to think that the NHS Mental Health Services are USELESS?

[TeenTwinsToddlerandTiaras]

I have been involved with them now for 6 years due to suffering from OCD, extreme anxiety and depression. I swear that I got worse since being involved with them in addition to the stigma and feeling of worthlessness that being diagnosed with a mental health 'illness' brings.

I went for my 2nd follow up appointment in 6 months with an NHS psychiatrist yesterday and I told him that I did not want any more involvement with them as I could manage without their 'help' and I was told that they would not discharge me from their services as they were not convinced I was better . They have had no involvement with me for 6 months since they threatened me with SS and I have never even seen that psychiatrist before! He insisted that I take a CRISIS card with the emergency helpline no. on even though I said I did not need it and never have.

I have been told that as I refused pills (tried them and they made me feel worse) I obviously did not want to get better and must be attention seeking , threatened with social services as being a risk to my children even though the nature of my 'illness' means that I am probably the least likely type of person to harm anyone which has been very well documented (I did get an apology but that still put me in a headspin), told that I would have to live with this for the rest of my life and must learn to 'manage' with it (that took me to the brink I must say).

I was absolutely no closer to getting better until I had the good luck to find myself a good counsellor a few months back, after trying a few duds, who taught me to empathise with myself rather than continuously beat myself up all the time for my failure to get better so exacerbating it. In fact she told me that rather than being mentally 'ill' I was reacting to my experiences and the mess that I had become was totally understandable and even normal as I have been in pain and I had to heal that before anything else would help.

Childhood trauma and abuse, the death of a child and the serious illness of another, the loss of a home and financial security were the cause of my 'illness' and it has been a complete nightmare but I am glad to say the tide is now slowly turning and my terrified brain is starting to calm down but I really feel the NHS offered me nothing but tried to force pills down my throat and a short course of ineffectual CBT which did not even scratch the surface. Has anyone else found this to be the case?

In my experience, no YANBU.

I've been in the system 14 years after an attack caused PTSD. I've had several CPNs and GPs and had varied, but mostly disappointing experiences with them.

There was the CPN who suggested I'd feel better if I went home and drank a bottle of wine (despite knowing I'm on 3 different types of painkillers and 2 types of ADs, as well as other meds that all say NO ALCOHOL). She was also well aware that I have a history of self-harm, most times I'd do it after a few drinks. Then there was the CPN who suggested I take up running as it worked for other patients (I can only assume those patients took a long run off a short pier). I'm permanently on crutches btw. Then there was the GP who told me to pull myself together a month after my dad's suicide and whose wife took her own life not long after that consult - I have often wondered if his attitude contributed to her feeling so bad she had no choice but to do that.

The latest OT keeps banging on about group therapy but I don't feel talking about my most personal feelings in front of a load of people I don't know would help. She started off our first meeting by saying that anything I said would be reported on and if she felt I said anything suspect she'd have me sent in! Way to gain a patient's trust.

Until my late 30s I thought I'd dodged the bullet with regards to the MH problems that run in my family. I'm still traumatised by the experiences I had visiting a relative in a mental hospital when I was a kid. I NEVER want to go in to one of those again. I couldn't visit my brother after his suicide attempt. I've also always thought it strange that the relatives I have that have made attempts or suffered MH problems have been in hospitals but are still here, yet my dad had never seemed depressed before he killed himself. Apparently his uncle did exactly the same thing but it was way before my time.

The last few years have been the worst as far as seeing the CMHT, though. They really could not give a shit around here. They do their job 9-5, M-F and you're stuffed if you need help outside those hours. Even during work hours, the people I've had contact with make it patently obvious I'm nowt but a nuisance. I turn up for my appointments on time (and believe me, with the anxiety-fuelled IBS and fibromyalgia that I suffer with, that's quite an achievement), but am kept waiting at least 20 minutes while they sit around drinking tea and chatting in their staff room. The letter I had after I cancelled 2 appointments due to a chest infection was unbelieveable. I'm a time-waster because I was ill it seems. Though they've had no problem cancelling my appointments at short notice - twice after I'd turned up for them!

I've finally found that I'm better off going to my local MIND for talking therapy. I have a counsellor there that is sympathetic and non-judgemental, but is great in a crisis at talking me down. I even get a cup of tea! The only thing I'd ask of anyone going to MIND is to remember that they're a charity and donations are needed to keep them supporting their clients. If you go, find them good and can afford it, please give them something to help keep it going.

YABU. You've had a bad experience but you haven't used all services in all areas. I imagine most of the staff are doing their best, very few people really want to make life worse for people who are struggling. Mental health problems are simply not as easy to cure as some physical problems.

YABNU as we're struggling here - CAMHS have said that DD doesn't meet their criteria, as she hasn't yet acted on her strong suicidal feelings. Thread is here I'm wiping out the savings to go private...

Afraid we have had the completely opposite experience, OP: CAHMS have been brilliant with dd. It is still taking a long time though and she has had to be prepared to tell them when something isn't working.

