Psychotheraphy Services - The Questionnaire!

Last week, I received a questionnaire from the Psychotherapy Service. Good grief! I realise that they do need to have some background on you, but the depth of the questionnaire is quite something - 11 pages in all.

There is a question on the back page which asks 'Finally, how did you feel about filling in this questionnaire'. Intimidated! But more than that.

I completed the questionnaire last night and subsequently, had a dreadful night. I felt anxious and shaky. All the areas that I have problems with and would like to seek some assistance with are all there on the questionnaire. They've now seen the light of day. I've admitted them to somebody.

It was quite painful. And in many ways, dangerous too. For me - in that it's like opening wounds.... and we all know opening wounds can mean infection.

It will be interesting to see what happens at the assessment meeting. 11 page of information. One hour appointment.

Time to Change Television Advert....

It is due to air on Wednesday 21 Jan at approx. 7.45 pm (in between episodes of Coronation Street).

Here it is (below). What do YOU think?

http://uk.youtube.com/user/ttcnow2008?utm_source=Campaign+launch+final+list&utm_campaign=3ef4eae024-TTC+campaign+launch&utm_medium=email

Becoming a 'Mystery Shopper' of Primary Mental Health Services

Although I'd recently been 'released' back into the wild and had become a service survivor rather than a user, recent events saw me seeking the help of my GP again for depression. My GP deemed this to be a mild, reactive depression rather than a recurrence of clinical depression (amazing how she could tell from a ten minute consultation).

I was referred to the 'Stepping Forward' programme.

Stepping Forward is part of the primary care mental health service in South Warwickshire. I was referred at the end of November 2008 and had my 'assessment' at the end of December 2008. Assessment for what? Well, assessment to see what I could be deemed worthy of accessing under the primary mental health care umbrella.

I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, and not only see what I could access to help me, but I'd also blog about my experiences of the service.

So, following my hour-long assessment, I was offered the following:

A further assessment for access to Cedarwood (Day Services) at St Michael's Hospital in Warwick

To be put on the waiting list for a further assessment for access to psychotherapy at St Michael's Hospital

A list of private registered psychotherapists in the South Warwickshire area


So, basically, more assessment....

Here's some feedback on the process so far:

An appointment was offered to me very quickly. I rang one day and was offered an appointment two days later.

The assessment was held in my own GP surgery, so hence no unnecessary travelling.

The person who conducted the assessment was very pleasant, very clear about what was happening and what would happen in the future.

On a less positive note, the person who conducted the assessment, whilst very competent, did not tell me what her role was or how she was qualified to undertake the assessment (i.e. a psychologist? A CPN?)

I was warned that to access day services at St Michael's I would need to go through another hour long assessment. Same with accessing psychotherapy. Whilst I realise there needs to be cofidentiality and care taken with sensitive information gained during assessments, it does seem that there is a lack of 'joined-up working' (how I hate that expression!) Three separate assessments does seem rather excessive.

I'll blog further when the next assessment looms....

Horizon. How Mad Are You

The second part of the programme aired again last night. You can find some views on it here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7722074.stm

What did you think? I'd be very interested to hear your views.

A few things that occurred to me:

Did the fact that the psychiatric professionals were all middle-aged white males have any bearing on their choice of 'sufferers'? They chose one man and four women. Was this a relfection of their own beliefs that women's behaviour is 'abnormal' because it is simply 'different' from their own?

Also, do you think programmes such as this encourage peole to believe they may suffer from a mental illness, when in fact their reactions to situations are 'normal', simply not the same as another's?

Did the programme help to tackle the stigma surrounding mental health and mental ill health at all?

Assisted Suicide

One of the articles I've come across this week - and a news item I think most of you would have heard - is about the young man who was injured whilst playing rugby and subsequently was paralysed from the chest down.

He travelled to Switzerland where an assisted suicide took place. It appears that his parents are now talking to the police and the Crown Prosecution Service are deciding whether to take the case forward.

We've discussed suicide often in the Media Watch Group, but this story has pinpointed an important ethical issue: when do you accept somebody's wish to die? Should you ever accept it? Maybe if they're terminally ill? What about somebody diagnosed with schizophrenia? With depression?

What do you think?

World Mental Health Day...... waste of time?

What's your view on World Mental Health Day?

A wonderful opportunity to hold events, gain publicity, celebrate our existence and raise the profile of the mental health community?

A chance to combat stigma and discrimination?

Or a patronising construct that serves to allow self-congratulatory behaviour on behalf of mental health service providers (and users/survivors, come to that)?

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The Stop Stigma Blog is brought to you courtesy of the Awareness, Media and Information Project at SWUF.