180 Untheraputic Minutes Of Therapy....
It took a lot of courage for me to tell my Doctor I'd been living with and suffering from depression. I had kept quiet about it for so long but eventually I found the bravery to ask for help. I thought it would make me feel better but instead I came away after the appointment feeling disappointed. My effort had been a waster of time as my Doctor had shown little concern. He told me to refer myself to a councellor & said I might be on a waiting list for up to 3 months. He told me there was nothing else he could do & I got the feeling I hadn't been taken seriously. I wasn't happy but I had to accept it.
I came home & phoned the referral line straightaway and they put me on the waiting list. All I could do was hope I'd receive an appointment quickly but unfortunetly for me my referral didn't come through for another six months. SIX months! I had spent all that time feeling let down & forgotten about and I couldn't even go back to my Doctor as he'd seemed uninterested. But now my appointment had come through I thought I might be getting somewhere at last. After all, it wasn't like I was asking for much- just someone to talk to. I was hopeful but that feeling didn't last long when I found out I had only been offered six therapy sessions lasting only 30 minutes each time. So in total- I was only to receive THREE hours of talking therapy, which is just 180 minutes. I was expected to resolve my mental health problems in just 180 short & pathetic minutes? Was that what I'd waited a whole half a year for? Was this a joke or was I genuinely being insulted?
My sessions with the councellor were over before they had really begun- before they'd even scratched the surface. If I had've known that I wasn't entitled to any more than this then I wouldn't have bothered putting myself through the stress of speaking out to my Doctor in the first place. I started to understand why some people choose to suffer in silence. Once my sessions finished I was asked if I'd like to repeat them so I said yes. I don't know if another six short sessions will do the trick but I'll give it a try. The disappointing thing about it is that I now have to go back on the waiting list which means it will probably be 2018 before I receive anymore help. It's deeply shocking that this is how a person struggling mentally gets treated and I think it's wholly unacceptable.
Lucy.. X
I came home & phoned the referral line straightaway and they put me on the waiting list. All I could do was hope I'd receive an appointment quickly but unfortunetly for me my referral didn't come through for another six months. SIX months! I had spent all that time feeling let down & forgotten about and I couldn't even go back to my Doctor as he'd seemed uninterested. But now my appointment had come through I thought I might be getting somewhere at last. After all, it wasn't like I was asking for much- just someone to talk to. I was hopeful but that feeling didn't last long when I found out I had only been offered six therapy sessions lasting only 30 minutes each time. So in total- I was only to receive THREE hours of talking therapy, which is just 180 minutes. I was expected to resolve my mental health problems in just 180 short & pathetic minutes? Was that what I'd waited a whole half a year for? Was this a joke or was I genuinely being insulted?
My sessions with the councellor were over before they had really begun- before they'd even scratched the surface. If I had've known that I wasn't entitled to any more than this then I wouldn't have bothered putting myself through the stress of speaking out to my Doctor in the first place. I started to understand why some people choose to suffer in silence. Once my sessions finished I was asked if I'd like to repeat them so I said yes. I don't know if another six short sessions will do the trick but I'll give it a try. The disappointing thing about it is that I now have to go back on the waiting list which means it will probably be 2018 before I receive anymore help. It's deeply shocking that this is how a person struggling mentally gets treated and I think it's wholly unacceptable.
Lucy.. X
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