[Neptune83]

I'm in the UK and I just wondered what help is available for DID?
I was diagnosed with bipolar and BPD a few years ago but I know it's wrong. I spoke to a guy, a mental health worker, who agreed with my previous therapist that it could be DID. He referred me on to what I thought was going to be a psychiatrist for diagnosis, but turned out to be a psychologist who basically said they could only offer short term therapy which she didn't think would be helpful and that she would refer me to a psychiatrist and give me contact details of an organisation that provides longer term therapy, of which I don't know what sort of therapy and that isn't on the NHS. So I kind of feel like I've been left dangling with not much information on what is available or anything.

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by Neptune83

I'm in the UK and I just wondered what help is available for DID?
I was diagnosed with bipolar and BPD a few years ago but I know it's wrong. I spoke to a guy, a mental health worker, who agreed with my previous therapist that it could be DID. He referred me on to what I thought was going to be a psychiatrist for diagnosis, but turned out to be a psychologist who basically said they could only offer short term therapy which she didn't think would be helpful and that she would refer me to a psychiatrist and give me contact details of an organisation that provides longer term therapy, of which I don't know what sort of therapy and that isn't on the NHS. So I kind of feel like I've been left dangling with not much information on what is available or anything.

I dont live in the UK but I do know someone who moved here from the UK who presently has DID. for her the first step was getting the official diagnosis. She was diagnosed with depression, anxiety and borderline personality disorder. like you she did not agree with her diagnosis. She requested an official diagnosis testing. the tests were lengthy but when she completed the UK's Psychiatric testing she was diagnosed with DID.

As for Treatment of DID its not that much different from say treatment for PTSD. you work on your symptoms, problem areas like talking about the trauma's that caused you to become DID, finding ways that will enable you to be more grounded/focused/ aware during your problem times/triggers, find ways to lessen the depression, anxiety, stress in your life that causes you to dissociate, ....with this person I know it also included medications for depression, anxiety, sleep issues .....inpatient care when anyone was a danger to their self or others....

in short the treatment for DID is like with any other mental disorder, customized to what ever problems /symptoms each person with the mental disorder need to be addressed. for some people this kind of therapy takes only a few years for others it takes many many years.

[Neptune83]

Thank you for your reply
I'm having a look at private therapists because I'm fed up with being referred here there and everywhere only to end up back at square one again. I was looking forward to today thinking this could be the start of my life getting back together, but it was just another "I'll refer you on"... This has taken over my life and that of my husband and I'm really fed up.

[innocentjoy]

i'm sorry you're having issues finding long term therapy. In Canada, most long term stuff isn't covered by health care, and it's difficult to find it. I've been between agencies piecing together counselling here for a bit, there for a bit and back again. Luckily I've found a medical psychotherapist who is covered by healthcare and can work with me longer term.

It might be a good idea to call a healtcare number and ask them what titles and agencies to look into who can provide long term, and then start an internet search with the proper title. In Canada a psychologist is not covered but a medical psychotherapist is, so learning the specific title helped me find them. I just googled "Medical psychotherapist Ontario" and was able to find a few options to look into.

Most likely you will be in for a waiting period, if your healthcare is anything like ours, but at least it's a start. Short term therapy could help while you're waiting for a longer term support, it could help you manage the day to day stuff that is causing issues at the moment.

All the best!!
IJ

[Neptune83]

Thank you. I can't believe there's still such a major shortage of long term therapy. Surely they understand that not everyone is going to be ok after x amount of sessions. I know there are a lot of patients to cover, but if there were long term more readily available you might get fewer people in and out of therapy all the time. It would give those in need of more a better chance of getting better longer term with much wider gaps between needing therapy. I emailed someone last night, going to check my mail now to see if she replied.

