NHS CBT

[Marvin]

I am having Cognitive Behavioural Therapy on the NHS. I have had four sessions and feel no better. I am told that you can have a maximum of 6 sessions. What happens if you feel no better after the 6th? Is anyone else receiving CBT through the NHS? Does anyone know of anyway to extend the number of sessions?

Thanks, Marvin

[Luci-loo]

I'm having CBT through the NHS and I was given the impression I'll recieve it as long as I need it. It seems silly to me to put a time limit on therapy and say (to an anxiety sufferer of all people) "you have this long to get better". Talk about pressure!

I'd ask to put your mind at ease.

[Marvin]

That's the thing, originally I was told I could have as many as I liked. (At the moment I have the sessions on the phone). But today was my fourth session and the psychologist said that I only had two left and that each person was only allowed a maximum of 6 sessions. This does seem a bit strange I'm not sure how common it is. I don't think I will feel better after only 6 sessions although I do think the sessions are useful.

M

[cupcakes2009]

Hi im having CBT on the NHS and ive had i think so far 11 sessions, and i have another one again next Thursday, i have them once a week :) Im not sure if there is a set amount, mine will be reviewed and then i can have more if i want. Im finding it really good, it takes time, its not a cure but it does help :D Hope you can find out more Hugs xx

[Alicat]

I had 10 on the NHS.

I've had loads of private counselling since though...it's ongoing!!

[nomorepanic]

Marvin - what are they doing with you that makes you feel no better?

[luisdelobo]

marvin

I had 6 sessions on the NHS and I just could not click with the guy doing them, I kept searching on my own and found lots of tools to help with my panic attacks, I paid privately after that, even though i could nt really afford them, but changed therapist a lot until I found 1 that i clicked with. Cbt is,nt for everyone though. the good thing about PA is they take over ur life so you get really motivated to do something about them! sounds a bit weird i know

good luck
luis

[mandie]

Hi

I only had 6 sessions on NHS, there wasnt any more.

Luckily i did find it helpful and do feel better having had them

love mandie x

[Marvin]

Yer I was kind of under the impression that I'd do the CBT and be cured just like that, probably was a bit naive about the whole proccess. Would anyone recommend having private CBT sessions if I only get 6 on the NHS? Does anyone know of any good places that do it in Central London? Not that I can afford it but worth knowing the options!

The psychologist who does mine is lovely but I haven't really got anywhere with her and she does always seem like she's not all that interested in anything I have to say.

M

[meg86]

I start my CBT in October and i was also told that you can only have 6 sessions, i dont think this is long enough for long term sufferers, i am worried that i will want more but unable to have more, i dont understand why only 6 x

[Luci-loo]

Looks like it varies from place to place. In my opinion it seems a little wrong considering that you are supposed to slowly build up to stuff over time and clearly thats going to take more than 6 weeks.

Maybe the government should be spending money on giving people proper support instead of spending millions on recruitment companies to get the long term sick back to work. Sorry if thats off topic but it's a bit of a bug bear of mine.

[Alabasterlyn]

I think one reason why some places only offer 6 sessions is that CBT is being rolled out over the country for all stress related disorders. This has meant the NHS taking on staff from other departments, like say Occupation Health, and then putting them on an intensive training programme. My experience of this was that I knew more about agoraphobia than my 'therapist' and I'm sure I taught her a few things :ohmy:

[Mad Medic]

I was told to expect a CBT therapist to approach the problem head on, with me working with them on the problem.

Apparently it's not supposed to be like a counselling session, which is why you may feel the therapist isn't interested in you.

My sympathies that it isn't working out for you though. You'll find the right therapist or therapy - just keep at it :)

[Alabasterlyn]

When I had my CBT it was on the specific understanding that it would be based on the therapist taking me out as I have agoraphobia. My therapist said I had to choose places to go to that I actually wanted to go to and not just pick random places just because they were close or easy.

When I chose places like going into the town centre by car the sessions where dropped as the therapists where I am don't have insurance to take patients out in their cars. Talk about stupid, why offer something you can't deliver!

[Marvin]

It is just disappointing because through a lot of the literature on the subject and from what I've been told by doctors etc I (perhaps naively) expected that CBT was some kind of miracle cure. It is talked about as if it is the only real treatment for such disorders but I personally haven't found it helpful, perhaps it would be if it was an ongoing treatment but it certainly isn't with just a set amount of treatment.

The whole process has been quite frustrating. For example, having to wait months to get any treatment at all and then receiving treatment from someone who is not actually a psychologist etc. Also the actual treatment seems fairly inadequate as a way of coping with panic disorder, I haven't learnt anything during CBT beyond what I have already read in various books/ websites. learning that I am only entitled to 6 sessions only made matters worse. It has left me thinking that instead I will just have to remain on drugs to take the edge of the anxiety and get on with learning to cope on my own.

Not to put any one off going to CBT but I do think that the whole process has been inadequate and I feel no better off than before I started it. I would consider having private sessions but this is an extra burden on me financially that I don't think I could necessarily afford. My actual doctor has been really supportive however and I'm very pleased that I have made steps to get treatment, but I think that I was lead to expect to get a lot more out of the CBT than I got in reality.

What is your view of both private and NHS CBT? How expensive are private sessions? Can anyone offer any advice on what to do post-CBT?

M

[PanicOver!!]

I have CBT with "mind" it is free and going well