Feels like no access

Hi @Evangeline1 . Welcome to the forums!🙂

Reading through your post, I'm wondering if what you are hoping for is what I believe is called "psychosocial support"? It's a big obscure term that most people aren't familiar with unless they've been dealing with the system for some time, so most rookies who need it don't even know to look for it.

Basically, psychosocial support is helpers that deal with problems in your actual life - such as lack of friends, lack of car, unemployment/unsatisfactory employment, poor living arrangements, ect.

This is in contrast to a traditional therapist who is only interested in dealing with the thoughts & feelings that you experiance, arising from such problems. Psychosocial support will try to set a depressed lonely person up with new friends/romance; a therapist will just try to convince a depressed lonely person to "be okay with" and "accept" their lonely life.

The bad news is that I've found that psychosocial support can be incredibly difficult to track down. I've never been able to find any in my area; hence I've never actually used it, so I can't testify as to whether or not it actually works or not. I'm just going off what I've been told.

[edited by moderator]

Hey @Evangeline1 ,

Thank you for sharing. I hear that you badly want to receive support as you feel abandoned and alone in your journey.

The forums here are a great source of peer support where members can share their experiences and support one another. Although this is a text platform, it doesn't stop the potential for strong connections and a sense of belonging to develop.

I, myself, used these forums to support with my recovery as I found the peer support so helpful for my recovery.

Also, do you know about SANE Guided Service? That will give you 1:1 support with either a counsellor or a peer worker. You can have a look here to see if you are eligible. This is a free service.

https://www.sane.org/referral#registering-myself

You deserve to feel supported.

We look forward to hearing from you.

tyme

hi @Evangeline1

im sorry that your feeling lost and alone. i hope that we can help you feel supported throughout your journey.

many psychologists accept telehealth consults now either via phone or video confrencing so it makes accessing a psychologist a little easier as you dont need to have a local therapist, if its telehealth you can really use anyone.

there is a program also called mindspot. they offer free counselling when you sign up to do their free online courses. maybe this could be something to look into. it might be worth having a look at least.

ive added their website here for you

MindSpot Clinic - Free Online Mental Health Support

I know you just want your Dr to prescribe you something, but sadly, that's almost never the answer. And I'm speaking as someone for whom medication has been very important... But I have a psychotic illness. And even with a severe psychotic illness, crucially important was psychological support... In my case my dr spending the time talking to me, listening to me, supporting me... For years on end.

What your dr (GP) can do is write a psychology referral under Better Access so that you can get subsidised appointments with a psychologist. You'll need to book a long appointment, a double appointment, and ask for a Mental Health Treatment Plan and psychology referral. In the process you can talk about medication and whether it has a role in your care. Medication has a lot of downsides, and talking therapy is usually just as effective as medication. Your dr will let you know if there's something particular about your circumstances that means medication might be helpful. Speaking as someone who responds well to psych meds, I'm also aware that there are people who have difficulties with side effects, and it usually doesn't help people... At best, antidepressants have an effect in 1 out of 5 people who take them for depression.

You mentioned not having a car... If you've seen a GP at the practice within the past year, you can have a 15 minute telehealth appointment on Medicare. And if you register for MyMedicare with that practice, you can have long telehealth appointments. MyMedicare is a new government program that I personally don't like, but part of it is that if you register with a practice, and you can only register with one practice, then you can have long telehealth appointments on Medicare. So if you wanted to do the whole Mental Health Treatment Plan appointment by telehealth, it would be worth ringing the practice and working out how you register so that you're eligible for the full rebate.

I'm not sure where you are, sometimes it can be hard to find a psychologist who is taking on new clients. You could ask your GP if they can help you find a psychologist, if you're not sure how to go about it. There may be other resources in your community your GP can tell you about, depending on your particular situation.

Recovery is a long road, but most people get there. I've been in very dark places, homeless, but I now have good stable mental health, a Master's degree, and nobody would guess where I've come from. You will get there, but it takes time, and sometimes you just need to hang in there. Take care.