professionals advise against having counselling...

Hi @Appleblossom,

thanks for writing and giving your very thoughtful, informative replies. I am sorry to hear about your sister who passed; it is very distressing to hear that there may have been hope for her, if she had had the right treatment.

One thing I am learning is that the mental health services available in this country are diverse and confusing! There are a lot of services available, but they are difficult to access in many cases and they don't provide a wholistic approach to healing.

The government needs to take control of this and allow public patients to access care under the private system where there is a need and an overflow of patients who are not having their needs met. I know this happens with public dentistry, for example. When the public dentist has too many patients and can't see them all, they are given a "voucher" to see a dentist in the private system, where more appointments are available.... as there is less demand. The government still picks up the bill.

I am interested in your 'point 6'. We need to be our own advocates- something that is difficult to do when you are suffering from a MI. Yes, we need to seek out 2nd and even 3rd opinions, when it comes to doctors... just like we would with a physical health problem. We have to shop around and pick and choose which treatments are the best for us as an individual.... and yet this is almost impossible for people to do, if they are severely ill.... as often their judgement and reasoning are effected.

@Former-Member,

thanks for writing back and explaining things to me. Your 'Meltal Health Team' sound like they were incompetent. Geez- trying to tell your G.P. what he could and could not prescribe? How did he take that- I assume he was livid? Or else, he knew what he was dealing with and thought he had better go along with them to keep the peace!

I'm glad your old counsellor is able to see you again... what a relief!

There is free or very low cost counselling available outside the public system... through some of the major church groups. I assume this counselling is not religiously motivated... it's a charitable service they provide. I don't know how well they would go with someone with serious and complex issues, but I think it could be worth a try for those of us who have no-one to talk to. I know that if I were in a position where I couldn't afford anything at all then I would try one of these free services.

Hi @Former-Member,

Nice to hear from you!

I feel as though I am hearing a similar story from a few people - that their psychiatrist does not want them to have counselling as it might make them feel worse, before it ever makes them feel better? And if they are not stabilized on meds, then feeling even worse than they already do will lead to a bad outcome? This is what I am hearing.

Ok, well, it makes sense.

I can relate to you saying that the hour spent with your psychiatrist does not feel like a goal-oriented process. It did not for me either. I only felt that my psychiatrist was trying to make an accurate diagnosis of me, and find out as much information as she could, in order to do so. However, this was ultimately to my benefit, so I won't complain.

@Former-Member, by all means, broach the subject of seeing a counsellor again with you psychiatrist. Explain exactly what you want to achieve from seeing one. Be firm!

I really do believe that's it's up to us as patients to decide what is the best course of treatment.

Hi @Sahara. I think that's a really perceptive observation, that psychiatrists put a lot of time into diagnosis. And yes, that is in the patient's interest if it means the best treatment can be utilised. I'm sure there's also an element of their potentially having to defend their actions, which I can understand, too, since they're often dealing with life and death situations.

Your advice about being firm in expressing my needs is good advice. I'll put some though into how I can put that across in a way that is respectful and preserves the relationship. Thank you!

Hope your week is going ok.

HI @HellonWheels,

thanks for sharing with us. I like your attitude: "You can always stop going if you find it unhelpful". Yes, I agree.

Seeing one professional does not stop you from seeing another, different professional. And then, of course, it's up to you how much of what they say you take on board. Sometimes the things they say really make a lot of sense and other times we might think "Hmmmm..... I don't want to go down that path."

I have seen about 6 different counsellors/psychologists/therapists in all. I found them all very helpful in their own way. I moved towns a lot, so I had to keep seeking out different people- new town; new counsellor.

Strangely enough, I was very glad that I had so much different input into my recovery. It helped me gain a wider perspective. I have a friend who has seen the same psychologist for 10 years and I am wondering if she is not too attached to him now? Like, she quotes his opinions, word for word, as though he is God, or something? I wonder if it isn't time for her to start making up her own mind about a few things? (She is basically healthy and functioning well; employed, productive, able to socialize, not on meds, etc.)

When I was in counselling .. there was pressure on that I was not facing up to transference issues.... and to not go ... was wimping out ... and to try more than one ... was tantamount ... to having an adulterous affair ... neither which has been my style ...

