been refused counselling :(

[yikesmate]

i went to the doctors a month ago with severe health anxiety and depression, she was very helpful and prescribed me antids and told me to phone a company called 'Living Life' they offer cognitive therapy over the phone with a qualified counselor. I phoned and they sent me out a questionnaire to fill in so they could assess me for what type of therapy I needed. I felt really positive about this as I feel I will benefit more from talking to someone about how and why I feel like this. I answered it 100% truthfully, saying im struggling with severe depression and I would like some help.

then today I received a letter from the company saying they didnt think they could help me!! they said they only offer short term help to people wilth mild to moderate depression and I should speak to my GP about how to continue, see yah wouldnt wanna be yah kinda thing.

well this is the worse possible news I could get, I really thought this would be the beginning of me finally facing my demons and getting actual help instead of taking medication. Im gutted they wont help me and I dont know what to do or how to feel.

Ive got an appointment in a few weeks with my GP. Hopefully she will refer me for face to face counselling. this has just been a massive blow and Im so upset and I feel helpless.

any advice would be welcome. thanks for reading.

[petrified]

That's horrible I would definitely see your gp again perhaps sooner than a few weeks. A lot of gp surgeries now have therapists and councellors attached to the surgery who will see you there. In also in same position I am in a queue with 45 people in front of me to see a talking therapist for some cbt.

[tailspin]

That really sucks and I'm so sorry. It's hard to reach out for help and you deserve a better response than you got from the Living Life people! I would call your GP and explain what's happened and say that it's really upset you and can you please be fast-tracked to face-to-face counseling. I know this must feel like a slap in the face, but don't give up! I'm keeping everything crossed that you get a helpful response from your GP very soon. Hope the anti-depressants start to help too.

[yikesmate]

thank you very much for your responses. they could of been a bit more sensitive, they are dealing with vulnerable people and thats not the way to go about fobbing someone off
I live in a relatively small area so hopefully will be able to be seen sooner, im going to make an emergency appointment on monday morning to hopefully get this sorted.

I'm going to look into ways of helping myself seeing as Im not getting any help from professional bodies.

Just feel extremely low because of this. Im asking for help but not getting it.

thank you for your kind message

[petrified]

It takes a lot to ask for help sometimes but I'm sure your doctor will be able to offer you something better. Good luck to you :-)

[tailspin]

Good for you, yikesmate. It's great you're making an emergency appointment on Monday.

[yikesmate]

thank you tailspin and petrified (though I hope you are no longer petrified!) hugs to both of you

[petrified]

:-) only sometimes hehe, thanks :-)

[Ritch]

When you go to the doctors on Monday do not leave there without making a step forward, you want either a counselor, cbt therapist or a clinical psychologist referral to be made. If you are in the UK (I'm assuming you are in Scotland) I am a little curious as to why she didn't refer you to a NHS therapist in the first place.

If you don't get a referral you are looking for on Monday consider having a look at http://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/ they have a helpline and also can help people get into therapy. The only down side is that there is a cost for their therapies (I believe the costs are to cover the costs of providing these services as it is a charity). Also don't be on the helpline too long the last thing you need is a high phone bill.

All the best