Please help - Free/subsidised (more than Better Health) for DBT/ACT?
- replies: 4
Hi, I'm in desperate need of help. My boyfriend is very close to crisis point, and has been suffering with mental illness for most of his adult life (he just turned 30). His experience with therapy (since teenhood) has nearly always been negative - e... View more
Hi, I'm in desperate need of help. My boyfriend is very close to crisis point, and has been suffering with mental illness for most of his adult life (he just turned 30). His experience with therapy (since teenhood) has nearly always been negative - every psychologist he's been referred to has always employed CBT which simply does not work for him (he's quite alexithymic/cannot comprehend his own thoughts and feelings and finds classic CBT incredibly frustrating), and the cost of therapy has been extremely prohibitive for him (even with a Better Health Mental Health Plan) because he is a low-income earner (less than 50k before tax) and has no support from his family. I cannot support him on my income either. He feels completely trapped, he lives paycheck to paycheck and spending money on therapy that has thus far been unhelpful means he is dissatisfied, unmotivated and disenchanted. I've managed to convince him that perhaps a different type of therapy may be more beneficial (DBT, ACT, Interpersonal) but finding a therapist that specialises in these has been hard, and the ultimate hurdle will always be cost. Can someone provide ANY suggestion or advice on what we can do? I feel like he has slipped through the cracks of our government's various mental health options. He doesn't fit the category of "Young Person", his income isn't low enough to get a health care card, he doesn't have any other special concessions. He knows that he needs help, he wants help, but he just can't afford it and we don't know what to do. Today he told me he's thinking about different ways to kill himself because he feels so lost. Please help me.