Still unfinished business with some psychiatrists .. not up to going to ombudman yet ... but maybe I should start draughting letters .. and eventually send them off

I am not talking about simply not delivering .. I am learning about where my own boundaries have been crossed ... I understand that my case is tricky.

I wish it was that simple for everyone @HellonWheels ... but I have seen enough confused people ... go through a lot when making these decisions ... just my experience.

Thanks for writing, @Appleblossom,

I hope you put in a complaint if you were not treated well by a psychiatrist. They have to be made aware when clients are not happy with their treatment, otherwise they will never question themselves and never improve their standards.

That's amusing - seeing a different psychologist was "tantamount to having an an adulterous affair". Wow. They came down heavy on you! I have never looked at it that way.

A few days ago I was reading about the client/psychologist relationship and the article I was reading described how you are supposed to form a strong bond with your therapist. This enables trust to form and clients to be very open with their therapist. So staying with the one psychologist would be ideal - although not always practical.

I don't know if I ever really trusted my psychologists or not. I mean, they never gave me any reason not to trust them. Thinking back over everything they said; it all made sense at the time. I can't recall any of them saying anything "odd" or inappropriate.

But I do wonder; how could I get lucky enough to see 6 therapists and all of them be quite good? When so many people here on the forums have described dissatisfaction with their therapists (and worse.) Does it mean that I never engaged with them fully in the first place? That I was never totally invested in the process? I wonder.

Overall, in life, I would say I am not a trusting person and I don't reveal much of myself. But in therapy, it's different. Your therapist is not a friend and you don't have a vested interest in making them 'like' you. If, by any chance, you sensed that they didn't like you or couldn't help you, then you can just walk out and never see them again and you don't even have to explain yourself. They wont come knocking on your door at 1am, nor will they send you nasty emails or call your house and hang up! From that point of view, I always thought of counsellors as very "safe".

So, yeah, I did reveal heaps and heaps of stuff in therapy.... I believe that I revealed all that I had.

I see the client/doctor or client/therapist relationship as being a working relationship. Personally, I don't think I ever felt any kind of true bonding with these people. Maybe because I didn't know anything about their lives? I don't know.

Wow, they actually exsist? My Pyschiatrist pushed for counselling despite the fact I have been to many.

Trauma, eating, daily living, abusive relationship, family, all these types of counsellors.If I go to one more, I get a free diary!.Counsellors were not my friends.But good ones exsist.

No, seriously when you pay for Psychiatrist you expect advice. Medicine, yes, past events and trauma, they touch a little but mainly are there to manage the disorder and they write the scripts.Very clinical and at times standoffish.

In comes the couselling. I finally gave up after 3 years of resisting, in fear of getting someone that wanted me to write in a journal.It works for many but not me.

My Psychologist is fine. Much cheaper. She does not deal with child trauma but her husband does.

She will whip out that art paper to try and do the circle of conflict, which I hate! but is supportive when I bring my partner in for sessions.Very good.

If I could take a Psychiatrist/Psychologist and give it to my G.P, I would have the help needed.

My G.P is simply amazing.She is the one I can go to if I have concerns. I lost my job last year(breakdown) she was the one that put me on medical leave.I can no longer afford my Psychiatrist, this stresses me very much, so she has stepped in and manages my medication. A doctor can't refuse me scripts because of financial woes, as long as I keep up treatment, she can continue to write and advise medicine.

But advice to not seek couselling is yeah something I have never heard of. Thankyou for sharing.

Hi @Former-Member,

it's great to hear that you are having success with your psychologist and your G.P.

I am learning from this thread that there are a lot of treatment options out there for people with MI..... but it's a matter of finding the right treatment for each individual case, which can take time and effort.

Yes, it's my understanding that a G.P. can prescribe most psychiatric medicines. There might be a few drugs that they don't have authority to perscribe, however. I would have to do further reading on it. Anyway, I can't mention specific drugs on this forum.

I know there are also some G.P's who have done specialized training in Mental Health issues and these doctors are in demand. There is one such doctor in my home town and there is a huge waiting list to see her.