Posted by phazedout on October 26, 2003, at 6:24:20
My first refarral to CAT was 8 years ago - whilst I was still young enough and eager enough to be bothered to change. After the usual 12 month wait I was seen by (and I might be biased) a brilliant and insightful clinician who filled me with confidence iin her and my ability to overcome at least some of my problems. Disaster struck just two weeks in, she left on sick, stayed off for 8 months and was killed in a car crash (believe me I am not making this up). Next my notes got mixed up and were 'inadvertantly' sent to the CBT department where I was referred to a very 'christian' (not that I have anything against them) woman with pictures of jesus and crucifix on the wall! (Being gay I did wonder if she just wanted to send me to hell). After about 6 weeks of drawings of 'see-saws' and balances and being told that I wasn't to go to the ends but stay in the middle (uh? excuse me but I might be bonkers so isn't that a little bit patronising) I eventually walked out saying "have a nice life". After this I was AGAIN referred to another clinician in the CBT department, my first MAN. This did not go well - it was as if I had some dreaded contageous disease - he placed my chair in the farthest corner of his rather spacious room and sat behind his desk in the opposite corner. He was gruff and dissmissive and felt that I was just trying to 'manipulate' him (all this from about 10 minutes - the guy is a god NOT). I told him I thought it would be best if I saw someone else and he agreed to do a review after a couple of months of not seeing anyone. Come 18 months later and after various calls and letters to the department I eventually took a seat outside his office and told the secretary that I WASN'T MOVING TILL I HAD SEEN HIM. Evenutally he came out and informed me that he had decided to DISCHARGE me from clinic - well thanks mister so where the f*ck was my letter telling me. Gasps and apologies (not from him) abounded as it turned out that somehow they still had an address from years ago on the file. How can this be - you send my original appointment to my current address B*ST*RD! Almost another 6 months later I was retransferred to the CAT department and had an assessment with two Clinical Psychologists (by this time I think they realised I had REAL problems). They in turn arranged an urgent (another couple of months) appointment with the top CAT therapist. Hurrahhh, no, don't celebrate too soon. Four weeks into this therapy I receive a letter saying "my sister is dying of cancer and I can't see you anymore". A substitute therapist was found to 'hold' me till her return but at the first session I told my new T that hell can freeze over before I let outta giving me the goods. She was funny and bright and very smart and we agreed to do 6 months work. It was a good time and I don't consider it to have been therapy as we just focussed on having a good time in the sessions - though she was the T that stormed to my Psych and told them to stop being B*stards and take me off all the meds - suprisingly this was a really good time, the meds had made me feel drugged but not better. Well that sort of brings us up to date apart from my latest T who once again has gone off ill (just 11 sessions) she went in March and still hasn't returned - well the moral of this story is if you have a T you really want to get even with given me their name and I'll sign up for a couple of sessions and wait for the badness to happen to them (only kidding).
poster:phazedout
thread:273572
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20031011/msgs/273572.html