UK Mental health services-CAMHS, CMHT, psychology etc...

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Does anyone else find them extremely frustrating? Especially when I keep hearing about "all you need to do is talk to your GP" and ask for help. Because, see, the thing is, I'm getting help. My GP isn't the problem. If anything, she'd been pretty much pushing the mental health team-CAMHS first, and then CMHT, to see me, pretty much the whole time I'm seeing her. CAMHS were useless. My assessment was lied on (my issues being summarized as "worries about transitioning into adult life") , and I was informed I was being discharged at an appointment that had been made on an urgent basis, due to the fact that I'd OD'ed two days before. This being because I was so close to my 18th birthday, that they did not want to have to deal with the transition process.

I ended up being admitted to CMHT on a pretty much urgent basis after Christmas, after an attempted suicide and trying to run away from home, and ending up in hospital. The CPN (Community psychiatric nurse) I saw, couldn't believe what was on my CAMHS report after I told her what had happened. I was referred to psychology.

Which had a four month waiting list. And it took a lot of begging and pleading with both my psychiatrist and the guy at the assessment at Psychology, that there was no way I could manage four months stable, let alone without incident, and I was going to need some sort of support if I was supposed to be a functioning person during the wait. I ended up being assigned a worker from CMHT...I'm still seeing her for now. Heck, she's great too. If anything, it's just that the damn system is so underfunded.

And I don't like the fact that I've had to have been hospitalized twice before anyone did anything. It should not be that the crisis has to come first, then the treatment.

In other news, does anyone here happen to know anything about the early onset/early intervention team? They want to an expert opinion on whether the paranoia I'm experiencing at the moment (Hearing other peoples thoughts, hearing conversations) is psychosis or not, and so I may well end up referred to them. Apparently I was worrying my worker last week by informing her that I had plans to kill people before they killed me. =/

(For the record, I don't feel that way now. It comes and gos. In episodes)

Oh yes, I found them very frustrating.
I was referred to CMHT by my GP for panic attacks. 5 months later I recieved letter and questionnaires, and then an appointment with a psychiatrist.........who asked loads of questions about the questionnaire I'd filled in. He also mentioned I fit many of the criteria of Aspergers........and referred me to psychologist for CBT. The psychologist then asked exactly the same questions as the psychiatrist, before referring me to another psychologist who asked the same questions again.
The psychologist I ended up doing CBT with kept asking me to name my emotions (I couldn't), telling me off for fidgeting (I always fidget and when nervous fidget more), and always expecting me to do things I couldn't do. IThe only thing she eventually helped me with was naming my emotions. Then she discharged me when I was in the middle of a family crisis.

Luckily, I'm able to see a private psychiatrist who diagnosed Aspergers even though I went with the same panic attack problems. He treats me like a human and listens to me and lets me set the agenda. And he doesn't treat me like I'm stupid because I find emotions difficult and never stay still.

Sorry, I don't know anything about early intervention teams.

Yeah, I've heard CMHT are next to useless when it comes to dealing with Aspergers. Never been tried to get a diagnosis, never asked, almost don't care if I have it or not (And it I do have it, it's VERY VERY mild, or at the very least, I've learnt how to cope with it throughout the years somehow, I don't know), but the more I read about getting an Aspergers DX in the UK and the treatment you receive...the less I want to. And other services don't seem to do much to help you guys. If anything, you get discharged when they work out that is the stem of all your issues. You can get help with it at CAMHS, but the adult system doesn't do much, autism act or not. CMHT's explanation for this was the Aspergers wasn't a mental illness and there was no cure for it, and so therefore, they couldn't do anything. It's pretty sad that when I can read a post about the mental health workers over here...and not find it surprising.

I'm sorry to hear you went through a lot of trouble with them. Glad you managed to find someone private. I've considered that myself at times after having gotten so frustrated with the CMHT.

Out of curiosity, did you get the set sessions of CBT (Such as, ten sessions then it's done), or the long term psychology?

Yes i find the uk services shocking, America seems to be much better at labeling things and giving you medication some may say thats a bad thing though i disagree, I went to CAMHS at 15 didn't help at I've been to my doctor over 10 times about depression, anxiety wanting to kill myself, self harm all since i was 14 this is all on my file this has been ongoing for 5 years now and nothing has changed though i went to the doctors last week was very assertive and asked to get to referred to a psychiatrist CBT hasn't worked for me at all and i find it pointless.The three psychologists I have seen have all been very bad and seem to forget every week everything about me and I constantly have to go over everything. I said to my psychologist over a month ago that i thought i might have autism because my friend had pointed it out to me but was scared to want say but approached it very well and i have thought it in the past quiet often she didn't seem to know much about it said it would likely be aspergers but mocked me said she would like to but a bet on that i don't have it and you "can usually tell" and is my friend a psychologist?! if so she shouldn't be saying that, I'm female btw which I've read is harder to spot because of learning/observing how to be in social situations which i have done, and i said i don't like loud noises ect she said her too, and she responded with"so what"? "what difference would it make", yes some people don't like labels she seems to be completely against them and thats just who you are which i understand but it would help me understand myself a lot better.

I very rarely seek medical attention.