Treatments, health professionals and therapies

Information on a range of different areas, including managing relationships with GPs and psychologists, and finding the right services for you.

FAQ

Find answers to some of the more frequently asked questions on the Forums.

Forums guidelines

Our guidelines keep the Forums a safe place for people to share and learn information.

All discussions

Natalie22 Psychologist wants me to see psychiatrist for assessment
  • replies: 3

Hi I have been seeing a psychologist since February and he has recently raised that an assessment with a psychiatrist would be helpful for him.I can understand the merits but at the same time I am resisting mainly due to not being a bit fan of labels... View more

Hi I have been seeing a psychologist since February and he has recently raised that an assessment with a psychiatrist would be helpful for him.I can understand the merits but at the same time I am resisting mainly due to not being a bit fan of labels and also that I am scared.I am not really sure what path to take.

protracted44 Brisbane clinical medication specialist
  • replies: 2

Hi guys, Im having a lot of trouble with finding a specialist that understands withdrawal and medication sensitivity issues. Does anyone have any recommendations ? thanks heaps

Hi guys, Im having a lot of trouble with finding a specialist that understands withdrawal and medication sensitivity issues. Does anyone have any recommendations ? thanks heaps

K_Ley What is best
  • replies: 15

So, I am currently receiving online therapy for my condition. Whilst the therapist is great and we are getting on perfectly, I have to wonder if face to face therapy is better. This is my 2nd online therapist as I wanted to talk about my self-harming... View more

So, I am currently receiving online therapy for my condition. Whilst the therapist is great and we are getting on perfectly, I have to wonder if face to face therapy is better. This is my 2nd online therapist as I wanted to talk about my self-harming thoughts with the first one and they said they would be ending the sessions as it was not professional to keep going in that situation as they were not able to identify if something had triggered me. I get that, but because of it I have not told this therapist any of that information. Yes, I know I need to tell her, but I don't want to lose her and/or start all over again with a new therapist.

Athena__ Seeing a Psychologist Isn't Working
  • replies: 6

I have seen three different psychologists across my life. One when I was young (late primary school), another when I was in my early teens and just now another one. I can't say much for the earliest experience but with the other two I feel that I hav... View more

I have seen three different psychologists across my life. One when I was young (late primary school), another when I was in my early teens and just now another one. I can't say much for the earliest experience but with the other two I feel that I have achieved very little. The one I saw in my early teens and I would see each other very rarely (because of her schedule being very full), and so it felt that I was mostly discussing my life and any revelation we may have had was essentially forgotten by the time we saw each other a month or two later. There was no real treatment either? In the sense that it was mostly just talking about the present and how it made me feel rather than addressing issues. With my new therapist I was incredibly optimistic as we were going to be able to meet quite often and she was willing to address my issues and find solutions. However I feel that nothing has been achieved and I don't know if it's from a lack of effort on my part, or maybe there's nothing that needs to be fixed to begin with. She attempted to get me to 'visualize my anxiety' and see it sitting in a chair and talk to it. Then she attempted to get me to hit the chair with a pillow. It was incredibly uncomfortable and brought back a lot of year 7 trauma from drama class, like playing pretend. Then we attempted CBT but she very quickly moved to Schema Therapy. None of it has made any difference and I don't know what I'm doing wrong. She asks me questions and I just respond with 'I don't know' because I have an incredibly poor memory and she seems to be frustrated with my lack of answers. It feels like everything I do is futile, and anything that may be achieved in our sessions becomes essentially useless once I leave the room. I struggle a lot with articulating my thoughts as well, and it feels that sometimes she doesn't understand what I'm trying to say. I guess I'm not putting enough effort into my treatment, but I don't know what putting effort in would even look like. I'm becoming frustrated with my own lack of progress in therapy and within myself and I genuinely don't know what to do. I guess I'm wondering if anyone has any advice for what it is that I'm doing wrong, or for how to get the most out of seeing a psychologist? Thank you.

