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resources - SeriousConversation
Main Post: resources - SeriousConversation
What are your experiences with mental health treatment in the UK?
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I've been pursuing treatment for the best part of a decade for my MH troubles. Rather than starting with my opinion, I'd be really interested to take the lay of the land in this sub - this can be from first or second hand experience.
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OK, I'll add my post from r/britishproblems -
NHS mental health services are utterly broken and unfit for purpose
Firstly, I should add as a disclaimer that plenty of individuals within the system are great and doubtless overworked. My beef is with the set-up itself.
NHS mental healthcare is a complete shambles in 2018. I don't think I'm being hyperbolic. Almost every service will avoid taking responsibility and refer you somewhere else in a sweeping, almost beautiful, Kafkaesque loop. Doctor says to call the crisis line. Crisis line says go to A&E. A&E says go home and call the crisis line if things get worse. Crisis line says book a doctor’s appointment. ‘Download an app and go for a jog’ is still not good enough. 6-12 month waiting list for a professional chat is not good enough. Relying on charities is not good enough. Having to separately tell 40+ people the same symptoms over a decade is not good enough.
There are no resources for treatment the first, fifth or tenth time you go to the doctor’s because you seem pretty put together and so are not a priority. If you ‘present’ well you obviously don’t need urgent help, so there’s a disincentive to conduct yourself with dignity - the system rewards you for breaking down and funnels you down the path of getting worse until you’re difficult to ignore. Ie the stupidest fucking arrangement to ensure the service is panicky & reactive and uses the most possible resources rather than calm & preventative. How many struggling people are burdens on the service because they couldn’t get treatment for several years and therefore slowly slid from OK to atrocious? It’s not so much people slipping through the cracks as them standing over a gaping chasm over which nobody’s put any flooring.
Fund the NHS and start the mental health service from scratch, because although lots of people are dedicated/lovely, the apparatus is completely abortive and broken.
What is the best thing your mental health therapist told you?
Main Post: What is the best thing your mental health therapist told you?
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That on your worst days where everything in life seems pointless, it’s okay to just “be.” The quote I hold onto when things get really bad is “Sometimes you just have to live on purpose.” It was refreshing to have someone acknowledge that not everyday is going to be positive and moving forward and self-care, sometimes it just sucks and if all you can do is just be alive for today, you’re giving yourself the opportunity for tomorrow to be better.
Mental health and Depression support for Adults?
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Hello I'm an 29 year old male who has no support network here in London or family/friends. It has been like this for me for about 9 years and I'm trying to find help. It has left me very broken and dysfunctional. Are there any good counselling services or places I could go to get diagnosed?
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chma crisis center on huron and adelaide is a good starting access point. They take drop ins and you get the help you need.
As a psychotherapist subreddits like r/meirl and r/depression make me angry and I'll tell you why they are unhealthy for people with mental health problems
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Im pretty active on big science subs, so I'll use this alt, since a lot of people will disagree with me.
A lot of my patients suffer from depression and a lot of them naturally have very negative habits and routines. They have trouble getting out of unhealthy routines. Say staying in bed/ or awake for too long, not taking care of their physical needs like healthy eating, doing sports, not tidying up their homes. And a lot of them spend way too much time on social media and reddit where they seek like minded people to bathe in their negativity. While I understand how difficult it is for them to find any motivation to get out of these habits it's so so important not to seek out misery deliberately.
I hear so many excuses: "These people understand me.", "They don't judge me.", "It's just making fun of my depression.", "I got nobody else to talk to." I totally get it, depression sucks, and sometimes making fun of it can help but it doesn't stop with the occasional fun. Once I had a patient who told me about certain subreddits and how he has trouble staying away from them. I once tried to give advice on r/depression but was downvoted immediately. Just try it out for yourself. Post wholesome things like: "There's help out there" or "you should rather talk to a therapist", "you are not alone in this", hell, anything you would tell a good friend who is obviously suffering. They won't have any of it and this creates such a toxic environment for people who are hurting the most.
