The state of our Mental Health system

Who says she has ever been raped? Your constant implying indicates to me that you’re only “assuming”.

She’s never been raped. I’ve known her since we were children.

BPD for people with depression is like saying all children have ADHD because they are hyperactive.

She doesn’t have BPD. She has Major Depression Disorder – look it up. Her psychologist is well known in the ACT and elsewhere, and is well respected. He is paying the fees himself atm. No Comcare and no income for my friend. She has also seen a psychiatrist (also well known and respected in Canberra) and he agrees that she had MDD.

I am there for her. If you see that as dependence then so be it. However, I’d rather she call someone etc than follow through with her intentions.

Again, she has never been raped and has two clinicians diagnosing her with MDD, not BPD. Very simple to understand.

CATT is a useless waste of resources and all members should be re-screened and if they don’t cut it, they’re out.

She would have been referred to Rape Crisis to organise an appointment to deal with her childhood sexual abuse (aka rape), Rape Crisis Centre doesn’t have a time limit in which you need to have been raped to access their service.

Your subsequent posts indicating her chronic slashing and overdosing, further support the thesis that she has a Borderline Personality Disorder, this is not a symptom of any other disorder. When depressed people wish to suicide they usually succeed, they very rarely call for assistance (why would they, they have decided death is the solution so calling someone would only defeat their aim), if you want to kill yourself it’s so easy, we all spend most of our time attempting to dodge death (looking before we cross the road, wearing seat belts, making sure were drinking green cordial not pine-o-clean), if your friend really wanted to be dead she would be well rotten by now. Her slashing and overdosing is a combination of care eliciting behaviour (nice way of phrasing attention seeking) and tension release (cutting tends to take your mind of your psychological problems and temporarily releases tension). Her high levels of aggression are also symptomatic of BPD, as is her unstable affect.
Inexperience clinicians routinely misdiagnose BPD as “anxiety and depression” especially on cross-sectional interview.

You may consider BPD “a joke in its clarification (sic)” presumably you mean classification, but your going against the vast majority of the psychological and psychiatric community, it is the most researched of all the Personality Disorders (Antisocial PD running second). Really that is equivalent to arguing there is no such thing as cancer.

You are fostering dependency in your friend instead of encouraging her to develop adaptive coping mechanisms. You present as though you have a need to be needed or have a bunch of rescue fantasies or just like a bit of high drama in your life. Take a step back; people with BPD are often highly emotionally manipulative, their main drive is to avoid rejection or abandonment (real or perceived) and will go to great lengths to achieve this end.

And the pro bono therapist if it costs you nothing that’s what you’ll get. S/he is probably hoping to get in on the Comcare action, now that’s some sweet pay dirt, if you can get Comcare to pay you to treat a BPD one session a week until one of you dies (cause that’s how long it will probably take) at the full scheduled fee ($165/hour) the kids school fees will be no trouble.

Sounds like the only people the CATT operator didn’t suggest your friend call was Telstra Directory Assistance. She’d probably get more appropriate advice if she rang Telstra; and that’s really saying something!

enigma, after just speaking to my friend, she has also informed me that the idiot from CATT that she spoke to also stated that my friend could ring the Rape Crisis Centre for help.

Now, this is a person who hasn’t been raped and my question is: Why would they be referring her to Rape Crisis?

The CATT member is an idiot and should be sacked.

enigma, she has been diagnosed with Major Depressive disorder and has registered high for stress, anxiety, depression and agresssion. She has OD’d twice on anti-depressants – once mixed with panadol and a non anti-depressant medication. She has self mutilated over 12 times. There are no beds in 2N and I wouldn’t send a wounded dog to PSU. She’s been “borderline” (CATT’s words not mine) to go to PSU three times in the past 3 months.

She doesn’t have BPD – which is a joke in it’s clarification anyway.

The psychologist ISN’T being paid. He is working pro bono until the Comcare claim goes through – I didn’t want to get into many details over this but your post has prompted me to do so.

So by being there for her, I am helping her.

