The sad reality is true

[jonjr]

Let me introduce myself, i am a 48 year old male who suffers with dissociative amnesia with fugee elements , gad and panic disorder . Getting straight to the point,. living on the GC has shown me the ugly truth of what i believe has become the immoral and illegitimate practices happening within psychology treatment. i say that as i have gathered evidence. After many local enquirers into help i have been denied even ignored fully. The following are the reasons I have been given:... i am sorry it is not in my specialist area to treat this, i am sorry we are way to busy to take this on ( even though i know they have free spots or new physiologists ), or simply do not respond to messages or emails. The worrying thing is, the first reason I quoted was the option of a well known uni that teach the very people we seek help from.. Just look at the main bulk of  work psychologist look for it is either young family or single youth, teenage adhd work, and now nearly all are telehealth only format. Now there is nothing wrong with that if that if it is the only way you can reach help,but it shows that any complex or work that may involve a more invested approach is simply pushed aside as lets face it , it is a lot quicker and easier to deal with the for mentioned categories. rather than a complex illness in a face to face scenario. The fact that the cost is the same per session over the phone as a face to face is a worry and the fact that so many psychologist only offer telehealth as there choice now shows how unregulated and cash cow like this area has become. We all see the GP sector with large medical centers that chew through patients like cattle with hardly any personal relationships between patient and doctor and now I see the same think happening with psychology. but even worse as there is no person to person interaction at all. You can see a wave of psychologists that pop up offering non face to face help only and even false business addresses that relate to a physical practice but are simply a front. Is this the future that we want? Un experienced psychologists protected by the internet playing about with complex problems? . It will indefinitely lead to cheap overseas options for therapy online, that will open up a wave of fraudulent, immoral practices. Please do the research its easy to see the problem and you will be shocked.. I could give you a list of immoral practices but its bigger than the word allowance. Be safe

[Bob_22]

Hi jonjr,

Thank you so much for sharing your story and experience. I'm sorry that you have been feeling neglected by service providers lately and that you feel quality of care has been decreasing. That is certainly not the landscape we want to live in. I should mention, that during this difficult time of trying to find a psychologist/service provider, if you ever need a chat over the phone or online (I'm aware that it is not ideal haha) you can go to any of the below services 24/7.

Beyond Blue 

Suicide Call Back Service  

Lifeline

I think you raise an excellent point in terms of telehealth and again, thank you for sharing your perspective. I largely agree with you in that it is a less than ideal way of communicating with a mental health worker. I know during COVID and whenever my psychologist/psychiatrist is working from home I don't feel I get the same standard of care as I would face to face. This is echoed in the following study where both physicians and patients expressed frustration: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33585121/ 

Unfortunately, apart from complaining to certain bodies (not even sure who) it is part of the system as it is right now. I know when given the option, I always opt for face to face even it is more expensive.

Sorry I can't offer any more tangible alternatives for you. I just thought I'd share my perspective and let you know you are not alone in your thoughts! 🙂 💙

[Croix]

Dear Jonjr~

Welcome back, I'd agree with you and Bob_22 that telehealth does not do the same thing as face to face. I guess I'm lucky as I'm at the stage where I only need a brief interview and medications to keep me where I am. In the past it would certainly have taken more.

In your own case with such complex matters needing attention I personally think it would not be enough, no matter how well intentioned the person on the other end.

I also quite agree that I'm an exception and that for many simply to get to be on a psychologist's books face to face is immensely difficult, and depending on where you are telehealth may be all htere is - if you can in fact afford it. A most discouraging thing, not only to have the problems you face, but basically little or no treatment except in hospital. Just this situation can drag one down and lose heart.

I have found my GP, who bulk-bills,  has been a help, do you have one you can rely upon?

May I ask if any of your children is now old enough for you to tell them actually what is happening with their  dad?  If not is there anyone else at all to give you support? I've found that even if there was no one suitable and as a result I did not confide my conditions to anyone just being and talkng with another had helped .

Human contact does change things a bit.

I read your story of making tea, which brought back memories of my own (except I would have had to ask for the tea) and I can understand using it as a time-filler.

