[OneRedRose]

I knew she was not trained to deal with everything I am going through, she said she was going to look into other services that could help me, but she PROMISED it wasnt going to happen anytime soon, and that she was just thinking long term as shes only here for the short term....

but yesterday...she told me she had bad news for me, she had found me a Psychiatric nurse that she knows will work great with me, I kinda started sulking to cover up the fact that I wanted to cry.

I think she was alittle sad, said she feels we had built a relationship and a positive one, but it would be wrong of her to not pass me onto someone that could help me better than her, then gave me another one of her weird and unwittingly funny examples, I sulked, said I wouldnt speak to anybody else, said I only want to work on my phobia, that I am fine, I can look after myself.

I have abandonment issues, and she chose the worst possible time to tell me this, as on my way their I found out my best mate in the whole world is moving away for an unknown amount of time (but thats a seperate and personal story to her though) its not all going to happen straight away, but next week I will be meeting this Psychiatric nurse with my T there....what is a Psychiatric nurse? whats the difference between them and a therapist??? :S

[sunrise]

Originally Posted by OneRedRose

what is a Psychiatric nurse? whats the difference between them and a therapist??? :S

I am training to be a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. I'm not sure if that is the type of provider you will be seeing or not. In the U.S., a psychiatric nurse is a Registered Nurse with some training (3-4 yrs) in all the fields of Nursing and then usually has specialized in psychiatry/mental health in their job. Often that job will be working in a hospital with patients hospitalized for mental illness. A psychiatric nurse practitioner is a Registered Nurse plus has additional years of schooling (2-4) and an advanced degree (Masters or Doctorate) in psychiatric/mental health nursing. We are trained in prescribing with lots of pharmacology so we can prescribe all the psych meds knowledgeably and safely. (A psychiatric nurse who is not an NP cannot prescribe medications.) We are also trained in psychotherapy--individual, group, family. In my program, the therapy emphasis is on "evidence-based" therapies such as CBT and IPT. The nursing viewpoint is usually a holistic one, looking at the health of the whole person and not just focusing on one body system or one specific approach. Many NPs focus on prescribing but a lot have practices combining medication management with psychotherapy.

You are in the UK, so the roles your psych nurses fill may be different. When you go see the psych nurse, you can ask if she is a nurse or a nurse practitioner and her qualifications. In the U.S., if a therapist referred a client to an NP, my guess would be the therapist thought medications might be an important part of treatment. May be different in the UK... In the U.S., many clients see a therapist for psychotherapy and a psych nurse practitioner for meds.

I'm sorry your T is transferring you. That's so hard when you built up a relationship.

[lastyearisblank]

I am glad you could tell she is sad too. Well, that sounds a bit, you know. But it is ok to be bothered or worried. I think that is normal. on both sides. That just means that you impacted her too.

[o.kay]

I'm sorry that you are going through this. Developing a safe relationship is difficult and feeling that you're loosing it is worse. I hope you can find some peace in the fact that your therapist is doing what she thinks is best for you. I totally understand how you feel. It seems like she's trying to do her best to take care of you & she must care about you for her to do this. Just my thoughts

[OneRedRose]

thank you all for your responses, by my understand from doing a quick read online I think they are similar to the nurses in the US too, I guess on my next session that will be the best time to ask her questions.

Is it strange for T to be sad too?

I called T today, apologised for behaving abit like a child yesterday, she accepted my apologie, think she said something along the lines of "that means alot, thank you" but not sure, told her I felt very positive about the work shes done, and about her as my T, she said that she wont just throw me over to this nurse, that it will be a slow process, this week we spoke about it, next week ill meet her and we will slowly introduce me to the new routine. but its still sad, I opened up to her alot, let her read my poems, told her things id never told other people, so its all abit...strange I think would be the right word feel almost like im losing a friend or something.

Originally Posted by OneRedRose

thank you all for your responses, by my understand from doing a quick read online I think they are similar to the nurses in the US too, I guess on my next session that will be the best time to ask her questions.

Is it strange for T to be sad too?

I called T today, apologised for behaving abit like a child yesterday, she accepted my apologie, think she said something along the lines of "that means alot, thank you" but not sure, told her I felt very positive about the work shes done, and about her as my T, she said that she wont just throw me over to this nurse, that it will be a slow process, this week we spoke about it, next week ill meet her and we will slowly introduce me to the new routine. but its still sad, I opened up to her alot, let her read my poems, told her things id never told other people, so its all abit...strange I think would be the right word feel almost like im losing a friend or something.

One Red Rose

It's ok to feel whatever you are feeling at the moment. Feelings aren't bad, they just are. It would be very a normal response to be hurt, angry and "act out" in a situation like you described. It makes perfect sense when you have opened up and made yourself vulnerable with T. If you were perfect, you wouldn't need T. I'm sorry to hear about your friend moving, too. Ugh, the timing is crappy! I can understand how it would exacerbate your anxieties.

As difficult as this is, it sounds like your T has been honest with you from the very beginning and she cares about you enough to want to see you heal, even if it means recognizing her own limitations regarding your therapy.

You CAN do this.

Be gentle. Take care of YOUR feelings.

I have seen therapists transfer clients to another therapist who they believed was better qualified to help a patient before. It happens. Your T is looking out for you and recognizing their limitations - even if it means losing a client - because they want you to get better.

I realize the timing is not the best. And, that you are comfortable with the current relationship you have with the T. Hang in there! Hopefully the psychiatric nurse will be able to help you too - in ways your current T could not. Go with the flow and see what happens. Easier said than done, I know. Keep us informed, please.

[Wren_]

even knowing she is trying to do what is best for you and get you the help you need ... I can totally understand how hard that is for you and even more so with things going on with your friend at the same time. To me, it doesn't seem strange that your T is sad also, it sounds as though she really cares about you and what happens and will try to help you with adjusting to this psychiatric nurse. Please keep talking about all of this as much as you need, both with your T and here

[OneRedRose]

Thanks, im just...shocked, only been seeing T since september, so its all happening sooo quickly cant help thinking that I said too much, maybe I shouldnt open up to these T's they just gonna run away when I do