To think low level mental health help is almost non existent

[Janefromdowntheroad]

A lovely friend of mine (previously well her whole life) had an acute mental health crisis last year.

She went to her GP, prescribed antidepressants and told she could self refer to the local mental health people. She called them, they phoned back the next day and arranged to speak to a therapist for an initial phone appointment. Therapist called the next week, an hour phone call. Therapist said she was referring her for extended CBT ASAP. She would hear back the next week. That was nearly a YEAR ago.

She told be today they send her a letter every three months asking if she still wants to wait. In big black bold letters on the bottom it says IF WE DO NOT HEAR FROM YOU IN TWO WEEKS FROM THE DATE OF THIS LETTER WE WILL REMOVE YOU FROM THE WAITING LIST.

She has to fill a form out basically saying if she feels like killing herself or not.

I can't wrap my head around any other medical service where an ongoing year wait is acceptable? The threat of being kicked off the wait list for not responding (baring in mind some depression manifests with not being organised or very motivated to deal with admin stuff)

AIBU to think this is fucking shocking? Why is mental health so underfunded?

Yanbu. I've been sobbing at my gp's (twice) and he just gave me the number for a private counsellor saying there wasn't any nhs help.

princess I follow mentalhealthcop on twitter and he's always saying the same thing. The police are picking up the pieces due to non-existent MH support.

It is shockingly bad. I'm incredibly lucky that I could afford to pay for help when I was suicidally depressed due to pnd. I had one gp tell me there was no point having counselling, and another referred me for a telephone counselling session. I'm still waiting to hear from the telephone counselling service 8 years later.

Luckily for me Prozac and private counselling saved the day in the meantime.

The other problem of course is the quality of care that's on offer (when there is an offer, that is). Not all counselling / therapy is of equal quality by any means, it really depends on the training of each professional which massively varies. Also, not all treatment modes suit everyone so it's often a matter of finding the right treatment for each patient. Hard when there's limited options anyway but crucial in terms of actually solving the problem.

When I finally got a "counselling " appt. I almost crawled in. The Woman didn't have any notes. She told me I needed to go out and meet men and have good sex.
I said I'm feeling much better now I don't need to see anyone again. That evening I attempted again. I honestly can't believe how inadequate the services are.

Most therapists the NHS refers to are not even paid - they are trainees, working unpaid to gain hours of experience toward their qualification.

That explains a lot

For balance, I thought I would offer an opposing view here. I self-referred to IAPT as I had been having panic attacks and suffering from severe anxiety. They called me for my assessment appointment within three days, and, later that day, assigned me to a CBT course which started a month later. They were amazing and I am very grateful for the treatment I have received (and am continuing to receive).

When I was suffering from PND after the birth of my son 6 years ago, I also received excellent care. The reception staff at my GP practice always made sure to book double-length appointments for me, my GP was amazing and really listened. I received appropriate medication, psychotherapy and was referred to a support group at the local branch of MIND. I felt that the NHS were doing everything they possibly could to try and help me.

I hope your friend manages to access the care she needs, OP.

Derelict - which PCT do you live in? (seriously considers moving there...)

YANBU don't get me wrong I'm sure they are usually great when you finally get the help but the shortage is appalling.

A family member of mine took an overdose a few years back (she was 13 at the time), an ambulance picked her up and she was back home within a few hours, a social worker popped round for a 'chat' a week later and she (one person who was not there at the time) decided everything was ok. She obviously fucking wasn't. IME you only get help if you flat out beg for it, which for people with mental health issues, especially teenagers is hard to do/admit. It's a fucking disgrace.

I bet the PCT is Devon. They have shitloads of money and hardly any people and the people they do have tend to be healthy and problem free.

They're always having parties from inner cities sent down there to show them how things should be done even though their areas are full of crack whores and ex offenders and their funding is a shoe string, two satsumas and a bag of pork scratchings.

ForAShortTine

I've actually had some help from my PCT in the past. I was so lucky, I know. It took quite a while of being very sick indeed before it kicked in though.

On the other hand, accessing CAMHS has been impossible for my self-harming, suicidal dd.
I get phone calls from the school regularly "telling me" she's low. I know. I just can't get help for her. :(

Been there done that ForAShortTime I was an RMN on a inpatient unit for yrs it's shocking what's going on in mental health at the moment the trust I worked for had millions in savings too ,but never any beds and were constantly cutting services and not employing more staff