Started a new job and CBT therapist says they only do sessions Mon - Fri 9am - 5pm?

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Just wanted to check if this is the case with anyone else.

So after months and months of nagging my doctor and waiting for CBT It has finally come through. I Had my phone assessment and my first session is booked for a couple of weeks time.

By coincidence I have just started working again at a new job for the first time in a year due to being off with anxiety. I work form 8am to 5pm so I asked if I could have my CBT sessions in the evening or at the weekend and she said no they are only during working hours Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.

So I agreed to a morning session on a Friday and I will have to break the news to my work that I will need every Friday morning off from 8 weeks. I cant exactly turn down the CBT after waiting nearly a year to get it. But I don't think my work are going to be very pleased that I have just started and now I need time off for therapy. They don't even know about my anxiety issues and id rather they didn't know but I will have to tell them if i want to do the CBT.

I just wanted to check, is this the case with everyone else who is having CBT through the NHS? Do you have to have your sessions between 9am - 5pm in the week?

Anyone got any ideas on the best way I should break the news to my boss at work? I really would rather them not know about my issues but I have no choice really.

Its just a really annoying coincidence. These things always seem to come at once.

[Spot-the-frog]

I have just got my date through for CBT (19/08) and the appointment is at 2pm. They too only do 9am - 5pm. I have to confirm the appointment so am going to ask if I can have the first or last appointment of the day - perhaps you could do this and then work through your lunch hour to make up the time. If I can't change it I am going to ask my boss if I can work through lunch, go to the appointment and then work from home. I don't work locally which is a bit of a pain. My boss does know about my A/D as I am off work at the moment due to go back in the next couple of weeks.

I understand that you don't want to tell them what the counselling is about and am not sure how to go about that. Perhaps they won't ask if you say it is something that you have been waiting for?

Good luck x

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Yea I will have to say I will work through lunch or something but id still be a couple hours behind. I don't work locally either.

I don't think I can just say I need every Friday morning off without telling them why, I have literally only been there 4 days. Its a tricky one.

Thanks for the reply, hope you manage to work something out with your boss.

[nomorepanic]

Mine used to be at about 10am and it was over in Cambridge so I had to drive 40 minutes there then back to work in Luton so I was basically out of the office the whole of the morning and didn't get back to work until lunchtime.

I just told them I had to have this time off and would make it up by only having 30 minutes lunch all week (I mean 30 minutes each day instead of an hour)

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Thats quite a good Idea nomorepanic, I could ask to do that.

How do I break it to them though, without them thinking oh great we have got a liability here who is going to be more hassle than its worth. At the moment I am working through an agency there, so they can just get rid of me at any time.

[unsure_about_this]

Hi

First of all I would like to say well done for getting employment, as for your question I don't know the rules of companies about appointments as I have only had temporary work via employment agencies (where I did not get paid for the hours I had off)

I agree with what spot-the-frog says about working through your lunch break, but unsure how many hours you can work, before having to take a break.

I wish I could get employment soon.

[Sparkle1984]

This is one of the reasons why I'm worried about asking for 1:1 CBT or counselling, as I imagine the situation would be the same in my area - that the therapy would only be available during working hours. At my work, they are always OK when I ask for time off for doctor's appointments etc, but if I had to take a couple of hours off each week I'd feel a bit more awkward asking for the time off. It's not so much the time itself that bothers me, as I could easily make it up by starting work earlier in the morning, it's more that I prefer not to have to tell my manager I require therapy. I'll have to ask my doctor next time I go, to ask what hours the therapy service is open.

It's a shame some NHS services are rather inflexible and don't seem to take account of modern-day people's lives. If they operated a shift system instead of a 9-5pm system, they would then be able to treat people in the evenings and at weekends. Also, I think they could make better use of modern technology, for example by providing therapy sessions over Skype for people who are happy to do it that way. If a service is inaccessible to someone due to being at the wrong time of day or long waiting lists etc, then I think they should provide a voucher so the person could obtain the therapy from any qualified therapist.

[Edie]

Such unfortunate timing!

Employers have to allow you to take time off for medical appointments, but I can understand you don't want to tell your new employer you need therapy for 8 consecutive weeks. I think you just have to bite the bullet and apologise for the timing, but you just need to attend these 8 medical appointments and will make up the time whenever they would like you to. I personally wouldn't explain that it's for psychotherapy unless they insist on knowing.

It is normal for them only to work office hours. I would ask for appointments at beginning or end of day to minimise the time you have to take out of work.