Daniel12 Anti-Depressant Withdrawal help
  • replies: 1

Hi there, I am Daniel, thanks in advance for taking the time to read this! I have been on anti-depressants now for 18 months and about 2-3 months ago I started the process of lowering my dosage to getting off the tablet.I first went down in dose, the... View more

Hi there, I am Daniel, thanks in advance for taking the time to read this! I have been on anti-depressants now for 18 months and about 2-3 months ago I started the process of lowering my dosage to getting off the tablet.I first went down in dose, then took the lower dose for a while and then staggered when I took the lowest dose (ie 1 every 2 days etc) as I built up the confidence without the tablet. I have now decided with the GP to stop taking the tablet as I have put in a power of work to get to where I am only thing that concerns me is I seem to be having withdrawals and a sudden mood drop & feel pretty anxious since I last took the tablet which was about 4 days ago which hasn't really happened before I have previously gone 3 days with no issue. I am concerned that I am going to suffer a relapse & it'll cancel out any of the work I have put in over the last 12-18months, Just wanted to see other peoples experiences and if they have felt similar and what they did? Thanks Daniel

Alel How do you form habits
  • replies: 2

How does one form habits while on medication and is dealing with intense lack of motivation? I need to take showers and go out more, but I can't get myself to do anything. If I don't, I wont be able to overcome my depression and anxiety. And I really... View more

How does one form habits while on medication and is dealing with intense lack of motivation? I need to take showers and go out more, but I can't get myself to do anything. If I don't, I wont be able to overcome my depression and anxiety. And I really want to. Are there any tips or ways to stop being overwhelmed with tasks?

aidiamond Anti-Depressants Withdrawal
  • replies: 2

Hey, I firstly want to say thank you for taking the time to read this post as this is my first time seeking help in regards to this issue. I have been suffering from pain in my ankle for the past two years due to an injury. I have asked for help from... View more

Hey, I firstly want to say thank you for taking the time to read this post as this is my first time seeking help in regards to this issue. I have been suffering from pain in my ankle for the past two years due to an injury. I have asked for help from different specialists which had led me to going to a neurologist. As i visited a neurologist, I explained this to him in which he recommend taking a medication often used as an antidepressant to treat the pain. Whilst on this medication, I experienced brain zaps, cold, drowziness, tingling sensation, restlessness, slight tremors etc. After exactly two months, I started to get body aches and experience this tingling sensation all over my body, and came to the decision that the side effects which I had encountered daily were not worth it. Hence, I quitted abruptly two days before my next neurologist appointment as I could not handle the side efects. I raise this to my neurologist which he agreed to stop the dosage and said that the side effects would be out of my system with the next 48-72 hours from when I stopped. However, four weeks have past and I have been experiencing the same side effects when i was on the medication. I have constant headaches, i have a tingling sensation in my arms and legs, I have been experiencing tremors when my arm in a certain position and feel so angry/sad about my current situation. I have researched into this and found that this is most likely a SSRI withdrawal as the symptons relates to it. Hence, I wanted to reach out to the community to see if anyone has gone through this as I can't relate to anyone in my personal life that has gone through this and potentially provide me guidance on what to do next as I feel so scared of what the future holds for me now.

chillipower Desperately need physiatrist but can’t get any
  • replies: 4

I’ve been trying for over 4 months, 5 different trips to my gp for referrals and no physiatrist will take me. they never even get back to me. i just don’t know what to do any more. i know i desperately need to get help but i don’t have any other opti... View more

I’ve been trying for over 4 months, 5 different trips to my gp for referrals and no physiatrist will take me. they never even get back to me. i just don’t know what to do any more. i know i desperately need to get help but i don’t have any other options left but to keep my fingers crossed for several more months. it’s extremely important i see one and i don’t know how much longer i can hold out. is there any thing else i can do?

Pam64 Psychiatrist
  • replies: 2

Hi does anybody know of a good telehealth psychiatrist that I can talk to about a misdiagnosis. I Am on a pension also.I live on the SunshineCoast .thanks

Hi does anybody know of a good telehealth psychiatrist that I can talk to about a misdiagnosis. I Am on a pension also.I live on the SunshineCoast .thanks