Every time I see a light-hearted joke on r/irl about how they don't have any friends, dont have a significant other, stay awake until 4am, fail college I'm getting sad for the people participating in these threads. I hear these things on a daily basis and I can tell you this: You can turn things around. You don't have to be alone.
Most importantly: You don't have to do this alone. There are a lot of people out there who care. I care and all of my colleagues care. Get in contact with a therapist. Be it through your college or mental health institutes or just tell your doctor.
If you can't drop reddit altogether try to at least steer clear of toxic subreddits like r/depression and r/meirl. This environment will NOT help you. There's no therapist present in these threads to intervene if things go out of hand. Even if it seems that you've found your community, it's not true. You will find that community out there in the real world with professional help.
Also if you are experiencing suicidal thoughts and have nobody to talk to use one of these hotlines.
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About ten years ago, I went through a mental health identity crisis. I was clinically depressed, but because of certain personality traits, my therapist thought I also fit the profile for schizoid PD. I instantly found a schizoid PD message board, thinking I'd finally found "my" people.
Ugh. At first it was interesting reading all the posts and seeing that I wasn't alone in my thoughts and feelings about things. But it didn't take long for me to realize that the message board was an echo chamber. It was actually worse than an echo chamber because people would play the "more schizoid than thou" game.
Poster A: "I watched my father have a heart attack over dinner yesterday and I didn't even feel anything. I didn't even call 911."
Poster B: "Oh yeah? Well, I watched my father kill my mother yesterday, and not only didn't I call 911, but I let my father stab me a few times before he finally died of a heart attack. I am sitting here between my parents' corpses right now. Maybe I'll eat them for dinner, I don't know. I don't care."
Poster C: "Both of you guys are schizoid wannabes. If you were truly schizoid, you wouldn't even notice what was going on around you. You'd be completely engrossed in fantasy like I am. You're both anime characters, right?"
It also dawned on me that most of the posters were angsty 15-year-olds who didn't even have a formal PD diagnosis.
Then I moved on to Wrong Planet because a neuropsychiatrist told me I showed signs of Asperger's Syndrome. Again, at first it was interesting but then I realized that a lot of the posters didn't want to make changes to their lives out of fear that someone would take away their "neurological atypical" card. Their identity was built around being on the "wrong planet"--not on being a person who might have a better life through medication and therapy and practice. I realized that I had more of the second identity than the first and decided that I would stop lurking on "special snowflake" boards.
Ontario Mental Health Support Resources / Added Support During COVID
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As we head into the colder months this is a helpful set of info to have saved. Please feel free to add additional resources in the comments
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If you or someone you know is ever feeling like things are too much - please reach out to a local helpline.
CRISIS SERVICES CANADA
The fastest way to connect right now is to call 24/7 toll free line 1-833 456-4566.
https://www.crisisservicescanada.ca/en/
CRISIS TEXT LINE
Text CHAT to 741741 to reach Crisis Text Line You’ll be connected to a trained Crisis Counselor from Crisis Text Line.
Hope by CAMH Suicide prevention mobile app https://www.camh.ca/hopebycamhapp
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General
BounceBack®
- A free cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) program that offers guided mental health self-help supports for adults and youth 15 and older.
- Toll-free: 1-866-345-0224
ConnexOntario Helpline
Toll-free: 1-866-531-2600
- Live web chat
211 Ontario
- Information and referral for community, government, social and health services, including mental health resources across Ontario.
- Call 2-1-1
- Toll-free: 1-877-330-3213
- Live web chat
Young people
Good2Talk
- For people ages 17 to 25.
- Toll-free: 1-866-925-5454
Kids Help Phone
For children and youth ages 5 to 20.
- Toll-free: 1-800-668-6868
- Live web chat
- Text
Indigenous peoples
Hope for Wellness Helpline
- Immediate mental health counselling and crisis intervention for all Indigenous peoples across Canada (available in some Indigenous languages).
