Re: Mental Health Services - are you getting any?

[Guest guest]

Hi psyclone. Welcome to the group.

My recommendation would be to start posting your feelings to this group and let

people respond. Try to keep an open mind and " listen " to what these people have

to say.

If I am hearing you correctly, you need to talk to a neutral party. You need to

get things out in the open. Posting to this group is a way of getting free and

immediate therapy. Please be aware that most people here are going to be

brutally honest with you. So you may not like what you hear.

Try us out. See what happens. This may not be the group for you. But you

won't know unless you try.

I have been a member for a few days and have learned more in the past few days

than 2 years of therapy. And the best part is, that it is free.

I know what it is like to want to take your life. I tried to commit suicide and

fortunately, was not successful. I knew that I was not in my right mind so I

went through the ER and had myself committed into a mental institution. I

stayed there for 96 hours. I had to agree to seek therapy with a psychiatrist

so I could take medication and a counselor so I had someone to talk to. It

helped me to a point. But I would rather talk with someone who has been in my

shoes and that is what I find here.

Hope this helps. I wish you the best of luck!

" hugs "

>

> The reason why I ask is because I was shocked to discover that I basically

CAN'T. Or to be precise, I can get mental health services, but only about four

months after I actually needed them. No wonder it's so hard to get someone with

BPD into therapy. You can't even get help here if you actually want some!

>

> Basically I got a referral to the local mental health clinic because I showed

up in the emergency room feeling suicidal. So within a couple of days I get a

call from the clinic - fabulous! Finally I'm going to get the help I need to

deal with what I've been through! Or not. Because they tell me, " We can get you

a meeting with an intake counselor on January 10. " Of course, that's just the

intake meeting, they explained: if, after that, they think I need some therapy,

I can expect another 4-6 weeks' wait in between.

>

> Umm . . . okay . . . I mean, I guess I'll take it. But either they have

absolutely no system of triage going on here, or half the population of my city

is suicidal. I'm seriously considering coming up with a suicide plan, not to

actually commit suicide, but just to tell doctors about it so I can get some

help! It's almost worth my while to get committed!

>

> I suppose I can't really complain, because at least I live in Canada, where

you can actually get health services without paying for them out of pocket. Not

sure what the situation is like in the States, but any mental health services

I'd have to actually pay for would be completely out of my reach financially.

Getting therapy next February is better than getting no therapy at all, I guess.

But really . . . I sort of thought they'd start taking you a lot more seriously

once the s-word came into the conversation. Apparently only if you're

stockpiling pills or something.

>

> So it got me to wondering, what's the mental health situation like where you

are? What system is in place to help you deal with the ramifications of your

background? Where does it help, and where does it fall short of the mark?

>

> Psyclone

>

[Guest guest]

It is the same in my county - I live in Europe. You have free medical care +

private one. You wait for free one for months (except if you really are

suicidal) or you go to private one - and you still wait ( not so long) because

we don't have a lot of pschiatrists or pscyhotherapists. And not a lot of good

one. And people here are not used to go to seek that kind of help until they are

almost totally crazy. Most of the time you go there . they give you some tablets

and that is. (few exceptions). I never went there, but I know some people who

try to find some help.

For me the best way for getting help are self helping books, good friends or

partner - and best of all this forum...:-)

y

>

> The reason why I ask is because I was shocked to discover that I basically

CAN'T. Or to be precise, I can get mental health services, but only about four

months after I actually needed them. No wonder it's so hard to get someone with

BPD into therapy. You can't even get help here if you actually want some!

>

> Basically I got a referral to the local mental health clinic because I showed

up in the emergency room feeling suicidal. So within a couple of days I get a

call from the clinic - fabulous! Finally I'm going to get the help I need to

deal with what I've been through! Or not. Because they tell me, " We can get you

a meeting with an intake counselor on January 10. " Of course, that's just the

intake meeting, they explained: if, after that, they think I need some therapy,

I can expect another 4-6 weeks' wait in between.

>

> Umm . . . okay . . . I mean, I guess I'll take it. But either they have

absolutely no system of triage going on here, or half the population of my city

is suicidal. I'm seriously considering coming up with a suicide plan, not to

actually commit suicide, but just to tell doctors about it so I can get some

help! It's almost worth my while to get committed!

>

> I suppose I can't really complain, because at least I live in Canada, where

you can actually get health services without paying for them out of pocket. Not

sure what the situation is like in the States, but any mental health services

I'd have to actually pay for would be completely out of my reach financially.

