Furious at a broken system yet again

That sounds so hard @lonemushroom . It seems unfair that only the 'wealthier' can get MH support.

Quick question. If you get another 10 sessions with Medicare, does that help? Or it is still hard because of gap fees?

Can they refer you to other services?

@tyme it definitely is still hard because of the gap fees, I’m on a pension and most fortnights I’m choosing between bills and food on the table so even something as little as twenty bucks per session I couldn’t afford.

I could check to see where my medicare sessions stand though on the off chance I do find somewhere suitable, but yeah no idea about other services at all. no one even told me this was happening and I probably would’ve gotten a rude shock at the GP’s office trying to get another referral again in a few weeks had I not found out really, so no idea if they can refer me to anything else or if they’ll even offer to.

I wonder if something like this might be helpful? https://www.mindspot.org.au/

@lonemushroom

I know it doesn't replace what you've got now, but it's something I guess - for now?

I hear how hard this is. I'm so sorry you have to go through this, and at the end of the year too.

With the psych sessions, they renew each calendar year I believe.

@tyme thank you 💗 I have mindspot on my list of places to try for when I’m in a blind spot with care and really need it

I’m also gonna call the service responsible for my referrals to find out more info too but I have to wait till monday’s business hours for that. depending on the response I get then maybe a local MP too, I just really need a huge lot more clarification around this whole thing honestly

surely there has to be an alternative that isn’t just a quick bandaid fix. this affects my entire area so that’s what, hundreds if not thousands of people with complex mental health struggles impacted? just astounds me that I pretty much had to stumble across this news by chance rather than actually being notified. I can’t imagine how distressing it will be for people who find out in far less convenient ways.

if only people knew how much things like this can severely impact us folks stuck dealing with the system.

@tyme I just realised too, I’ve had at least three or four interactions with my psych clinic this week, including my first phone appointment with my newest therapist earlier today. why didn’t they let me know during any of those conversations at any point this week? or are they unaware as well? meaning none of the clinics that take these referrals have been notified either and have no idea they’re probably going to lose a bunch of patients?
surely there has to be a solution, surely.

it does make me wonder too @lonemushroom . Are they even aware????

I've been in situations in the past where someone has become very upset and angry at me about a change, but when I looked into it, I didn't even know of the change...

Are you able to ask them next time?

@tyme I definitely will be asking as soon as I speak to them next, honestly even if they were aware it’s still more the organisation offering the referrals I’m concerned about getting answers from since it wouldn’t just be my clinic impacted but also every single other place in the area that accepts those specific referrals, off the top of my head I know for a fact there would be at least 15 other local therapy places affected by this

I found out that apparently my medicare sessions should still be okay to use which is good…if I can find out whether my clinic or anywhere else suitable can bulk bill that is! my clinic’s never really given me a straight up answer about that tbh so I guess I’ll be asking them about that at my next appointment too

I guess it’s now a waiting game over this weekend and next week until I can make more phone calls and get some answers, just really feel for other people dealing with this as well

Hope you're okay @lonemushroom

hey @tyme I hope your week has been going well ❤️

most of my week has been about trying to get through heatwaves and keeping away from bushfire smoke so I haven’t had a lot of energy to chase things up. that’s on me. severe heat triggers my chronic pain and fatigue like crazy. I’m hoping I’ll have energy to make the phone calls that I need to this coming week. I’m not sure I want to bother the psych clinic before my next appointment though as I think they’ve also just recently been impacted by fire so I’ll probably mainly be trying to get straight through to the place responsible for my referrals

I have honestly spent most of today and last night kinda spiralling and crying over a bunch of unrelated stuff. I guess this whole situation is a factor in it for sure but there’s a whole bunch of other things getting me down and I think constantly feeling like my life is one stressful or traumatic thing after the other can sometimes just all build up on me and I just break down.

I’m safe though. just waiting for the more dysphoric feelings to pass. I’m still trying my best to seek further help but it’s so shattering and hellish feeling stuck like this. sometimes I wish I could have all the words to describe truly how deep and intense my pain is. I’ve felt immensely misunderstood my whole life and it’s so isolating.

@tyme so I had therapy yesterday and my new therapist gave me a couple things to try out until at least our next session which was nice. apparently even the clinic wasn’t made aware of the issue until the exact moment funding was exhausted, which they’re annoyed about as well meaning I was right in regards to my suspicions about the possibility that they haven’t notified a single clinician that accepts their referrals early enough at all

apparently they are looking to get more funding for the scheme, but the info I have is it’s on pause for now and no one’s sure what’s happening with it really.

so that I find…..very annoying not just for myself but for many many other people impacted by this.

looks like the holidays aren’t going to be very holiday-like for me while I wait for services to be slightly normal again after the new year kicks off lol

GP doesn’t come back til early february. psychology clinic’s office is open for one more week then closed til mid to late jan. last session before I need another referral is two days before christmas. gonna be a bumpy ride, I really hope I don’t end up without regular help again. I can’t handle it just yet at all.