Answering your post on that thread, Elle.

YES they are awful.

CAMHS are awful too.

My husband has bi-polar and I have OCD. They are stretched so thin. However, I cannot speak highly enough of the Crisis team though. They have been amazing, but they only come in emergencies for a week or two.

I ended up going to hypnotherapy for my OCD and health anxiety, it was £40 a session and I had around 15 but it was worth every penny. If you want more details feel free to PM me.

I hope you feel much better soon

Oh and we have pushed and pushed for a CPN for my husband but apparently there just isn't enough of them now so he can't have one. He lost his when we had to move.

He really wants a CPN, it takes a lot of pressure off me too because they can also help recognise when he needs med adjustments way before I can. Of course he is great at managing his own illness but he is often the last one to know that he is going downhill and a CPN can help catch it so much earlier so the crisis team doesn't have to become involved. But nope.. not enough in my area.

Unfortunately - and shockingly - mental health spend is about 4% of the NHS budget, and this is unlikely to change any time soon.

4%!!!

well I am a psychiatric nurse on a psychiatric intensive care unit I admit they are cutting resources but I think this is down to managers they just love wasting money I have to say I think we mange people with acute mental illness very well with increasingly limited staff however when it comes to anything else there are not the resources blame the managers one ward I worked on was completley revamped at the cost of 100,s of thousand only to be shut down 5 years later to be turned into a mixed ward and completely revamped again!

Actually I'd say the NHS Mental Health services are pretty good. I've just been discharged from psychiatry after 14 years and 3 hospital admissions for bipolar. The staff I've met have been good and bad, but generally very good. In retrospect I was only ever in hospital when I needed to be, I just didn't see it that way at the time. The psychiatrist I saw for many years as an outpatient took me on when I complained about the house officers always changing. He said he would keep seeing me til I was better. And he stuck to that and 10 years later I'm very well (on meds).

The worst person I ever say was a private counsellor, she was obsessed with my relationship with my mother (which was actually very good).

YANBU. I find I am worse since their 'help'. they've made me feel like I am a mental case who should be in a ''nuthouse'', that I am useless, and that I am beyond help for my various medical ailments.

and same for my offspring. It has left me more stressed than ever.

I have found that at the end of the day, the saying ''if you want something done, do it yourself'' applies.

I am not saying all are bad, it does have a lot to do with spending cuts/ resources/staffing etc but still, it is a vitally important service and should be recognised as such.

I'm a CBT therapist, I work for the nhs (iapt). Luckily my service is good, we have short waiting lists and provide lots of different therapies for different problems, but even we can only do so much. Some people need a lot more help than the funding given to the nhs can provide.
I used to have BPD, after 8 years of crisis I was eventually given DBT that made me who I am today. I've seen it from both sides, it's a postcode lottery. If you are unhappy with your current support and can in anyway afford it then go private.

buddha we shouldnt Have to go private if the service is supposed to be there. (and I'm sure you do your best ).

Personally I appreciate that SOME people have tried to make sense of me, but one thing is that you talk for an hour or so and the next session (if there is one) they give you to someone else, then someone else, and you're just going round in circles literally all the time only to come back to the start and have not gotten anywhere!

and most of us can't afford private.

we ARE lucky that this country HAS a NHS service but it's not spread out properly and thats why it's in a mess, not the NHS fault, as always it's the bloody Government and their 'cost cutting' and lining their own pockets, and not giving a toss about the rest of us. and breathe......

is so slow that you're really very ill indeed by the time you get to see someone. Would this be acceptable for a diabetic? A child cancer sufferer?

I am in the unfortunate position of having both a physical health condition (diabetes) and a mh condition. My experience of the NHS is that it's crap for both! I had diabetic retinopathy, due to long term diabetes and was in danger of a retinal detachment - eye hospital did not give a shit, I was put on a waiting list despite being unable to see out of one eye due to persistent retinal haemorrhage and to avoid potentially going blind I had to pay £8k to get it treated myself privately. I was also denied medication that could have prevented it earlier on, due to lack of funding. I sold my car to obtain that medication through a private consultant.
MH wise I have not fared much better - had suicidal ideation a few years ago and just got referred to a trainee mh worker who said I had mild depression. I told her I was sure it was more than that, she denied later. Later - much later - it turned out I did have something much more serious. I've had to get that treated privately myself too, through therapy.

So experience of both is crap - unless you are actually dying the NHS does not really prioritise you.