Do you have other time-fillers. In the past on the wards and now at home I read a lot, it takes me away and gives me other things to think about. Do you have anything like that ?

Croix

[jonjr]

Hi again Croix

Yes i did eventually tell me children, we had a long discussion and it took a huge weight of my shoulders. luckerly they are mature enough to grasp a moderate understanding.

lol yes making tea ...thank god modern hospitals have hot water taps but i do remember the having to ask for a cuppa days. Those wards , that smell of disinfectant ... i dont miss those days

I am still very much not a social butterfly but i do get support from the wessly mission suicide prevention scheme and i can not praise them enough for the work they do and its free.

My time is mainly taken up by work so finding time for myself can be difficult. On the wards i generally spend the time trying to find ways to get out lol. Honestly i spend a lot of time writing or drawing, i find self personal activities allow me to put the blocks back in order with out distraction as my illness causes a lot of self confusion so re ordering and making sense of what is happening is vital for me.

 The gp thing is still ongoing unfortunately but i dont let it get to me as much anymore.

Hope you have been well? and its always a pleasure to talk to you

[Croix]

Dear Jonjr~

I'm really glad you did end up talkng to your children. When you said the weight it took off your shoulders that's exactly how I felt when I did eventually talk to my partner. At least I no longer felt the whole human race was in one place and I was somewhere else - complexly isolated.

Now there are parts of my past that are somewhat jumbled, in fact I'm not sure I remember everything with  complete accuracy, however I've not gone the same way as you and tried to sort it all out, by and large I let sleeping dogs lie - possibly not the best approach from the therapeutic point of view, but I'm basically comfortable with it and my psych does not seem concerned.

I've had some contact wiht the Wesley Mission and agree, they fill a big hole in that is needed.

Incidentally I meant to ask you before, what is the "GC"? Probably something obvious and I'll kick myself:)

Croix

[jonjr]

Thank you Bob and Croix for your inputs.
It is hard to fully explain in short paragraph exactly what i have found. let me clarify things a bit. I fully agree that covid changed the way we look at therapy as to face to face contact but unfortunately when you open the lid on pandoras box it becomes impossible to close it and opens the flood gate to abuse the contents. I should clarify i have personally contacted over 30 psychologists in my area alone 5 of which claim to have physical resident of business that do not exist in reality . You can complain via AHPRA but like any complaint you need the psychical evidence to support it like ( look here is the toaster its broken ) the problem with that is when it comes to telehealth or non contact support, you can supply that service from any where in the world, making it almost impossible to regulate with little to no psychical evidence to back up complaints. As i said what i have found is only in a small area so imagine the scope of the problem just in Australia alone . I am sure that some psychologists are genuine in there frustrations but unfortunately separating them into a different box is impossible as anyone can present that way. I am aware that my problems are complex but that should not dictate my options for help. I can testify that 20 years ago finding help was not an issue. tbc

[Croix]

Dear Jonjr~

Trying to find the correct professional to assist you can be a very difficult thing, and I agree the system changed emphasis when covid came along, though I suspect it was heading more towards electronic interactions anyway.

As you say if an overseas entity offers services in Australia it can be just about impossible ot regulate them. This is of course not confined ot psychologists, but the makers of apps and more widely all sorts of areas including the media.

I am a bit worried of the effect on you by trying  to set right part of a huge system by approaching AHPRA. This can be a very stressful thing to do, and may not always give you the results you feel are fair, something this can put anyone in a distressed frustrated mood -even leaving  one feeling helpless and angry.

Have you had time to keep on writing and drawing? May I ask what sort of things you draw and if you find it at all relaxing?

Croix

[Bob_22]

Hi jonjr,

Many thanks for your update and it is great to hear that you have some supports in regards to Wesley Mission and have made steps in keeping your children updated also. 

I'm sorry that you have had negative findings in your regarding psychologist services. It sounds like it was a huge undertaking. I have never complained or found much need to contact AHPRA so I'm not sure what their client support is like.

I hope you are soon able to find a psychologist that can meet your needs face to face. Please keep us updated and if you find any avenues you found useful in terms of locating services it would be great if you could share them so others could benefit. 🙂 💙

Bob