Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Neurodiverse Mumsnetters

Use this forum to discuss neurodiverse parenting.

GP prescription after private psych assessment

4 replies

IsThePopeCatholic · 27/12/2022 16:46

My adult daughter wants a psychiatric assessment for ADHD. I am fully behind her on this and have offered to pay for a private assessment as the NHS waiting list is so long. How easy is it to then get prescriptions from the GP? Is it automatic or is it at the GP’s discretion? We wouldn’t be able to afford to pay for regular medication.

OP posts:
freckles20 · 28/12/2022 08:34

Hi @IsThePopeCatholic, anecdotally it seems that there is a wide variety of experiences in getting an NHS prescription following private diagnosis.

You may know all this already, but the way that this should work is that your daughter would undergo titration through the private provider. This means that they work with her to find the optimal medication, and best dose. Once this has been established the private provider supports her to approach her GP and ask for a "shared care agreement'. This means that the GP prescribes the medication as stipulated by the private psychiatrist. In turn regular follow ups are performed by the private provider to check that the meds are still optimal.

Under shared care the GP can only stick with the stipulations of the private provider. They can't change dose, or really offer much in the way of adhd medication advice- this is because they don't have the training to prescribe the meds without the support of a psychiatrist.

My own experience of moving to shared care was really good, quick and easy. I think this was helped by the fact that I had initially gone to my GP and laid out exactly what difficulties I had, how my life was affected and why I was seeking a private diagnosis. Luckily she was understanding and sympathetic,

Also my private provider kept my GP really well informed in writing after my assessment and after each titration appointment. The shared care agreement included a lot of info about the meds I was to be prescribed, why we had settled on them, and very clear info about any side effects and suggested course of action for various scenarios. Plus a commitment to six monthly reviews.

So I think my GP felt I'd had had a thorough assessment, careful titration and that there would be support from the private provider if needed.

It also must have helped that the GP herself wanted to help.

However, I wanted to mention that the titration process can vary massively from person to person and between different private providers. There are a multitude of meds, most are available in several methods of release (slow, graduated, fast), and at different doses. Unfortunately it is impossible to predict which meds work best, or at all, for an individual- so the titration process can be swift or very lengthy. So it is worth being prepared for the cost of this. My titration took forever as I didn't respond to quite a few medications, needed a relatively high dose of the one which works, and have to take it twice or three times each day. So the costs added up.

Finally, and again apologies if you know this,
but medication is often only part of the helpful outcome of diagnosis. For many people with adhd being diagnosed brings a valuable sense of understanding, self compassion and answers. It can also lead to adhd specific coaching which for me has been priceless and way more helpful than meds.

IsThePopeCatholic · 28/12/2022 18:40

Thank you so much for this valuable information. It’s really helpful. Would you mind telling me where you found adhd specific counselling?

OP posts:
freckles20 · 28/12/2022 22:22

No problem, glad it was useful- I found it to be a steep learning curve so am happy to be able to pass on information which might help.

I think that I mentioned ADHD coaching, rather than counselling but both or either would be helpful.

I can't emphasise enough how different both counselling and coaching are when they are provided by someone with a thorough knowledge and real understanding of adhd.

I had both therapy and coaching before adhd was on my radar and although it was helpful it was nowhere near as helpful as the adhd coach and counsellor that I've had since. You will hear this same story time and time again from people who have been helped by coaching.

My personal opinion is that the very best coaching and counselling is from someone who has adhd themselves. They truly understand so much better, and as such can offer much more help.

You will come across therapists and coaches who may claim they can work with adhd, but I'd suggest that you ask a few questions about this and really delve into what their experience is. It is really hard to understand the condition on a deep level unless you have it yourself!

I think that there are two main organisations which award a recognised adhd coaching qualification and they are ADDCA and IACT. So this might help you select someone reputable.

Of course as with all therapy / coaching it is important that the person receiving it feels happy to work with the professional themselves. I found that all the coaches who I approached were happy to provide a free discovery call which was really helpful.

There are two organisations which I can also thoroughly recommend- one is The ADHD collective (the uk based one not US based). This is a fantastic group that provides support, understanding and knowledge and is a really affordable option.

The other is adhd UK. This organisation holds regular sessions which you can join via zoom to offer guidance and basic 'ask a coach' type stuff.

Both organisations have tonnes of useful info on their websites, and adhd UK also includes a list of coaches and counsellors. I used one of these and he was fantastic.

Do let me know if anything else might help xx

IsThePopeCatholic · 29/12/2022 21:46

Again, thank you so much for your help. I will look into the 2 organisations you mention.

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread