine if I can build a rapport with someone things go better than usual.

[Thetealharp in reply to Hidden]

Yeah. That's for a diagnostic person to work out what fits best. Especially because most people can fit many different mental illness criteria but that doesn't mean you have them. It gets even more confusing with ASC and personality disorders.

[Hidden in reply to Thetealharp]

Yep that's why it's a spectrum of disorders and they share alot of different but similar symptoms. I am going to be open and honest no matter how hard it is for me not to put the old 'mask' on and hide things that I would usually do so due to embarrassment or scared of actually finding out what's wrong and having that to deal with, but that's more important than ignoring it.

[Hibiscus59]

I’ve been waiting for four years for therapy!!! In the U.K.

[Cowgirlcat84]

It is not about you. It is about a dysfunctional system. I hope this resolves for you soon.