Getting therapy next February is better than getting no therapy at all, I guess.

But really . . . I sort of thought they'd start taking you a lot more seriously

once the s-word came into the conversation. Apparently only if you're

stockpiling pills or something.

>

> So it got me to wondering, what's the mental health situation like where you

are? What system is in place to help you deal with the ramifications of your

background? Where does it help, and where does it fall short of the mark?

>

> Psyclone

>

[Guest guest]

Where do you live? I'm in Canada and have been in and out of a psychologists

office for the last 20 years. I bet that they are trying to refer you to a

psychiatrist which is a hard referral to get unless you've been hospitalized.

There are services out there, you just need to know where to look.

Start by calling a psychologists office, ask them if they have a sliding scale.

If not, ask them where you can find services for free or for a small fee. They

will know. I used to work for a trio of psychologists and part of my job was to

keep a record of these services for callers that couldn't afford the 130/hr fee.

If that receptionist can't help, keep calling.

Psychologists in training (provisional psychologists) cannot charge the regular

rates, but must work under the supervision of another registered psychologist.

This means that often you'll find them working in the firm of a psychologist,

but for a much reduced rate. I beleive that when I was working for the

psychologists the Provisionals charged $40/hr. In some cases the provisional

would either bring in the registered psychologist or their case was transfered

to the lead psychologist because of the nature of the case. Still charging the

same rate of course.

Do you have a benefit health care plan through your work? That can pay for

several sessions.

There are also tons of support groups, free counselling services. The

universities and public health centers have social workers and psychologists. My

husband and I saw one that was affiliated with a university for couples

counselling and we paid what we could (I think it was 15/hr)She was in

university working on her Ph.d and she really helped us.

The healing process isn't on the shoulders of the psycholgist. 80% of people who

see one are only there to complain about their lives and don't want to change

things.

For me, it was a combo. My own reading, seeing a psychologist, forums like this

and personal introspection. Actually I even got a degree in psychology too,

thinking that I wanted to be a psychologist. I think it was just a form of

healing. Now that Im in a different place, I dont want to do that anymore.

YOU are in charge of your own healing. If it turns out that you cannot afford

one, then seek other ways to heal.

[Guest guest]

Dear Psyclone,

Great post. I know you are not trying to be funny, but your sarcasm about the

s-word was well-put. Please hang in there! Just because they don't understand

the seriousness of this issue doesn't mean no one cares. I think the problem is

that there are so many people with needs. And those who are low functioning or

an immediate threat to themselves or others are moved up the list.

Do you have a plan? If you do, even in the back of your mind or in a vague

sense, you could call them back and tell them it is getting worse. They might

move your appointment up. Also, I called for marital counseling a couple of

years ago right at this time of year and had to wait until January also. I

think the holidays are especially hard because so many people experience

problems and clinicians are taking vacations and have some holidays off. Basic

supply and demand.

It was definitely WORTH THE WAIT!!! I started out with a female counselor who

reminded me of sis and nada! Needless to say, it wasn't going so well. I hung

in there, though, and made it through the nervous " I can't breathe " feeling I

got talking with her. She helped me a lot to see patterns and even pinpointed

my relationship with mom. Guess what???!!! I ended up referring mom to her!

:-) I really felt I had dealt with all of this years ago writing letters and

journals and all that. I told her she was probably right, but that I just

couldn't handle getting into all that right now. I think I will call her back

now. We just lost health benefits, so I can't go right now. But next year, if

we have the new baby we are planning, I will max out the plan and just go to

counseling while I'm at it!

Then my husband and I got in with a guy who works with foster kids. I think he

was such a great fit for us because we are like big kids in adult bodies. We

are both sensitive and hardworking, but LOVE to have fun and play - sports,

hobbies, pets, music, whatever. Our kids have a lot of fun too. At the same

time, we are incredibly serious and are both work-a-holics and addiction-prone.

(food, nicotine)

This counselor used behavioristic techniques that worked great to help get us

out of stuck patterns. We then studied his approach which is based in Solution

Oriented Therapy. Look up Bill O'Hanlon and Michele Weiner- if you want to

see what it is. It helped us SO much!

p.s. The waiting time for my appointment ended up serving me well; I delved into

some feelings and was really ready when I got started. I think the waiting can

serve as preparation time; and you can get support here!