- Toll-free: 1-855-242-3310
- Live web chat
Talk 4 Healing
Indigenous women can get help, support and resources seven days a week, 24 hours a day, with services in 14 languages.
- Toll-free: 1-855-554-4325
- Text: 1-855-554-4325
- Live web chat
https://www.ontario.ca/page/find-mental-health-support?fbclid=IwAR1vPe87Ma2-RdVo6kE4fOPG8MsQN9gYigfOn2nwGoNjSiXX1CWH8i7Hl04
Reddit Based
If you want to talk a bit more about what is coming up for you might find some relatable content on
- https://www.reddit.com/r/COVID19_support/
- Visit r/SuicideWatch. The moderators there keep a comprehensive list of resources and hotlines in and outside the U.S., organized by location.
Online Talk Therapy (offering affordable therapy or promo)
- COVID19 Therapists - Facilitating free mental health services for Ontario COVID-19 healthcare providers
- Big White Wall - is a free, online mental health and wellbeing service that helps people who are dealing with everyday stressors or major life events. Available 24/7/365
- Good2Talk - Good2Talk provides confidential support services for post-secondary students in Ontario and Nova Scotia. This hotline is also free.
- Greenspace Mental Health - finds you a therapist matched to your needs, available for GTA. Sessions in person or online video (therapy fees apply)
- 7 Cups connects you to caring listeners for free emotional support 24/7; or be a listener for others
- Talkspace is offering $65 off with code APPLY65
- BetterHelp offers $40 to $70 weekly plans (can also be via text or chat - not just video call) - US-based, but clients can be from anywhere
- Shift Collab, in-person and online options. Sliding scale options. Free initial consult call.
- Real Campus Student Assistance Program (run by Shift Collab). If you are a University or College student at eligible campuses you have access to free therapy sessions. Visit the website for eligibility here.
- Pathway-Therapy, in-person and online options. Currently offering sliding-scales to support a wider range of people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Open Path Collective - offering sliding scale individual ($30-$60) and couples and families ($30-$80) therapy options
- New Creations Counseling - offers online therapy for individuals and couples with sliding scale
- Warm Line peer support - Chat online, text or call a peer support worker. 8PM - midnight, every night; or text 647-557-5882 or call 416-960-WARM (9276)
- Text4Hope – a free service providing three months of daily Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)–based text messages written by mental health therapists -- Text COVID19HOPE to 393939 (Canada only)
Top Comment: COVID19 Therapists - Facilitating free mental health services for Ontario COVID-19 healthcare providers · Big White Wall - is a free, online mental health and wellbeing service that helps people who are dealing with everyday stressors or major life events. Available 24/7/365 · Good2Talk - Good2Talk provides confidential support ...
MSW --> Mental Health Therapist; Lots o' Questions
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Hi all,
I am applying to MSW programs for next fall. I was wondering if anyone here is currently a therapist with an MSW degree? I am curious as to how your career has evolved, if you're happy that you got an MSW instead of a PhD in Psychology, and what your everyday life is like. For instance, is dealing with insurance a huge pain? Are you happy in general and with your salary?
Also, does anyone know of a particularly good program for preparing one to become a therapist? I am definitely applying to Minnesota, Michigan, University of Chicago, Loyola Chicago, Boston University, and Simmons so far...(are any of these particularly bad for that?)
Thank you so much! Very happy to have found this subreddit :)
Top Comment:
I go to UNC's School of Social Work. There are plenty of alumni in the area who are clinicians in their own private practice. The licensure process varies from state-to-state. In North Carolina it's pretty strict.
Nationally, social workers (and by that I mean people with MSWs) provide the majority of mental health care in the United States. Additionally, they tend to receive higher satisfaction remarks among clients when compared with other counseling professions. I don't have any citations for this at the moment, but I could probably dig around if you needed them.
Good luck.