New Member here having some doubts about Psychology.

[dasnapper]

Hey Everyone,

I've been diagnosed with an "adjustment disorder" with anxiety and depression, following a few years of workplace bullying. I've been on sick leave for nearly a year (yup - I had a LOT of sick leave time to draw on), and have been seeing a psychologist for 2 years. I recently switched to a new psychologist (I'm going to abbreviate this to "psych" from here on), as I didn't feel I was progressing.

My concern is that the sessions with the first psych seemed to be just general agreement statements about my situation: it was ok to be angry at being bullying; it's probably different from other people's perspective; yes, lots of people go through this sort of situation.

The second psych is starting down this same path, despite me laying out the situation at our first meeting. I'm not sure what I should be expecting from these sessions, as I did expect a bit more suggested treatment or practice or techniques from them. Simple agreement and an outlet for expressing all this bad stuff is not helping me much.

Any opinions out there? I'm genuinely interested in people's responses.

Cheers,

Das

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi dasnapper,

Welcome to the forums and thanks for your post. I'm so glad that you're here and getting some help from a psych - that's such an incredibly hard thing to do.

I'm not sure how well I can answer your question, but I'll do my best. Building a relationship and rapport with your psych and knowing that you can use them as an outlet is really the most important thing. Knowing that you're able to do that is progress, because it means that you can trust them and potentially go deeper into what's going on and allowing you to feel vulnerable.

Treatment wise, psych's tend to use certain therapy techniques to help you out. The aim is to either help you reflect so you can make better decisions, or to give you skills that you can take in the outside world. Every psych is different on what they'll say/do.

Have you considered talking with your psych about how you feel? That way you can get an idea on what their approach is and what they were thinking going forward. You may find that you need to push a little for what you need, or find a psych with a more practical approach.

Hope this helps,

[Summer Rose]

Hi Das

I also want to welcome you to the bb forum and thank you for sharing. Sounds like you've had a tough time of it and I'm sorry.

I think romantic thief has given you some great advice, so I won't repeat. But just want to add that what you're experiencing is not uncommon. It can be very frustrating and time consuming to find the right psychologist to help.

The bb website has some good information on dealing with a psych and a list of questions you can ask to make your assessment. If you call the bb information line on 1300 22 4636 they can give you a list of local practitioners and you could ask some questions to vet them, maybe even before meeting.

If this current psych isn't right for you, keep going. The right person is out there but it just might take some time to make the right match. Things can get better.

Kind thoughts to you

[Wazzar61]

Hi Das

Ive been seeing my physc for a few years and have found i recieve the ongoing chat, remember mindfullness,things always seem worse just reflect and place on the shelf to deal with them later if necassary bla bla bla.Nothing on medication so I feel your pain.

Tell me, how much time off does your Doc give you per visit? Ive been at my workplace for 30 years,have 6 months sick leave yet mine is seeming a little releuctant to give me more than 5 days.I have been hesitant to ask for more but am now finding coping more difficult.I have been diagnosed with minor depression but high anxiety.Actually had an attack at work few weeks ago,thought i was having a heart attack,scared the crap out of me.

All the best to you and all our friends on the site

[dasnapper]

Hi Summer, and thanks for the advice,

I spent a bit of time at my first visit expressing this, but I'm def. going to outline this again at my next appointment. I've asked to see her if there is a cancellation next week, as I had a really bad day yesterday, and I'm feeling my anxiety is ramping up again.

I can understand why there is a familiarisation period with psychs, and I've been referred to this new one as she specialises in workplace conflicts etc. I want to move at a reasonable pace to getting deeper, as my leave is running out, but I can see things have to be done at the right rate, not the quickest rate.

Right now, I'm thinking of prepping a short bio, with family pics, and pics of the workplace, so she has a better idea of who I am, where I came from, what I had to do.

Am hoping this might help with us getting to know each other. I'll definitely try to be very clear what my fears/worries are, and the speed issues.

Thanks again for taking time to read this.

Das

[dasnapper]

Hi to you, and thanks,

I wasn't sure if I'd get a response, although this forum and site seems to be very helpful so far.

I've made the change in psych because the last one didn't progress beyond the discussion for an extended period. I'm finding that the answers to mental health issues are not quick to find: there's the debate between psychology and psychiatry, the levels and side-effects of anti-depr. medications, as well as a general feeling of being in Limbo by being on sick leave as opposed to being employed/unemployed.

Your post helped me form more of an idea bout how others are finding the process, and that's what I was asking.

Thank You!

Das

[dasnapper]

Hi Wazzar,

Am really sorry to hear of your attack at work, and hope it was without big repercussions. I really appreciate your replay as it relates to a worry I have about Return to Work.

My workplace has a big emphasis on respectful, collaborative conduct between staffers, but it didn't handle my own case too well. I went for informal mediation, and it didn't work out because the other parties weren't committed to the process. There was a bit of churning of supervisors, also, and the new one simply picked up on the assumptions of the previous. I left on stress leave last year, and the informal sessions weren't picked up as official issues by the company, I found out at Workplace Conciliation.

I have a few trust issues in the process by HR, but I'm trying not to judge the organisation by the actions of a few that are overworked and stressed too. I'm asking about a potential return to work, and one worry I have, which I raised with both my GP, my partner, and my psychologist is that the bullying behavior left me prone to emotional episodes when stress gets high. I have no idea what allowance is made for people returning to work, and still recovering, but keen to make a go of it.

Has you got any experience of this?

Would be interested to know.

Cheers,

Das

[dasnapper]

Wazzar, I forgot to mention my GP has been giving me Capacity Certificates for 1 month at a time, although my sick leave is due to run out in about 6 weeks. He's raised the issue that we'll have to reexamine capacity certs. closer to the time, as it will be dependent on my Return to Work program, which I'm starting with the Union Rep and company in the next week or so. Easter is kinda complicating things, here.

Das