Waiting list for CBT, anyone gone private?

[Callie25]

I live in NW England.. I have been on the waiting list for NHS CBT for a year now. Before that I was waiting approx 10 months for an appointment with a councillor. I had 3 appointments before she decided she couldn't help me a I needed referring. So realistically I've been waiting since April 2021 for an appointment 😭 has anyone gone private or found a way to speed up the process?

Cant help with speeding up the NHS process but I've always gone private (I'm lucky I'm in a position to do that financially) because when I decide I need therapy or CBT I need support now. Look on counselling directory for someone or for someone registered with BACP. I find someone who can do CBT but also broader talking therapy helpful in the past. At the moment I'm just doing talking therapy.

Do you mean NHS Talking Therapies or IAPT?

Find someone on BACP and make sure they do more than just CBT and specialise in whatever your issue is.

If you are in a position to go private there is no point waiting around for years for the NHS.

You could try studying CBT while you wait - this course is excellent and lots of people use it for their own purposes rather than to become a practitioner;

www.udemy.com/course/cognitive-behavioural-therapy-online-course-cbt-practitioner-course/

I had CBT fairly quickly, SE.

Was all over the phone though but from speaking to my doctors to self referring I think I waited about 2 months before my sessions begun.

NHS talking therapies

I've honestly no idea of the price these days, I looked a few years ago and it seemed very expensive 🤦🏻‍♀️

I signed up to better help out of desperation when my NHS referral was taking ages.

The therapist I was matched to was BACP qualified and she was fantastic. I didn't actually get an opportunity to start the CBT, though.

After three sessions with her, I finally got an appointment with a therapist from Vita minds so I've put private on hold for now.

I think better help is usually £160 a month but I completed a financial hardship form or something and I paid £133 for the month before I cancelled the subscription.

Don't think I'd qualify for the financial hardship but also can't really afford that amount a month ☹️ I'll just have to wait. I've stopped my citalopram, because it was making me so numb, need to start something different instead really x

Better help is a good shout and some therapists offer discounted rates and have a fixed number of slots at that price. 'low cost' therapy here with a local charity is £43 a session. I pay slightly more than that but will have to go down to every other week soon because of this. It's incredibly expensive. It's such a shame NHS mental health care is in the state it's in.

I didnt think I would either!

The form just asks what your household income is, you don't have to prove anything just put the amount in and then it gives you a discount.

When I looked on the BACP website for therapists they were like £40 - £60 a session.

Gosh, I’m shocked people are waiting so long. I’ve used Talking Therapies before, and the initial appointment is within days, and the therapy starts within two-three weeks. That was quite recently as well.

I got referred by GP to local MH services, had a phone appointment and then I did an online CBT course which was available immediately. Could you ask GP about that option?

It's out of my GPs hands now as I've already been referred and had the initial appointments with the local service. I've called and they say 'yeah you're on the waiting list ' and that's as far as I can get, it's so annoying 🤦🏻‍♀️

@Callie25
I have gone down the "private" route as NHS waitng list in SE just so long 😔
Very fortunate that I am in a position to self fund unlike many others.

Just a thought, but whilst perusing a well know website, for self help books on anxiety, I also came across lots of other books, manuals and work books on CBT at reasonable prices- maybe a starting point whilst you are waiting for your face to face appointment ?

Anxiety UK are a really good charity to look into. They have a team of qualified volunteers for lots of different types of therapy. You basically pay based on income, it's a small percentage. You will get someone who usually charges £80+ per hour for a fraction of the price.

Do you have an Employee Assistance Plan at work? They often cover some private CBT sessions if so.

I work for the NHS (oh the irony) and I've used my 10 sessions of "therapy" with the work councillor 2 years ago, he couldn't do anymore, had nowhere else to refer me to he said 🤷🏻‍♀️

Thank you, I'll have a look x

Not sure if this will apply to you but in my area there were group CBT classes available while you are on the waiting list for 1:1. I found them extremely useful (even though I was dreading them and generally hate group activities). Ask your GP if that's an option for you?