Why are mental health services in the UK so utterly shit?

[Whichwhatnow]

Trying to get mental health support this week after multiple suicides of friends and other issues. Nowt out there available. I'm lucky, I can pay. But how does someone on benefits or NMW pay for therapy?? Surely this should be a basic support element of the NHS?

ripplingwater

That is just appalling. I speak as the mother of a chronically ill young person who has been waiting years for his therapy and ASD diagnosis. It’s just dreadful. His life has been out on hold in an endless cycle of trauma and hyper anxiety thus costing the nhs more.

Not only do the Tories not give a shit they’re stupid.

My husband is awaiting transfer from a mental health rehabilitation ward to a residential home that will support his MH and other needs. My eldest son spent three years in residential provision for support related to his mental ill heath.
The residential placements cost £1,200 a week.

In both their cases, holistic support and provision, incorporating support for mental ill health, appropriate education provision, employment related support, support for informal networks including family and appropriate accommodation may have meant their needs might not have escalated to the point where they need such specialised provision.

It is not just mental health services that are underfunded, but the whole of health and social care . Underinvestment is, as my family have found out, such false economy.

Surely as someone with BPD you understand the abandonment issues it generally comes with? With my ex he would properly beat me up and I still be there be there begging for him to stay. It's similar with my husband. It seems like I can't be alone regardless of how bad I'm being treated.

It is a direct result of policy decisions made by successive Tory governments.

Thank you x.

I didn't even mention being taken out of school at 14 and then kicked out at 16 to a squat in another country (traveller family) 😅

My life has been quite complicated.

I work in mental health and we are severely short of staff - we have significant vacancies meaning the funding is there but the workforce is not. It seems we need to train more therapists. But it also seems like people do professional publicly-funded trainings and then choose to work in the private sector.
However this is besides the point and I hope you get the support you need right now OP. To be honest give you have been making attempts on your life you need a crisis intervention or admission to make you safe, not therapy. Maybe the refuge is a good step for now? I hope things improve for you - wishing you strength.

It isn't being funded properly but I would also argue that people need to prioritise their mental health and take responsibility for it. That includes being willing to pay for it. I know people who happily spend 200 quid a month on 'treats' like clothes and cosmetics but would be appalled at the idea of spending that for 2 months of therapy. And yet that 400 quid would be life changing!

I've just spent for four months of therapy, 90 pounds a session. Hasn't really helped.

Would anyone recommend EMDR?

£200 will not buy you much therapy. Unless your issue is pretty straightforward this is unlikely to achieve anything.

That's expensive. You can find therapists on BACP website charging £40 an hour. Don't rule out zoom counselling either which opens up many more options. If you're not noticing a difference after a few sessions I would try someone else.

EMDR is recommended for trauma I know that much but not much more. The guy I know who had it was ex-military but I've seen people on here say they found it beneficial.

@Whichwhatnow Of course I understand.

But that doesn’t change the reality that things will not improve until you change your circumstances. And you will not be seen as a good candidate for DBT/MBT until you are in more stable circumstances unfortunately.

I know it’s hard to hear - I was living a chaotic life for well over 15yrs before I finally said ENOUGH and started the long road to recovery. A MH professional said to me what I am saying to you now. It was hard to hear but was the wake up call I needed.

YOU are the only person who can start your recovery from BPD. Services can do little to nothing until YOU make that choice for yourself. And when you start that recovery, it’s still down to YOU to implement the change and strategies you need to continue to manage the disorder for the rest of your life.

It’s hard fucking work, it’s exhausting, but it’s worth it. Some people decide it’s not worth it and so make different choices. Or are scared of how hard it is, or resent the fact they have to look themselves in the mirror and make changes themselves. But ‘them’s the choices’. Take it or leave it.

You can also do nothing, you keep repeating the same patterns again and again and wondering why you always get the shitty end of the stick. Why these things always happen to you.

If you want things to be different it’s down to YOU.

Everyone with BPD can recover, but tragically, not everybody will. The time it takes for someone to be ready for recovery caries from person to person. You may not feel ready yet, and that’s ok too. Recovery from BPD is not measured in months, but years and even decades.

EMDR is INCREDIBLY intense and you will
not be eligible if you are not stable.

I meant 200 quid a month for weekly sessions. Loads of counsellors work online now which opens up so many more options. Regional counsellors tend to be cheaper than those in South East of England because of lower cost of living. And a lot of people ultimately find their surface level stuff IS quite straightforward without any need to dive in too deep.

Oh sorry I missed that you have BPD. I think DBT is the therapy recommended for it - it's also recommended for ADHD which is why I've heard of it.

Okay £200 a month will get you ongoing counselling. It is a lot of money every month though. Everything is going up in price and most of us are already finding it tough.

I second this. I'm currently going through EMDR and it's brutal, no understatement.

Yes but 3 months of it might change people's lives more than 2 takeaways, a night in the pub and a new pair of jeans just for those 3 months. I know it's not always that easy (trust me I know) but it's about priorities. Short term pain for long term gain.

I think the answer to the original question is that there are no votes in mental health provision, just like a number of other issues such as prison reform, museums, public libraries, etc. They are not high enough in people's minds when they go to vote and most politicians are more interested in 'sexy' topics like immigration and the Westminster bubble.

@BeautyGoesToBenidorm and @Rinoachicken I'd be really interested in hearing more about EMDR if you're open to talking about it either here or in pm. I've been thinking about trying it but that has put me off. I know the ex military guy who had it basically became a recluse when he was at the start of it and sadly lost touch with a lot of people.

SquirrelSoShiny

Round here therapy is £70 for 40 mins so £280 a month. It’s incredibly difficult to know what you need and how to find a good one. Spending ££££ you don’t have on a shit therapist ( there are loads out there) or the wrong type will make things even worse. Then all the good ones are booked up

We had funding for me to get therapy support. It took 2 professionals hours hunting slim pickings to find somebody private for me . Most people don’t have the expertise or money.

EMDR could help you process some trauma, but not if the trauma is ongoing or if you are feeling unstable, as it pulls up a lot of stuff that we have spent years trying to avoid which makes us feel worse initially. If you are unable to tolerate intense emotions then it might be very risky. It is based on storing past experiences that have not been converted into memory properly. If it is ongoing then it is still live and won't help that.

And as PP have said, no matter what style of therapy you have, unless you make changes to your life, you won't feel better. 'Insight' is the booby prize of therapy, it is all very well understanding why we are the way we are, but if we do little to change it, then there won't be a huge amount of improvement.

That is not to say it is easy to change, it absolutely isnt! But a lot of therapy is around teaching people skills, it is not around taking away pain, it is about learning to tolerate the pain and self soothe and choose different options. You can go to as many sessions as you like, but if you aren't applying your realisations or skills learnt to life outside the therapy room, then it is unlikely to help much.

Like if you were very overweight and you went to a dietician and personal trainer, they can help support and advise, but unless you make a change over the week, you wouldn't lose weight just through talking and knowing the knowledge.

Seriously: look on zoom. If they're BACP registered they have met the professional standards and it's more about finding the right fit and expertise in what you need. You'll often find looking outside of England will be a good starting point pricewise! And if you're not 'feeling it' after 3 sessions try someone else was the best advice I got.

That's a really good post.

And maybe so many things are now lumped together as 'mental health', people are no longer fed up, pissed off, they have 'issues' and trot down to the GP.