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by Neptune83

Thank you. I can't believe there's still such a major shortage of long term therapy. Surely they understand that not everyone is going to be ok after x amount of sessions. I know there are a lot of patients to cover, but if there were long term more readily available you might get fewer people in and out of therapy all the time. It would give those in need of more a better chance of getting better longer term with much wider gaps between needing therapy. I emailed someone last night, going to check my mail now to see if she replied.

a suggestion......here in the USA many insurance plans required a person to have a "cap" (limit) on how many sessions they can have in a year. example my insurance plan used to say I could have 12 mental health sessions a year, I could use those sessions at any rate I needed them to be. if I went weekly that meant I had three months of mental health sessions.

what my therapist and psychiatrist did was as I reached that limit they would file another set of forms listing my diagnosis, a new treatment plan and request form for more sessions. the result was I could see my therapist for 52 sessions a year unlimited on how long I was in treatment.

officially it wasnt unlimited because the treatment plan and request form had to be done every three months, but reality wise we no longer had to worry about whether I needed long term or short term treatment. As long as we met the requirements for getting that extension. As an adult originally I started treatment as a college class requirement that was only supposed to last one semester and it turned into years.

Im not saying you will definitely get an extension like I did just that here in america there are loop holes that can be used by starting out short term and end up in long term treatment.

why not try going for the short term plans while you are researching your mental health system, this way you will be gaining that much more stability, progress that you are aiming for, while at the same time you may find out how to use your mental health system to benefit rather then hindering you.

[possum220]

While being referred on may not feel nice, its better that have some-one not knowing what they are doing trying to deal with the issues. There will be some-one there who can help you, finding them can be frustrating. Don't give up.

Having private health insurance may help you find a specialist. There are people who have this disorder that live in the UK. Hopefully they can give you some suggestions.

[Rzay4]

Yes in the USA we can get thru with loopholes hope you are able to find more long term help.

[Neptune83]

Thanks. It's weird here. I am not aware of any loopholes, it seems very strict no matter what avenue you take, there's always a limit. Unless you go private. Over the years I've just been referred here, there and everywhere then left until things get out of hand again and then it's back to an endless list of referrals and different people. I don't want to start actual therapy with someone who's just going to say that's it, when I don't feel it's enough. It's like getting everything out of boxes then just leaving a mess behind.

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by Neptune83

Thanks. It's weird here. I am not aware of any loopholes, it seems very strict no matter what avenue you take, there's always a limit. Unless you go private. Over the years I've just been referred here, there and everywhere then left until things get out of hand again and then it's back to an endless list of referrals and different people. I don't want to start actual therapy with someone who's just going to say that's it, when I don't feel it's enough. It's like getting everything out of boxes then just leaving a mess behind.

ok going to be a bit blunt here....you dont feel so good mentally, your country doesnt do long term therapy so you would rather not enter therapy....

ok thats a choice you need to make for yourself

that said heres a thought.....by choosing not to enter therapy short term you are choosing to continue to feel bad, continue the way you are. can you handle going through months and years using your energy to continue staying the same rather than getting healthy..

thats what my therapist once told me when I was bouncing from treatment provider to treatment provider because I didnt know any of the loop holes.

she had a point. it was my choice not to be in treatment short term avenues so it was my choice not to feel better. if I really wanted to get better I would do what ever I had to, to make that happen.....even if it meant being in treatment short term....

for me it was worth more to me to feel better rather than continue to feel bad. so I made the short term avenues work for me...each time I would pick one problem....just one .....to focus on with that short term treatment provider. a person can get more work done by taking things one step at a time rather than doing bits and pieces of many things...

I went in to those short term therapists by starting my first session with them by saying I have many issues I would like to learn how to deal with but we dont have time for that, this is short term therapy options so heres the one most important thing I would like to work on with you... then I stuck with working on that one issue until I ran out of sessions or until the problem was resolved. with the next treatment provider I would pick up where I left off I would keep a therapy journal so that I could walk in, hand them my therapy journal and say here you go this will get you up on track faster than I can sit here and fill you in on what I have already worked on, this is what Im working on with you today and tell them my problem as it stands at that moment.. or I would choose a different issue to work on with them....

believe it or not I got amazing amount of work done through working on one issue at a time per treatment provider. I got diagnosed with bipolar disorder, got on medication, learned how to organize my time, learned so much about myself, and much more...

my point is its your choice whether you want to hold out for something that is not an option in your location, which means you are choosing to continue to go on the way you are feeling horrible....or enter short term treatment and get things done by taking it one problem at a time....