Bad experience with GP... Unsure how to commence MHCP?

[court8]

Hi! I'm new here and hope this is the appropriate place to post this.

About a month ago, I went to a GP to discuss feelings of anxiety and depression I had been experiencing for some months. I also shared that through my line of work I had experienced a few triggers that took me back to trauma in my childhood relating to domestic violence. The GP began to give me a "pep talk" on opting to think "positive thoughts" instead and to not become too attached to my job and to also see any experiences I had as a child as just "arguments" rather than witnessing what I am certain is emotional abuse. This really upset me and I found myself shutting off from her during the consultation as it had taken me months to build up the courage to seek help and I felt I was being judged for the feelings I was having and for not coping better in a professional sense. I don't have a GP I regularly go to so I did not have the option to seek advice from one that I knew or was comfortable with.

I received a Mental Health Care Plan and the GP gave me the number of a psychologist but told me she can be difficult to book an appointment with, which made me feel more anxious. It is my own fault that I haven't arranged my first session with a psychologist but after this experience, I felt defeated and upset, particularly as it felt hard enough going to the GP. I am now at a point where I know I need to seek some support, particularly as I have started a new job and have been experiencing nauseating worry after each shift concerned that I have done something wrong, relaying everything I did during my time at work.

I wanted to ask how do I go about finding a counsellor/psychologist who will see me with the mental health care plan? I am uncertain about the one the GP provided because of this experience. I want to find one that suits me but I don't know how to find one that will accept the MHCP.

I would also like to know if I can see another GP when the MHCP is up for review? I do not feel comfortable going back to this GP.

Thank you!

[geoff]

Hello Court8, and welcome to a friendly forum and what you have told us is inexcusable, it's difficult to have the courage for many to actually go and talk to their GP, unfortunately, this is always a common thread for those suffering from a mental illness.

People need support from their doctor to help them through every stage of this and should be there as a backstop, whereas a psychologist will try and unravel the problems confronting you.

Type in at the top of this page 'find a doctor', someone else with more IT knowledge will post a link for you.

Please let us know how you get on.

Geoff.

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi court8,

Welcome to the forums and thank you for your post. I totally agree with Geoff here- it is devastating when you've built up the courage to talk to someone and been shut down by someone so ignorant in mental health.

I had to organise a MHCP recently and was also told to think 'positive thoughts'. What I didn't say and wanted to say was that if that worked I wouldn't be here!

To answer your questions, yes- you can choose any psychologist you like and the majority of them will accept a MHCP. Unfortunately though for them to action the MHCP (and get the rebate from Medicare), the referral has to be for them and have their name on it. So unfortunately this means you will have to go back to a GP and get them to adjust the referral, but you won't need a long appointment for this.

and yes - you can absolutely choose any GP you like.

To find a psychologist, sometimes Google can be your best bet as it often has links to their practice and you can get a bit of an idea of what it might be like to work with them - especially since a lot of them have interests in certain topics. You could search something like "psychologist" "(where you live)" "trauma" to help you round this down.

You can also use this website here - https://www.psychology.org.au/Find-a-Psychologist - this will help you round things down too, and then on the left hand side, you can filter more by Medicare > Medicare Psychologist.

I hope this helps. Don't give up. None of this is your fault and it's never too late to get some support.

rt

[geoff]

Hi RT, and thanks for giving Court8 the link, very much obliged.

Take care.

Geoff.