NHS talking therapy

Anyone from the UK here who would like to share their experiences of NHS Talking Therapy.

I’m currently doing this myself and I’m curious to what others have experienced.

I'm in Scotland, I had went through a building confidence group via ine of the Clinical Psychologist's and her student. It was a 12 week course. She recommended from what she saw of me I'd benefit from Psychology input. My CPN was not convinced. He thought I was fine???

This was Oct 2016 and I saw the Clinical Psychologist and her student from my area Dec 2016. They deemed I needed their input. So in Jan 2017 I saw the student. This lasted until May (appts weren't weekly either) when the student graduated. I saw the Clinical Psychologist in the July 2017 by August 2017 she discharged me and said I wasn't needing her??? I was so angry as the student was tackling my perfectionism and my social anxiety.... which the support worker from my team was meant to help with that... (that was a joke... she never tackled anything!!)

I now pay privately for therapy as my area in Scotland is pretty poor for mental health input

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South West England here, and I had 6 sessions with an NHS therapist in 2016.

My takeaway from the experience was that I didn't find CBT helpful for grief and betrayal trauma.

I now pay for therapy with a person-centred counsellor who seems to have some sense of what I'm struggling with.

I had 18 months of art therapy with a Jungian psychoanalytic approach. This was many years ago and I would be doubtful that such an opportunity is available now as CBT and other short term, outcome driven interventions are so wide spread.

It was an excellent experience for me. It introduced me to working with metaphor and archetypes which has remained with me. It felt like a solid introduction to my long term therapeutic work. I was indifferent about the therapist, although he was good, and relational stuff was not a noticeable part of the work.

I work with someone privately who is a Gestaltist and very relationally focused as well as having an emphasis on attachment. She's excellent and is well known in her field. I wouldn't have the emotional capacity and awareness for working with her if I hadn't had my previous NHS experience, or at least it would have taken me a long time to develop that. I don't believe I would be able to access someone like her working in this way through the NHS (due to systematic underfunding which of course is not the fault of the NHS).

NHS is limited in its usefulness... But it was the stepping stone into any form of therapy for me which eventually led me to private therapy..

What has your experience been, Discombobulated?

Thanks everyone for telling me about your experiences.

@comrademoomoo thanks for asking, I think I’m still formulating my opinion, it’s been a mixed bag.

I did NHS talking therapy in 2012, 6 weeks of weekly 50 minutes sessions, it was helpful. I’m now 3 weeks into my most recent NHS talkie therapy sessions, it’s been quite different.

It’s 4-6 weeks of 30 minutes sessions, my first therapist was working with CBT base, she used some of the techniques (questioning, mindfulness) , but no formal homework as such, it was more relaxed, those sessions were slower paced and reflective. It helped me process some things I think. This time it feels much more like training, a lot of print outs, homework, technique based.

It’s not exactly inflexible because the therapist did say not every technique will work for everyone, actually a lot of cbt techniques I’ve been given I find …. Patronising for want of a better word, but I do find value in some of it.

The first therapist from 2012 seemed more focused on me, this therapist (much younger and that’s not necessarily a problem but I do wonder about life experience) seems to consider me but mostly focus on delivering CBT. The sessions actually only last 20 minutes I notice, I’ve had 3 sessions and she’s suggesting that she thinks it’s enough. To be fair one of my issues is I always present well, I’ve been like that my whole life, but I can be crumbling inside. Maybe I present too well to her?

My husband had a probable life changing diagnosis this week, I’m trying to cope with that for him and me. I’m not saying CBT doesn’t have its place in all this but it feels like it shouldn’t be the only approach. That said, I accept that’s probably all that’s on offer with the NHS. If only we could tick a ‘no CBT’ box

What I’m reading with all of you is that paid therapy is a more appropriate option for many of you.

Since I last posted the therapist said on my third appointment she believed I was ready to end the sessions. This did take me aback. I could’ve said no, but tbh I was too stunned and didn’t have the confidence to say no. That session lasted just 20 minutes. When I added all three sessions together it was not much more than an hour Therapy time in total.

She gave me one last phone follow up this week which lasted 17 minutes and we went through CBT strategies. I felt like I’d failed because I couldn’t give good answers to her. I felt like I’ve been given such a lot of information and I don’t know how to apply it.

In fairness to me it has been a very short burst of a lot of information, I process quite slowly anyway I think, but that’s not unusual.

So in summary 3 appointments totalling just over an hour, a fair bit of paperwork, which I’m unsure how I can effectively apply it in my life. I have been given access to the online CBT which is something and I have been told I can refer back in but to give it a few months. I’m considering a private therapist, if anyone has any advice on what to look for that would be good.

Look at the Bcap register.

You might also find some useful therapist information here:

Just a moment...

You can filter by various criteria and all the therapists are BACP registered.

Okay so I received my discharge letter from the service which stated I’d had 5 sessions, this went to my gp so will go on my medical records. I queried it as I only had 3 sessions, the therapist replied the initial phone assessment (done months ago before I went on the waiting list) was classed as a session, also the 10 minute phone call I had as a review afterwards was also classed as a session.

I would never have thought of that being sessions. Anyhow the therapist said she’d rewrite the letter so it’s clearer.

Oh wow that's shocking. 5 sessions but basically 3 so where do you go from there?

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