View Full Version : Getting Private Assessment
I would be interested to know if anyone has gone to a private psychiatrist/doctor for assessment of their illness.
I feel anxiety most of the time, particularly when I have to anything new. I also feel down a lot of the time, particularly thinking about the future and I'm irritable most of the time (people coughing and sniffing really stress me out.)
I can't get any more help from the NHS. I had CBT in my early 20's which did n't do anything for ,e and every time I've seen a GP since then they've not wanted to get me any help. I've a letter from my local Mental Health Trust saying "further therapy would not be appropriate." I've since various counsellors/therapist privately but none helped me.
I was thinking if my problem is more long standing and serious, like a personality disorder or Aspergers, which would explain why all the therapies I tried did n't work. If I could get a proper diagnosis I would know where to get some help.
Does anyone know where I would go to get the names of suitable practitioners I could see?
Thanks.
ElizabethJane
28-04-12, 17:53
I'm not sure from your post who you would like to see? An appointment with a private psychiatrist would probably need a letter of referral from your GP. It can be very expensive. Mine charges £160 for half an hour. You could refer yourself to the local 'Mind' centre in your area if you have one. I don't know your personal circumstances but if you could afford it something like hypnosis might help you? EJ
I would be interested to know if anyone has gone to a private psychiatrist/doctor for assessment of their illness.
I feel anxiety most of the time, particularly when I have to anything new. I also feel down a lot of the time, particularly thinking about the future and I'm irritable most of the time (people coughing and sniffing really stress me out.)
I can't get any more help from the NHS. I had CBT in my early 20's which did n't do anything for ,e and every time I've seen a GP since then they've not wanted to get me any help. I've a letter from my local Mental Health Trust saying "further therapy would not be appropriate." I've since various counsellors/therapist privately but none helped me.
I was thinking if my problem is more long standing and serious, like a personality disorder or Aspergers, which would explain why all the therapies I tried did n't work. If I could get a proper diagnosis I would know where to get some help.
Does anyone know where I would go to get the names of suitable practitioners I could see?
Thanks.
Hi - sorry you are having a bad time.
I have had problems with getting a referral to see a psychiatrist through the NHS - you have to go through all different hoops to get there and the wait is ridiculous.
I have got private and, tbh, wish I had done sooner - saw a psychiatrist last week 1.5 hrs initial consultation £300 and thereafter 45 mins £200 - not cheap but I had got a diagnosis - which all made sense after 27 years! Not all bad I hasten to add! and hopefully the correct meds and some CBT material. I am seeing him in 2 weeks time - I am lucky in that my mum is paying - I live in Cambridgeshire so it may vary from area to area, but if you can go private, shouldn't have to but boy it saves hassle!
Good luck
Laura
I agree with the other comments in particular Laura.
I paid £300 for a 60min session, and £150 for a 30 min check up. I go and see him every 4 weeks at the moment. Expensive but in my opinion worth every penny.
Dan
I had two bad experiances with private shrinks. They were quite prepared to take my money but wouldnt speak to me inbetween visits however bad side effects i was having or how bad i was feeling. I was just told to see Gp if I had problems. Made me wonder what i was paying for. Turns out they were husband and wife which different surnames. Ones advise was to take up Bridge!!!!
So went back to NHS not that thats much better but its free
Love Joy
Joy - that is shocking - yes both in it for the money! how horrible and bridge.
How are feeling? How is the anxiety? Woke up with a headache can cope with that and have made some fruit scones! haven't baked since I have been ill - hubby doing a roast!
Things could change when I bump the Cit to 20mg tonight!!
ElizabethJane
29-04-12, 12:37
I had two bad experiances with private shrinks. They were quite prepared to take my money but wouldnt speak to me inbetween visits however bad side effects i was having or how bad i was feeling. I was just told to see Gp if I had problems. Made me wonder what i was paying for. Turns out they were husband and wife which different surnames. Ones advise was to take up Bridge!!!!
So went back to NHS not that thats much better but its free
Love Joy
If you are paying then you have the right to expect something more. I don't see my psychiatrist very often now but he is available through his secretary and has phoned me back when I have been worried about something. I think that you have had a bad experience that is all. Not all psychiatrists are like that. My NHS one is now retired and an advisor in the private sector! EJ
Agree EJ - Joy had a bad experience - personally cannot fault my private psychiatrist - any queries just phone or email his secretary - which at the end of the day I should be able to to - this is private!!