Hi I don't disagree at all and I am a mental health nurse with over twenty years experience I can give some insight into what's going wrong however over the past year 1800 acute mental health beds have been lost I work for a very large mental health trust in the north of england it covers many towns and districts and in my area alone they want to cut 50 beds this includes elderly acute etc what they don't tell the general public is that one of the wards they want to shut down is one they spent nearly a million pounds on just over. A year ago refurbishing the logic????? Please please complain and campaign as much as you can we as staff are doing all we can but it's not helping

There's some really sad and scary experiences on this thread. I thought that I was lucky to be getting the help that I am from local services but this thread underlines it. I'm getting really helpful CBT input from the local IAPT service, and the wait was only a couple of months. The counsellor certainly seems thoroughly professional and properly trained to me, unlike some of the people mentioned upthread. And she gives me homework :)

My GP is also very good and while I am now on a repeat prescription for my ADs, it only 'repeats' three times before I have to go back for a review.

I now have a very good Psychiatrist who I see 3 monthly but it took developing Psychosis to get the adequate medication I needed. Now I'm on Anti-Psychotics I'm a lot better. My experience with the MH service here has been variable.

When I was suicidal, I made a decision that I would not actively commit suicide due to spiritual/religious beliefs, despite the fact that I would not have actively got out of the way of someone pointing a loaded gun in my direction. But because I did not actually try to kill myself, despite wanting to very much indeed, I did not get any proper help. I was on the verge of taking an overdose not to actually die but to be able to acesss some sort of service - would have phoned well before any pills had taken effect but who knows what damage may have been done? If you have to resort to desperate things like that it shows the system is not working.
As it was, it did not go that far but I seriously considered it. It was the only thing I could think of to get any help at all. Looking back, I was desperately ill - but despite going to the GP no one had any clue what to do!

Op are you me?

everything you've said I totally agree with and have had pretty much the same things happen in my life.

and I agree with you, my so called 'help' made things worse, and now I cant be bothered with them anymore, and feel much better for it.

same with CAMHS for my child. utterly useless. made my child worse too.

sadly it is hugely underfunded and cuts are being made all the time it is very worrying

we need to look at the nhs differently sadly we just can not support the costs of it anymore and it will not be long before it will only cover essential treatment

for those waiting or wanting to see a therapist please look to the BACP website for low costs therapy, they also have information on different types of therapies. i work in agencies that do not charge and an agency that does sadly those that do not charge missed appointments (which can be part of the process) is very common not so much when it is being paid for, huge amounts of money is wasted:(

Some years ago, I asked the gp for a referral to the mental health team at Macclesfield. I was suffering from ptsd, and knew that I needed emdr to help with it.

Several weeks/months later, I rang the hospital to find out what was happening to my referral. The referral had been lost, but the person I spoke to was insistent that I needed ophthalmology, not psychiatry.

At that point I gave up, and ran up a £20k credit card debt on private therapy.

At least in France, where I live now, you don't need a referral to see a psychiatrist, you can go direct. They just don't have any that have an appointment within the next 3 months......and therapists/psychotherapists aren't covered by the health system.

I ended up going private with psychotherapy it needn't cost the earth if you go for a time-limited version. I found CAT invaluable (cognitive analytic, it's like a brief form of psychoanalytic therapy), it cost me around £600 for the initial course of 16 which is all some people need, I am going to extend it by a further 8 at least which is around £300 so £900 in total which is about the same I might spend each year on a holiday. Well I decided I'd rather have a holiday from the trouble inside my head!
Anyway just thought I'd let people know it does not have to cost the earth - my advice is to find a reputable therapist thru bacp or counselling directory and ensure you click.
My therapist does work on the NHS but you have to be pretty seriously ill to get referred to him, then there is a long waiting list. I decided to take matters into my own hands and have not regretted it!

I know a woman who due to having a serious mental breakdown was unable to read or respond to important letters. Oxleas NHS Mental Health Service knew her plight but never ever helped her to come to terms with either her personal despair that caused her breakdown, or help her in being able to open letters and respond to letters that she knew would be of emotional trauma. To this day the poor woman still cannot open letters and feels afraid to ask for help. Intern many people have taken acute advantage of her.

It seems that Oxleas NHS presumed she was just 'play acting' for attention and even 'they' abused her vulnerability. She has had the phobia since January 2006. To this day she still cannot open letters and many stay unread for she is too afraid to get help due to the shocking attitude of Oxleas NHS Mental Health staff/doctors towards her. They just could not be bothered to listen to or help her. They just drugged her up.

When you open a letter you often have to respond to it and sadly the woman now lives a terrible lonely life with piles of unopened letters. Her treatment by Oxleas NHS Mental Health left her unable to ask anyone for fear of being called a liar.....etc.

Oxleas NHS motto is 'Improving Lives.' They should take a look at those whose lives they have helped to destroy and made worse.! It is shameful!

I guarantee thry just select who gets good treatment. it's probably based on looks or something.

look at kelly brook. I bet they would say things to her that wouldn't say to big narstie or sonrbody of his appearance.

I think all mental health pros are dishonest and fake. I bet in their own lives they act completely differently to what they tel their patients. one tried to convince me to join his church but I said no. he then tried to threaten me and tell me I deserved to be bullied when I never told him I was. they are all scum and trying to mock supposed bullying in a mental health setting is pretty scummy.