anti depressants

[oh no_1]

i havent been on medication for gosh yr and half.... since breakdown but medication just didnt work for me.... im worried cos im feeling so crap at the moment if i go back to the doctors they will suggest putting me on some medication :(

[lior]

You can refuse medication. Just saw your last three posts. I'm in a similar situation.

I refused medication and they said to try CBT and see what happens. They said I could call back if I needed anything else from them, so if CBT doesn't work then I could start meds if I wanted. Also they said that if CBT doesn't work after a certain amount of time, they offer psychotherapy as an option on the NHS, but more as a last resort, because CBT has great success rates.

I too do not have that much faith in CBT at this point but it's worth a try - anything is worth a try to get me out of where I am now.

[oh no_1]

yeh i am always willing ot try anything
im trying my best at cbt but not sure wot i meant to get out of it
im trying my best but not really working
i only get half hr every 2 weeks but 5/10 mins of that is spent doing the questionnaire thing and then looking at it compared to weeks before results? :(

[lior]

Well that measurement is part of it - seeing how you are doing is important

[oh no_1]

but alot of ppl say they do questionnaire in their own time not in the session as takes up half of session, and shouldnt she be analysing in her time not mine.... fair enough can feedback every so often, but i know wot score i got and can tell if i can up or down each sesson anyway, i just know and feel it

[lior]

It helps with feeling it though. It's not about her analysing it - it's you. Can you ask to fill it out before the session?

[oh no_1]

yeh i was going to ask if i could take it home and fill it in in the morning before the session as it destressing me alot.

[lior]

Good idea!

[oh no_1]

still havent had the guts to ask that yet i will try and ask this week

[MyNameIsTerry]

I always did mine at home. My therapist just needed it to track my scores and I used to email her the scores a couple of nights before so she would have them ready for the session if she needed to see them. She was fine with all this.

Personally, I think your therapist needs to address this issue. Mine wouldn't be discussing scores each session unless something popped up that showed a problem e.g. I marked something much higher one time so she could see an issue had developed. We only reviewed my scores at set intervals which tended to be every 3-4 sessions.

Your sessions are really short so remove this element so you have more time to discuss things. My CBT was 45-60 mins per session and even that flew by.

[oh no_1]

um yeh u r right
they r short and i dont feel she should be using half of my time for me to fill in sheet then show me on computer where it goes in comparison to last week
it doesnt help especially if it gone lower...

[MyNameIsTerry]

Its worth having the conversation as this is supposed to be helping you but its being managed badly by this therapist. If you don't feel able to do this, and no one should judge because we've all been there with anxiety, could you bring a 3rd party in to help you have this conversation e.g. your GP?

Is this NHS or a private therapist?

[oh no_1]

it nhs cbt person.... it not at my doctors though

[MyNameIsTerry]

If it was a referral from your GP, your GP acts as the primary care giver and manages your overall care. So, if you were referred, your therapist should be sending updates back for your GP to monitor. Your GP can raise issues for you in this instance as well.

[oh no_1]

so if i book an app with my gp and tell him he will message back to them?
i wud like to tell cbt person myself but i wanted to and tried last week but i just couldnt :(

[MyNameIsTerry]

I can't see why not, he is your primary contact for your care. Explain that you want to have the conversation but due to your anxiety issues you don't feel able to raise it. He could then give them a call and discuss the situation. Some people struggle just to find the strength to go let alone confront over an issue so don't feel bad about this. Therapists have to be open to issues without judgement, its a fundamental part of their skillset and you will see it mentioned in professional codes of conduct at the self regulatory bodies.

I think your GP should be concerned that his referral is not benefitting the patient. My therapist did score trend reviews at specific points and all we did with scores is spend a couple of minutes while she just checked if anything was showing as different since the last session. I took a copy of the form and photocopied it each time I wanted to fill a new one in which took 5 minutes out of the session so I had more time to talk.