Access to Better Mental Health Services

[BPDSurvivor]

Oh, and yes, ‘talk therapies’ in the public mental health system saved my life. I had 18 months of the full MBT treatment. That’s what my condition needed . 

I couldn’t be more satisfied with my life right now.

[Willy]

@BPDSurvivor @Zoe7 
I fully appreciate that we have all had very different experiences through this complex and often bewildering journey of mental health. 
The reason I have been tagging you on some posts is because at some stage you have responded positively to one of my posts on this or a related subject.
I have removed your names, as requested from my @ list
Thank you for letting me know.
Regards
Willy

[Willy]

Your very lucky

Despite considerable effort I was never able to access such services

[chibam]

I won't tag anyone whose been active in this thread recently, as they've made it clear they no longer wish to be. But I feel I ought to clarify my earlier post.

I was not indicating that "talk therapies" are completely bad; merely that they do indeed carry a genuine risk of doing harm, and that risk ought to be recognized and taken seriously. Just as pretty much every single medicine you'll find in your local pharmacy has the capacity to do real harm if it is misused. That doesn't contradict the fact that all those medicines have likely been immensely beneficial to many people who've taken them over the years. The two sides of the story are not mutually exclusive.

I say what I say because, from my perspective, I've noticed a minimal acknowledgement from media and the mental health field about the dangers of "talk therapies". The narrative I've been hearing these past few years seems to carry a veiled message of "Psych ward treatments can either help people, or really mess them up. But in contrast, 'talk therapies' in small clinics are a risk-free alternative."

I just want those risks and inadequacies to be openly acknowledged, so that steps can be taken to avoid them as much as possible, and so that the need for more effective forms of therapy can be acknowledged and fulfilled.

That's not to deny that the "talk therapies" are more then adequate for some.

I'm merely trying to dispel the myth that it is the be-all-end-all solution to everybody's problems. Because I genuinely do believe that that myth is being perpetuated at the moment, and all too many people in various positions of authority seem to be buying in to it.

We need to acknowledge that "talk therapy" is only a partial solution, not a full solution; and also that it involves noteworthy risks.

[DogMan79]

@chibam part of my Complex Trauma is from a string of disastrous single sessions with under qualified talk therapists (Psychologists)

I think there was 5 or 6, I avoided them for several years following as a pretty standard trauma response

I think that I am 13 sessions into new one, and she still kind of petrifies me

[NatureLover]

@Willy  I completely agree with @Zoe7  and @BPDSurvivor  and ask that you stop tagging me in your posts.

The MH system (meds and talk therapy) has saved my life, as it has @BPDSurvivor 's. 

I know it's not a perfect system, but I am on this forum to spread hope, like @BPDSurvivor . It disturbs me that you are busy tearing down hope for people who may benefit from meds or therapy.

I agree there is room for everyone's experiences on this forum, but as I find your posts disturbing, please don't tag me any more. Thanks. 

I wish you the best. 

[chibam]

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@DogMan79 wrote:
@chibampart of my Complex Trauma is from a string of disastrous single sessions with under qualified talk therapists (Psychologists)

I think there was 5 or 6, I avoided them for several years following as a pretty standard trauma response

I think that I am 13 sessions into new one, and she still kind of petrifies me

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We're not alone, @DogMan79 . I've talked with numerous others over the years who've had harmful experiances with talk therapy.

Maybe it's just me, but I just get the sense that there's minimal awareness amongst the general public about this shadowy side of talk therapy. Hardly surprising, I suppose. I mean it's obvious how drugs and high voltage can wreak dammage upon the body, but how much harm can mere words do? Sticks and stones...

Do you get the impression that there's a poor recognition of the risks/harms associated with talk therapies? Particularly in comparison to the level of awareness of the risks associated with other forms of treatment?