Venting Mental health professionals

[TJuk]

So I spoke with my psychotherapist and my social worker today for my weekly over the phone therapy appointment (would be face to face if wasn't for coronavirus) this is for my ptsd and voices well today they said they don't know how to help me.

So there we go now the professionals have admitted it they can't help my moods. Was suicidal before but yeah I was hoping with therapy I could have got better.

 

[Flump]

The trouble with mental health professionals, they have no life experience in what people with mental health problems go through so how can they give advice, these jobs should be given to people so actually understand how a person feels and what they are going through! If they have never felt this way how can they give advice! You have lots of people here to talk to who understand and will help the best they can

 

[TJuk]

I was speaking with one of the other ones and she has depression, and is a mental health nurse. One of the other workers lost her friend to suicide so there are people that have lived experience of mental health in the mental health team at least in the UK.

I no longer know how to cope with life, the constant flashbacks, voices and then in my sleep there is nightmares. I don't get a break from it. I have then got constant physical pain from my knee injury, and then the long term injuries and pains from jumping from a bridge in 2013

 

[Empirespy]

At least they were honest with you, better than being forced through long treatments that don't work, and when they don't work they blame you for it.

 

[TJuk]

Yeah altho they are sat telling me that they will try come up with something

 

[Oh so tired]

That must have been so hard to hear, we put our trust in these professionals so to then hear that they don't have the answer is sole destroying. I'm going through similar at the moment, my CMHT have threatened to discharge me as they think I'm not engaging properly with services. It is quite ironic as this is actually an indication that I need more support, not less!

I'm glad that your therapists have said they will try to come up with something, I hope that they do.

I also struggle with flashbacks, nightmares and voices (amongst other things) so I have every sympathy as I know how exhausting and overwhelming it is. I hope you manage to get the support that you deserve.

 

[TJuk]

That must have been so hard to hear, we put our trust in these professionals so to then hear that they don't have the answer is sole destroying. I'm going through similar at the moment, my CMHT have threatened to discharge me as they think I'm not engaging properly with services. It is quite ironic as this is actually an indication that I need more support, not less!

I'm glad that your therapists have said they will try to come up with something, I hope that they do.

I also struggle with flashbacks, nightmares and voices (amongst other things) so I have every sympathy as I know how exhausting and overwhelming it is. I hope you manage to get the support that you deserve.

Thanks it is hard to hear.

I'm sorry you are also struggling I can't believe they are thinking of discharging you when you most need support.
How'd you manage with the voices etc, you can pm me if you want to chat privately regarding that

 

[Slow85]

I'm MHP and have experience with mental health , and you would be surprised at the number of people working within the MH sector who have experience. Just because someone says they can't help / don't know how to help - isn't because of their lack of experience personally with mental health - also I think it's fair to say that we don't need to have experience of something to allow us to care for someone with a condition / illness and to do it well .....

That being said I have had my fair share of shitty treatment from my CMHT - as such I paid for private treatment and have been referred to an out of area trust things got so bad .

I think it's good they were honest and transparent with you - although difficult to hear - but also that they said they would be looking for a solution . They have not given up !

I struggle with auditory , tactile and visual hallucinations. It can be very difficult and I'm sorry you are struggling with this :(

 

[TJuk]

I didn't say that they need to have personal experience I was saying I know some of them have because they have told me, there's a peer support worker in my team who's very honest that she has mh problems and one of the roles she has is to help people see just cause have mh problems they can still do x, y, z.

Id rather them be honest than bull me or fob me off. They also said that we will find a way to help you, which is honest, but also shows between our weekly sessions my two workers are thinking of and wanting to try help me. My old worker used to tell me to use distractions repeatedly, these two workers aren't they are suggesting things which is fine because maybe something will help even if only for abit, abit is better than nothing.

I have "complex trauma" or multiple trauma they keep saying so years of been messed up and abused etc isn't going to be resolved magically especially when I'm not great at expressing emotions especially because I don't feel many emotions if any

 

[Slow85]

I didn't say that they need to have personal experience I was saying I know some of them have because they have told me, there's a peer support worker in my team who's very honest that she has mh problems and one of the roles she has is to help people see just cause have mh problems they can still do x, y, z.

I wasn't replying to you - it was to the poster underneath but the quote didn't appear ! Just crossed wires there

I understand the role of peer support - all peer support have to have experience of mental health in order to carry out their role - we have two in our team also - they are great! I'm glad you have access to that .

Also I agree it's great that your team are working for you and being open and honest and working on ways to help you .

 

[Oh so tired]

Thanks it is hard to hear.

I'm sorry you are also struggling I can't believe they are thinking of discharging you when you most need support.
How'd you manage with the voices etc, you can pm me if you want to chat privately regarding that

It is really hard. The voices are a relatively new thing for me and developed as a part of severe depression. It frightens me and makes me feel like I'm losing it completely! I'm supposed to be working on staying 'connected' with reality but it's very difficult. The more I lose that connection the more likely I am to ctb. How do.you manage? Are you on medication?
Please do pm me if you want to chat.

