NHS psychiatry rant … can’t get on the list 😔

[Sleepybanana]

Long story short Due to a life shattering trauma that happened a few years ago, I have become more and more anxious to the point where it’s almost dehabilitating and I’ve been trying to get some support for it.

GP referred me to a useless psychiatric nurse who said I probably have complex PTSD but before I can go on “the list” to see a specialist I have to do a set of counselling sessions with one of these two organisations. I’ve already had CBT and it was a pile of crap but okay I’ll tick the boxes.

The first one doesn’t operate where I live.
The second has closed its waiting list.

what do I do here? Go back to GP?

I do have private insurance but not really sure how to use it..

Go back to the nurse who dealt with your initial assessment and explain what you’ve said here.

Go back to your GP and ask for a private referral. They will know the clinics in the area. Once that referral is sent call your insurance company to give them the head’s up and find out the level of cover. You have to get pre-authorisation on most schemes. The clinic will call and offer appointments. Each time call the insurance for pre-authorisation. You can then give that number to the clinic and they will liaise and settle the bill. (This is how it all worked with BUPA).

best wishes and use the private insurance. Worth every penny for any mental health issues. I had appointments and a plan in a week.

If you have private insurance, BUPA for example, you ring, get through to their mental health services, they will talk to you about needs etc, give you a breakdown of what's covered, a ref number for that cover, and you go and book a block of private sessions locally. Easy peasy. Don't faff around with NHS if you have private cover.

Oh god I can’t he was so awful.

he compared me to “a mouldy wall that looks great on the surface but is actually rotten to the core” and stopped me within 5 minutes of me talking and said “sorry this is far above my pay grade”.
i left feeling so disheartened and low😞

Blimey OP if you have private medical insurance then don’t bother with the NHS. Check your policy doct to see if mental health is covered and then ring to ask them to provide a pre authorisation code for a private psychiatrist consultation. They will be able to give you a diagnosis and then arrange the appropriate therapy and/pr inpatient treatment. Good luck

Gosh definitely go private. I've not got anywhere with nhs and am envious of my friends private cover.

Just do it!

if you've got BUPA, you're
covered for mental
health support and you can choose (from a selection of local therapists) who you can look through
and decide who is the best fit and at your convenience (unlike the NHS where they allocate someone and tell
you when to go). Phone BUPA, or
whoever your insurer is. You might be seen as early as next week.
CBT is crap for trauma too.

Call your insurance company, get an authorisation code and then either they can suggest a few psychologists/ psychiatrists (depending on what you are looking for) or you can look for one yourself and ask them if they are registered with your insurance company. Just be aware that many psychologists are not registered with AXA and Bupa as they do not pay psychologists full fees and are terrible to work for!

You need appropriate therapy for trauma. The NICE guidance recommends someone appropriately trained in CBT for trauma, or EMDR. Counselling is not recommended at all- I don't know why you were referred there.
As PP have said, check your insurance. You won't be waiting as long and you will be given the therapy you need, not what the service can afford to give you. But please check that your therapist is trained in trauma work. Your insurance should have checked, but I'd always check myself as up until recently you could qualify as a CBT therapist and be accredited by the BABCP without having to go worked with any trauma cases. And there is a big difference between nurses and counsellors who 'do CBT' and those who have a post graduate diploma and are accredited in it.
Sorry you had such at bad experience at assessment.

A mouldy old wall??? What on earth? Of all the analogies to pick. Sorry you had that experience, but try not to dwell on it. I hope the CPN who said it banged their own head on a wall afterwards at saying something so crass! Hope you can access the help you need.

the only reason CBT is the approved therapy for many things via the NHS is because it can be delivered in a short course of sessions and can be measured in a way more sophisticated therapies can't so easily. Many people feel that CBT for trauma is almost like being given a set of instructions to gaslight yourself into believing you're thoughts and feelings are invalid and you're lying to yourself
(from personal
and professional experience!

www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/healing-trauma-s-wounds/201911/why-cbt-alone-is-not-trauma-informed-approach?amp

I would do both -go to gp for a referal and diagnosis and also see if your insurance covers you.

I had a traumatic experience and became physically disabled, I also developed ptsd. 10 years on I'm finally getting treatment for ptsd (EMDR which is what I should have had years ago).
I was first given cbt which I thought was helpful at the time but it just scratched the surface didn't get to the route cause and therefore wasn't successful. The problem I'm having is that nhs care is only 18 sessions and because I've been repeatedly retraumatised and left without appropriate care for such along time, I think I'm stuck with alot of the issues. However EMDR has been worth it. Unfortunately I can't afford it privately because I can't work and live off disability benefits, but I would pay for more sessions if I could because I can see improvement in some areas. I felt I've had to jump through hoops to get here but often I'd be referred have an assessment and then be declined as I was too complex. I was also moved from waiting list to waiting list so that I was not waiting too long, it has been a joke (or would be if it wasn't my life). The nhs doesn't fund long enough so those that can't afford it now have to live with the long term consequences of mental health been partially treated and therefore vulnerable to further mh issues.

As a nurse he is in no position to diagnose ( especially not after one visit). Nurses do not diagnose.

You are absolutely not rotten to the core, how horrendous, I'm just so sorry you've had such an awful experience with this nurse. The good news is the with the right treatment traumatic memories can helped to be processed and your symptoms can be significantly reduced. It is possible to heal from - or at least find a way to live well - with trauma.

Please OP, use your insurance and find a good trauma informed therapist who can help you unpack the trauma and provide EMDR. It's not about talking it all over, in some ways treating this like a story to be told and ruminated on might make things worse. It is likely to be more useful to have trauma focused therapy with a specialist. I'm not sure the NHS will be able to help you in the way you need!

Is your current anxiety linked to the trauma or is it generalised?

You don't need to go back to your nurse to use your private healthcare.

I email my GP surgery, ask for an 'open referral' which they email to whichever specialist I choose to see, they also add the letter to my NHS app.