Not in a good place right now.

@Ellie

If the MH team try more of the same please go back to your GP and ask him to advocate for you. Otherwise call VMIAC on 9380 3900, they are pretty good in my experience, and others i know have had similarly good responses. That's what they do - advocate for ppl (in Vic) with mental health issues. Have you dealth with them through work?

Hope for being treated with care and respect endures...

Kindest regards,

Kristin

Dialectic Behaviour Therapy was a therapy developed by Marsha Linehan (pronounced Line-a-han) specifically to to treat borderline personality disorder. It's has had an astounding track record and has been promoted as the No1 choice for treating BPD around the world.

Unfortunately, it's usually taught by private therapists and their fees are often out of the reach of ordinary sufferers, many of who struggle to put food on the table due to the chaotic lives they've led. It works and should be provided by either the State or Federal Governments as a study done in NSW in 2010 states that for every person who completes just 12 months of a DBT program saves the State over $8,000 due to less amounts of in-patient services, ambulance and/or police call outs, stays in emergency departments, not to mention the cost to society because of shop lifting, drugs, assaults, family disruption and drink driving.

I've written to the current Vic minister of mental health and he's all p..s and wind! I'm going to phone and write to the opposition today. I did send him and email yesterday, but it bounced, so I have to see what's going on there.

I'm not usually such an activist, but I really believe that DBT can repair terribly damaged lives and I'm not going to just lay down and go away because some goose in the Victorian Government says a certain organisation in Victoria looks after those with BPD. That's what he tried to tell me. He's obviously ill informed! I've written back to him saying the waiting list at this particular organisation are enormous and they only take the worst of the worst while those deemed able to manage, or should I say "exist" are tossed to the curb.

Sorry. I do get my dander up over this issue. The Government could do everyone a favour and save themselves tens of thousands of dollars, but they're just too petty to look outside their cosy little worlds. Grrrrrrr!!

Ellie.

Oh and I meant to say in my last post that it would be great if you could find those papers for me or at least the link. If it's helpful in any way, then I'd really appreciate it.

All great idea and definately worthy of some thought. What I'm currently doing is raising Government awareness that only the "lucky few" can afford Dialectic Behaviour Therapy either because they have perents who's private health cover still covers the BPD sufferer, or they're working and able to afford it themselves. A vast majority of these people aren't in either of those situations and continue to struggle through in-patient admissions, self harm, suicidal gestures or attempts............. you know the rest.

So far, only the private sector has been helping these other individuals.........and helping themselves to hefty fees. Or who knows what's going on behind closed doors? Not that I'm suggesting anything

All I can say is that you were in a very fortunate position to have been accepted in by Spectrum.

I believe they do great work, but are severely under funded and under resourced. The waiting list is massive and most people give up and go away long before their placement comes up. From what I understand, they only take the worst of the worst cases anyway because of the above funding constraints.

I have spoken to them, but they practically told me since I hold down a part time professional position, I'd be deemed too high functioning and unlikely to get a place at Spectrum. Also, It's at least a two hour drive from where I live and so out of the question. I might work and do ok while I continue to live alone with few bills, but I'm far from rich.

How do you feel about the treatment you got from Spectrum? Do you think it helped at all? I know a lot of people with BPD, but none who have ever had treatment through or at Spectrum so am very interested in how you perceived your treatment and care.

Thanks Kristin. I'll bare all this in mind, but hopefully things will work out alright now.

And no. I haven't dealt with VMIAC through work. From what I understand, they're more for those in the adult community on the "outside" who are having problems. I mostly work in geriatric MH and if there's a complaint or prolonged resistance to treatment, then the Mental Health Review Board steps in fairly quickly. We ask them to intervene and they come in a timely fashion either by direct contact or video link. They usually override the desires of the patient (and yes, we call them patients because it's an acute setting) and although that might sound a bit terrible, we usually know these people and know which treatment works, so despite the fact that they're terribly unwell and thinking the pills are poison and we're some secret organisation out to silence them, the board usually goes in the favour of the psychiatrist and consents to forced treatment.

Fortunately, I've yet to see one person who didn't get better and most of them thank us for helping them when they're leaving. Now that we have advanced statements, it's making the entire situation better for the client and easier to give them the correct treatment. I've already filled mine out and it's on file with the MH team and hospital.

That's fine. I appreciate your effort. No rush. I have a friend coming up from Melbourne for the weekend anyway, so won't be about on the Computer all that much.