 

[Flump]

I wasn't replying to you - it was to the poster underneath but the quote didn't appear ! Just crossed wires there

I understand the role of peer support - all peer support have to have experience of mental health in order to carry out their role - we have two in our team also - they are great! I'm glad you have access to that .

Also I agree it's great that your team are working for you and being open and honest and working on ways to help you .

I'm in the U.K. and every Mental Health person I dealt with was really heartless and unprofessional, they let my son down by not listening to us and they have let me down. One of them compared me loosing my son her her loosing her 90 year old mother? I suppose different areas must be different.

 

[Slow85]

I'm in the U.K. and every Mental Health person I dealt with was really heartless and unprofessional, they let my son down by not listening to us and they have let me down. One of them compared me loosing my son her her loosing her 90 year old mother? I suppose different areas must be different.

Oh I'm not dismissing your experience - I've not doubt that it's happening and I know it happens and I'm sorry that you have experienced it . I guess I just wanted to let you know that there are people who care ( im one of them )

 

[Flump]

Oh I'm not dismissing your experience - I've not doubt that it's happening and I know it happens and I'm sorry that you have experienced it . I guess I just wanted to let you know that there are people who care ( im one of them )

Sorry I just get so angry, if only there were more like you

 

[Pryras]

I'm sorry you had to hear that from someone who you trusted to help you. Poor choice of words from the professionals honestly, I would suggest working with someone different (if that's available to you) let them know how that statement made you feel and if possible find someone more empathetic and capable to support you.

 

[Bct]

Sorry to hear that. That's my biggest fear too, that my anxiety, insecurity, & past traumas can't be cured (or need a long time to cure it).

At least they were honest with you & not trying to milk your time & money just to say it didn't work from the beginning.

 

[Slow85]

Sorry I just get so angry

Please don't apologise . Your experiences are valid as are your emotions. I too have felt so angry at the experiences I have had through MH services. They can be so lacking in compassion and empathy and it does leave you wondering if people are really in the right job .

It's a massive reason why I moved from my other healthcare role to working in mental health . To be able to care for people struggling and use parts of my own experiences with services to shape the care that I give to those I work with ie ensuring I always call when I say I will , giving time to people , treating patients as humans and not diagnoses.

I promise you - there are people who care. It's just such a shame it's so hard to find them x

 

[SleeplessSoul]

I'm really sorry and I hope you are able to find the right support. Are you being discharged or are you just waiting to hear anything? (You might have said already I'm sorry). I've had some really terrible experiences with mental health teams, particularly with crisis teams. I've seen them 3 times in the last year and been discharged the same day. After I overdosed the crisis team came and told me that therapy services would discharge me because of it.

I don't want this to sound like I'm showing off but I've also had a very positive experience. My psychologist at the moment has been so helpful. Since my overdose, we've got somewhere and I can see things changing. The last two sessions we've had some very intense conversations and she's offered to check in on me between sessions. I've been in and out of therapy for like 14 years (CAMHS for the first 10 so let's be real that was going to be rubbish) and she's the first properly good experience I've had.

 

[darkhorse256]

I'm so sorry that you're dealing with PTSD and flashbacks. I'm going through that too and it's hard to live day to day. I'm glad your therapists are trying to find a way to make it work instead of insisting on following some cookie cutter method.

 

[TJuk]

I'm really sorry and I hope you are able to find the right support. Are you being discharged or are you just waiting to hear anything? (You might have said already I'm sorry). I've had some really terrible experiences with mental health teams, particularly with crisis teams. I've seen them 3 times in the last year and been discharged the same day. After I overdosed the crisis team came and told me that therapy services would discharge me because of it.

I don't want this to sound like I'm showing off but I've also had a very positive experience. My psychologist at the moment has been so helpful. Since my overdose, we've got somewhere and I can see things changing. The last two sessions we've had some very intense conversations and she's offered to check in on me between sessions. I've been in and out of therapy for like 14 years (CAMHS for the first 10 so let's be real that was going to be rubbish) and she's the first properly good experience I've had.

I'm waiting for them to think of anything which may help even abit. The psychotherapist firstly was a mental health nurse then for some reason went into been a psychotherapist so I kind of thought she might be better qualified but I guess if you've never experienced flashbacks, nightmares and voices you can't really understand what it's like to experience it. Altho my care coordinator (social worker) asked what it's like to experience a flashback such as everything I feel, see.

I have been put on the list for the duty workers at weekend to call me to check on me which is OK

I'm so sorry that you're dealing with PTSD and flashbacks. I'm going through that too and it's hard to live day to day. I'm glad your therapists are trying to find a way to make it work instead of insisting on following some cookie cutter method.

Thank you I'm so sorry you have to go through it too. They are honest with me because my trust in the mental health service got majorly affected by a worker in the crisis team as she lied to the police , and another therapist tried blaming me for the therapy she was using not working - she was basically using dbt on me despite my diagnosises been ptsd, severe depression, voices and anxiety.

Sorry to hear that. That's my biggest fear too, that my anxiety, insecurity, & past traumas can't be cured (or need a long time to cure it).

At least they were honest with you & not trying to milk your time & money just to say it didn't work from the beginning.

I am in the UK so luckily I have not had to pay for it