unwelcoming clinic

[theonlywayisdevon]

Maybe I should have posted this in AIBU thread

Had an appointment with the psychologist today (chronic illness has left me feeling depressed) and dreaded walking into the waiting room more than the chat with him.

To get into the building you ring on one of many intercom buttons (takes a while to work out each one) and then give your name before someone turns up a few minutes later to let you into the building and then into a locked waiting room.

The waiting room is only locked from the outside, you can get out but not back in, so going to the loo is impossible as its off the corridor and you'd be locked out.

The waiting room has no receptionist, but a radio playing a local station that is behind a barrier that you can't get past to turn off.

This week I had no wait but in the past I've waited for 30 minutes a few times.

Why do I mind giving my name while I'm standing on the street? But why do we have to wait in a locked room?

Tell me to pull myself together if you think I need to, but be gentle please

You are definitely not BU.

In over 15 years of accessing mental health services, I've experienced a range of approaches to patient service, some brilliant, and some truly appalling.

One time (when visiting a psychiatrist) I wasn't acknowledged by the receptionist for over 15 minutes. To make matters worse, I mentioned to the psychiatrist that I thought the welcome was a bit, well, unwelcome, and he wrote on my assessment that I was 'hostile' for making this comment.

There was some really interesting research carried out in the States I think, years ago, in psychiatric hospitals, that showed that rational responses to everyday treatment, such as service, were immediately attributed to a mental diagnosis. So you couldn't be depressed and complaining about discourteous treatment, the two were linked and you only viewed the treatment as discourteous because of your depression.

In a cynical frame of mind this seems to be a neat way of not addressing key issues in mental health provision. But in any case it always makes me a bit reluctant to complain.

Thank you that makes so much sense. This week I refused to put up with it and told the guy how it felt but know it will be discussed next time!

I also waited until I was in the building before saying who I was, amazing how I was made to feel so small, but the lady who was rude to me told me I was rude for wanting privacy!!

The radio might well have done my head in if I wasn't feeling too good. At the GPs they used to play awful music - stuff like old Beatles numbers done on the pan pipes. I did say that if someone with depression was sitting there, it might be the last straw.

There is now no music played, though I don't claim the credit!

They introduced music to the GP surgery when they banned reading material during the swine flu scare. Its gone there too thankfully!

In the bank or is the post office they ask you to stay behind a line to protect the privacy of the person being served. Why do those with mental health problems get treated so badly?

Gosh, this is astounding.

Somerset, also what you say is most interesting and most sinister.
'There was some really interesting research carried out in the States I think, years ago, in psychiatric hospitals, that showed that rational responses to everyday treatment, such as service, were immediately attributed to a mental diagnosis. So you couldn't be depressed and complaining about discourteous treatment, the two were linked and you only viewed the treatment as discourteous because of your depression.'

A case of everything being pathologised.
I work for the nHS too (different service) and have noted the dismissal of people who complain about services for their children as being 'in denial.'

Pathologisation - that's the term I was looking for! (why say 1 word when you can say 50 eh?)

Seriously though, I think the general 'customer' care of people accessing mental health services is often overlooked for this reason, and also because we don't have a strong voice to challenge on our behalf.

If the OP received this treatment for, say, an oncology appointment, it would quite possibly be newsworthy.