I hate the NHS system how it works in Mental Health - who wants to see Gateway Workers when meds need prescribing. I would probably have been seeing a psychiatrist in September - damned disgraceful!
Rant over!
Agreed, if you are paying so much money you deserve the best. I email my shrink between appointments to update him, and ask for dose increases etc. Also had to phone him once, out of hours and spoke to him straight away. He has never charged me for this.
Joy maybe you have just been unlucky. There are plenty of other excellent private shrinks out there.
Not round here theres not, believe me I've looked long and hard. If anyone can find one in the bournemouth area I would be grateful, but not Dr Younance or Ramsey
Love Joy
---------- Post added at 13:26 ---------- Previous post was at 13:26 ----------
Cos I've already seen them
Joy
How far are you prepared to travel joy?
well within reason couple of hours maybe
Joy I have sent you a PM. My shrink is a bit of a way... Good hour and a half - may be worth considering if there aren't any good ones your way.
Answered your pm. did you try NHS first and are you better since seeing this man.What do you actually suffer from. I have severe anxiety cause unknown
Love Joy
Answered your pm. did you try NHS first and are you better since seeing this man.What do you actually suffer from. I have severe anxiety cause unknown
Love Joy
Hi Joy,
Yes I tried, prozac, citalopram and amitriptyline through my GP. Referred to NHS shrink who was a trainee. - did nothing. Offered CBT and no meds. Long wait to see a consultant.
I saw the Doctor I sent you a PM about. He diagnosed me with GAD, recommended CBT, and offered me pregabalin, duloxetine, ven, or possibly imipramine. Went through the pros and cons of each, and he recommended pregabalin which is what I wanted anyway... The pregabalin has helped tremendously...
I also added duloxetine in 6 weeks or so later, have been on it for 5 weeks or so..
In my case he was happy to prescribe diazepam PRN, but I had a discussion with him, and as I am doing CBT etc he is happy for me to take a daily dose of diazepam.
He writes to your GP each time, and now I get the meds prescribed by my GP - saves a fortune.
Dan
So are you feeling better pregabalin didnt do it for me sadly
Are you happy on dulox. I was on in couple of years ago gave me severe nausea for weeks but worked for a while than poops out which is whats happening on all meds
Even the shrink doesnt know what to try next. I was supposed to be on a group relaxation group this week for 12 weeks but has been postponed because they havent had enough people referred and shrink says he cant refer me for any other therapy until I've down the relaxation course AHHHHHHHHHH Going no where fast. However I've had an unexpectedly non anxiety day for which I,m grateful
Thanks for your help
Love Joy
So are you feeling better pregabalin didnt do it for me sadly
Are you happy on dulox. I was on in couple of years ago gave me severe nausea for weeks but worked for a while than poops out which is whats happening on all meds
Even the shrink doesnt know what to try next. I was supposed to be on a group relaxation group this week for 12 weeks but has been postponed because they havent had enough people referred and shrink says he cant refer me for any other therapy until I've down the relaxation course AHHHHHHHHHH Going no where fast. However I've had an unexpectedly non anxiety day for which I,m grateful
Thanks for your help
Love Joy
Hiya,
Pregabalin has certainly helped - but it is no cure. Surprised it didn't help you most of the reviews I have read are favourable.
Early days on dulox - not done a lot yet really.
I assume you have tried CBT. Are you using any benzos or do you want to avoid going this way?
eight days a week
29-04-12, 18:33
If you go this route (I did) and are going to be spending a lot of money then check out their credential and reputation (as well as their specialisms).
I saw one guy - supposedly top of his field - who was excellent and spent a lot of time with me, but charged accordingly, and his conclusions were no different from what I got from the NHS. So it was reassuring to have the extra time with him but there was little end product.
The guy I have seen the last couple of years was recommended to me, and is one of the top guys for his field in the whole country. Prices obviously vary, but I'm lucky. £200 first appointment (an hour), £100 per hour/45 minute (as his schedule allows) follow-up. He is brilliant. I see him twice a year, would do more often if necessary but I am fairly stable. I personally would never see any need to see a psychiatrist - however helpful - regularly once a month unless I was starting a new med and/or in crisis.
Good luck!
---------- Post added at 18:33 ---------- Previous post was at 18:31 ----------
Oh and he is always available on the phone (which I've never used) or by email at no extra charge - that was included in the initial consultation fee. Being a few years ago now, sometimes he does bill me £30 for prescriptions/consultations by email, but very very rarely (think he's done it twice in two years).
If you go this route (I did) and are going to be spending a lot of money then check out their credential and reputation (as well as their specialisms).
