MartieContributor
Where is the help??
I am a mother. My eldest daughter (15) has been struggling with mental health issues (anxiety, depression, self harm, suicidality and eating disorder) for approximately 2 years.
After her 2nd inpatient stay last year we had 6 months of real improvement. A feeling of light at the end of the tunnel, albeit with that nagging feeling that it could all implode at any moment. She was even discharged from her case worker/psychologist/psychiatrist (through community health service) as they felt things were going so well (against my better judgement might I add). When the inevitable decline came we tried to get in early and get her some professional support again. As it was more than 3 months since her last visit to her pscyhologist we were told she would be treated as if she were a new patient. This meant speaking to an intake officer and going on a wait list.
Knowing this could take some time I also contacted 3 or 4 private psychologists and was told the same thing - as she is under 16 there are very few adolescent psychologists and all have long wait lists. So as we languished on several waiting lists she got worse and worse.
I contacted one of the services that she was waiting on to be told she was 15th on the list and they could only bump her up to an appointment within a week if she was likely to attempt suicide imminently!?! They told me that I needed to be clear on the risk as other people also needed their help..
The hole we were in felt deeper than ever at that point. We understand they said.. really? Do they? The good news is I have found a clinical psychologist who will at least meet with us in 2 weeks. That's a start. Hopefully she'll like her.. but that's another problem for another day.
Is it like this for everyone else too?