Now I'm realizing I learned how to get by, but I am kind of back to square one

with this whole BPD thing. I think I can get a lot further now. A month ago, I

thought my childhood was normal and that all parents killed family pets and

tortured their kids for entertainment. Really.

>

> The reason why I ask is because I was shocked to discover that I basically

CAN'T. Or to be precise, I can get mental health services, but only about four

months after I actually needed them. No wonder it's so hard to get someone with

BPD into therapy. You can't even get help here if you actually want some!

>

> Basically I got a referral to the local mental health clinic because I showed

up in the emergency room feeling suicidal. So within a couple of days I get a

call from the clinic - fabulous! Finally I'm going to get the help I need to

deal with what I've been through! Or not. Because they tell me, " We can get you

a meeting with an intake counselor on January 10. " Of course, that's just the

intake meeting, they explained: if, after that, they think I need some therapy,

I can expect another 4-6 weeks' wait in between.

>

> Umm . . . okay . . . I mean, I guess I'll take it. But either they have

absolutely no system of triage going on here, or half the population of my city

is suicidal. I'm seriously considering coming up with a suicide plan, not to

actually commit suicide, but just to tell doctors about it so I can get some

help! It's almost worth my while to get committed!

>

> I suppose I can't really complain, because at least I live in Canada, where

you can actually get health services without paying for them out of pocket. Not

sure what the situation is like in the States, but any mental health services

I'd have to actually pay for would be completely out of my reach financially.

Getting therapy next February is better than getting no therapy at all, I guess.

But really . . . I sort of thought they'd start taking you a lot more seriously

once the s-word came into the conversation. Apparently only if you're

stockpiling pills or something.

>

> So it got me to wondering, what's the mental health situation like where you

are? What system is in place to help you deal with the ramifications of your

background? Where does it help, and where does it fall short of the mark?

>

> Psyclone

>

[Guest guest]

A month and a half to wait for therapy when you're suicidal NOW really defeats

the purpose doesn't it? I guess it's better than nothing...

I would like to get back in therapy myself. I haven't been since I was in

college and they had a free therapist there. That was 7 years ago. I can't

afford it, and I can't afford health insurance either, although even when I had

health insurance, they didn't cover mental health anyway.

Last time I was seriously suicidal I was 16, and my parents paid like $1000 a

day for my mental hospital stay. Their insurance paid for 5 days, but my doctors

recommended more, so my parents paid for as much as they could (2 weeks total).

It was damn worth it, they really helped me. Mostly because they didn't allow my

nada to visit because I kept regressing everytime she came. After that, I

realized it was my nada causing most of my problems, and ran away a year later.

They also gave me some meds that really helped, and I actually am still on them

now.

I still suffer from depression, and do the best with what I learned while in

cognitive therapy to keep it under control. I wish we had affordable mental

health services here in US.

Casey

>

> The reason why I ask is because I was shocked to discover that I basically

CAN'T. Or to be precise, I can get mental health services, but only about four

months after I actually needed them. No wonder it's so hard to get someone with

BPD into therapy. You can't even get help here if you actually want some!

>

> Basically I got a referral to the local mental health clinic because I showed

up in the emergency room feeling suicidal. So within a couple of days I get a

call from the clinic - fabulous! Finally I'm going to get the help I need to

deal with what I've been through! Or not. Because they tell me, " We can get you

a meeting with an intake counselor on January 10. " Of course, that's just the

intake meeting, they explained: if, after that, they think I need some therapy,

I can expect another 4-6 weeks' wait in between.

>

> Umm . . . okay . . . I mean, I guess I'll take it. But either they have

absolutely no system of triage going on here, or half the population of my city

is suicidal. I'm seriously considering coming up with a suicide plan, not to

actually commit suicide, but just to tell doctors about it so I can get some

help! It's almost worth my while to get committed!

>

> I suppose I can't really complain, because at least I live in Canada, where

you can actually get health services without paying for them out of pocket. Not

sure what the situation is like in the States, but any mental health services

I'd have to actually pay for would be completely out of my reach financially.

Getting therapy next February is better than getting no therapy at all, I guess.

But really . . . I sort of thought they'd start taking you a lot more seriously

once the s-word came into the conversation. Apparently only if you're

stockpiling pills or something.

>

> So it got me to wondering, what's the mental health situation like where you

are? What system is in place to help you deal with the ramifications of your

background? Where does it help, and where does it fall short of the mark?

>

> Psyclone

>