I saw one guy - supposedly top of his field - who was excellent and spent a lot of time with me, but charged accordingly, and his conclusions were no different from what I got from the NHS. So it was reassuring to have the extra time with him but there was little end product.
The guy I have seen the last couple of years was recommended to me, and is one of the top guys for his field in the whole country. Prices obviously vary, but I'm lucky. £200 first appointment (an hour), £100 per hour/45 minute (as his schedule allows) follow-up. He is brilliant. I see him twice a year, would do more often if necessary but I am fairly stable. I personally would never see any need to see a psychiatrist - however helpful - regularly once a month unless I was starting a new med and/or in crisis.
Good luck!
I see my shrink monthly, although I am by no means stable... Once I am I won't see him as often. I go because I want different meds prescribed etc. Anyway NICE guidelines say if an antidepressant is prescribed, the prescriber should see you within 2 weeks, and monthly for the first 3 months.
I think the main reason people go private, is because it takes so long to see a proper psychiatrist on the NHS.. They also have to balance cost and other factors whereas a private shrink doesn't care about the cost of the medication and will prescribe what is best for you.
Yes agree there with you Dan - so glad I went private - the psychiatrist I am seeing is NHS based which I prefer! He is head of that sector (NHS) and yes I can email his secretary or phone her - that is good enough for me but am seeing him in 2 weeks and will continue monthly until I am stable on new meds. When you are well perhaps once or twice a year then! Do not like how the NHS work in order to see one - I don't want to see Gateway workers - go through all my problems, then they don't prescribe and put on another bloody waiting list - totally ridiculous, alas this is how it works now. Joy I have pm you.
eight days a week
29-04-12, 18:55
I see my shrink monthly, although I am by no means stable... Once I am I won't see him as often. I go because I want different meds prescribed etc. Anyway NICE guidelines say if an antidepressant is prescribed, the prescriber should see you within 2 weeks, and monthly for the first 3 months.
I think the main reason people go private, is because it takes so long to see a proper psychiatrist on the NHS.. They also have to balance cost and other factors whereas a private shrink doesn't care about the cost of the medication and will prescribe what is best for you.
That's very sensible I think Dan, if you're not stable yet (and can afford it, and can find a good one) it sounds wise :)
I'm not sure about NICE guidelines - my GP and NHS psychiatrists sure have never followed that advice for ADs!
As far as I know the main cost pressure is on your GP (as it falls within their budget) but I completely accept that NHS psychiatrists are used to those cost pressures within the system, and probably try to work within them.
Not sure about private psychiatrists necessarily prescribing what is best for you - Joy's experiences so far haven't produced that result, and the first and second ones I saw didn't either.
On the other hand my first NHS psychiatrist didn't do ANYTHING for me, but when she left the second one suggested the same expensive med as my (now) private chap - pregabalin.
It's swings and roundabouts I reckon - you have to try them to see what they're like. Unfortunately without personal recommendations or reputation private psychiatrists have a licence to print money. I wouldn't hesitate to complain about them if they didn't help me at those prices!
Think I must have chosen the wrong job......... £300 for an hours work sounds absolute robbery!!
ElizabethJane
30-04-12, 07:40
Sometimes it can take years to find the best psychiatrist. If he is NHS then we don't always get that choice. When I was very ill I was seeing a private psychiatrist within a hospital setting. I realise now that she was not the best. Dr J worked there too but I didn't feel as if I could change. Now she has retired so I could chose Dr J. I would have chosen the NHS but my doctor discouraged this. My old NHS consultant had also retired and is also working as an advisor on depression within the Priory group. When you are ill it isn't easy to make these informed choices. If I relapse and can afford to pay Dr J then I will see him, EJ.
Hi
Will tell you one thing - like many of us on here - do not want to go through this awful experience again - you shouldn't have to fight to get the service you need - especially when ill.
I know one thing for sure - when I am well - and back to work - will put a pot aside (rainy day fund) for private psychiatry - at least enough to get on the right meds! and a few follow ups. Think it is too late to get insurance (with an existing illness) anyone else got insurance?
Think I must have chosen the wrong job......... £300 for an hours work sounds absolute robbery!!
Top GCSE's and A levels to get into med school.
5-6 years degree to become a Doctor.
2 years foundation years.
3-4 years training in psychiatry.
Couple more years to become a consultant.
Add in the fixed costs of the medical practice, the secretary, postage, Liability insurance (around 6k) and the tax paid, £300 quid an hour becomes a whole lot less.
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