Discussion To all my UK people: How was your experience with the community mental health service?

[halleyscomet]

I am meeting with the community mental health team on Friday for the first time. I haven't seen anyone since I got discharged from CAHMS over a year ago, so I am pretty nervous to see what the differences will be between the two services, and how different it will be because I am an adult now. I've been procrastinating seeing them for a year because of this lol.

I was wondering if you've been through the system, what it was like for you? Was it helpful or was it as bad as CAHMS or worse?

 

[Suicidebydeath]

Not CAHMS specifically, but my personal experience has been absolutely detrimental and abusive, and they took part in ruining my life permanently. I've posted about it before, I don't feel like talking about them right now :(

I don't think you should take my personal experience into account. It's different for everyone. I haven't met (almost) anybody that was as distinctly unlucky as me, although I did coincidentally receive a private message regarding one of my posts about something related, and it's another extreme horror story of abuse, similar to mine.

 

[etherealspring]

CAHMS wasn't bad for me, but it wasn't helpful either. My therapist was very sympathetic, but that didn't really change anything. It kind of felt like going was a waste of time. She was kind of patronising as well

 

[eatantz]

CAHMS was useless but i enjoyed talking to someone about random shit, when it came to my mental health nothing changed. I've heard not great things about the adult services but i hope your experience is good!

 

[carac]

Most of the people I met were nice and well meaning but the majority were not at all qualified to help me and I didn't get any help from the mental health services really. A lot of the time if just felt like I was providing them with a job, I would be journeying eveywhere, waiting around to see people, being accomodating and I didn't really get back anything in return.

 

[ForgottenAgain]

I am currently going through the Mental Health Community Team, had my first appointment with the psychiatrist past Thursday. Prior to that I was on the Crisis Team from October to December last year. So far my experience isn't great.

On Thursday the psychiatrist took my history all over again because the crisis team got my history wrong. Then the psychiatrist said I'm probably not Borderline but rather have Psychotic Depression. Recommended some different meds but then got annoyed when I asked to read the side effects first.

Yesterday we talked on the phone about medication and she told me that, actually, she doesn't think I have psychosis symptoms because she re read the notes from the crisis team and changed her mind. Then proceeded to get my history wrong which I had to correct AGAIN. Then at the end of day called me again to ask me to forget about our morning telephone chat because she will talk with a consultant and call me back today.

So yeah, not impressed, and I'm now feeling even more sad because I feel like no one knows what my problem is and that I should have never said I was diagnosed with Borderline because I feel like they hear that and just give up.