She (lets call her Kylie) doesn’t have an illness Kylie has Borderline Personality Disorder which is a (DSM-IV) Axis 2 disorder so it is technically a mental dysfunction not a mental illness. Kylie does not have a Major Depressive Episode or a Generalised Anxiety Disorder although she may have a low mood or anxiety as part of her chronically labile affect. Hospitalisation or emergency responses are contra-indicated in BPD (as you should know from the peer reviewed literature) so inaction by CATT is therapeutic (counter-intuitive I know), making a production out of Kylies self-harming/self-mutilation reinforces this maladaptive coping mechanism. By buying into Kylie’s behaviour you reinforce it, so you are doing your friend a disservice. With a prevalence 2% and that BPD is not an illness rather a dysfunction (so you don’t get better although symptoms can abate) this means there are 6000 BPD people in the ACT, as chronic self harm is a common if not the most common symptoms this probably means that 200-500 people will self harm each day in the ACT, no Govt system is equipped to deal with this (even if emergency response/hospitalisation was indicated for BPD which it is not). Most sensible people (oxymoron) with BPD self harm and then head down to their GP to be stitched up. Panadol overdoses are not treated by flushing with saline. The treatment, (if required) is an IV infusion of Paravalax which binds the paracetamol in the blood stream and prevents liver damage while the normal excretion processes take place. No surprise that Kylie’s psychologist Doesn’t want Kylie calling CATT as she can see one of her cash cows getting slaughtered if Kylie starts getting advice as to what the evidenced based treatment for BPD is (which is Dialectical Behaviour Therapy). It would be unethical for a clinician not to advise a patient if it was found that the patient wasn’t being treated in an evidenced based manner or otherwise incompetently. And Kylie’s therapist doesn’t care about her as one would about family or friends she cares in the professional sense, big difference. Her psychologist cares that she is doing a good job that’s professional, caring about her as one cares about family and friends would demonstrate a marked lack of professional boundaries and would be unethical (you don’t have to like your patients to treat them effectively). The list of inaccuracies in this discourse is too long to any where near fully address but this is a (small) start. Also hoping that someone had suicide so that a CATT worker would get in trouble is ungenerous to say the least (re the comment in the police in Hawker post).
It’s not Kylie’s fault she has BPD (if you want to blame someone, blame the guy that sexually abused her as a child) and the good news is that in many cases symptoms spontaneously remit as the person enters their fourth decade. Treatment with DBT is also successful, but the disorder is not cured rather the person uses psychological strategies to reduce the expression of symptoms. Get a Boundary
CATT Crisis Assessment and Treatment Team
MIT Mobile Intensive Treatment Team (generally (but not exclusively)for patients with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders who need high level support, not a crisis service except for patients that are already on their books, does not operate 24 hours a day).

LG, well said. 🙂

Thumper, she’s doing ok for now. But as you know, it’s one day at a time.

Thanks.

Good luck Nyssa. Mental illness is hard to deal with, all you can do is be there for her, which it sounds like you are doing.

And Ginger? Tosser? It is an ILLNESS. If Nyssa’s friend had cervical cancer, would she be an idiot? If she had epilepsy? Or how about if she had MS? It’s the same fucking thing. It’s an ILLNESS! Fucktard.

Now, for those that are actually interested, my friend has been told not to contact CATT anymore, but rather to ring Lifeline. Apparently, when that idiot was discussing the psychologist, ethical issues were breached. Nice to know huh?

I wonder if they shred their files before they have them shipped off to the tip.

How’s about an update on why you obviously have no friends? Since you feel the need to make jokes about someone who is not mentally well. Grow up ADFA puke.

Their acronym – as per their website, states CATT. Ask them what the second ‘T’ means.

Nyssy,just quickly – 1. Maybe CAT not CATT is the CRISIS AND ASSESSMENT TEAM. 2. Perhaps “your” not “you’re” before “lack”. 3. How about “me nys” instead of “my nys”. But enough of this sniping over spelling and grammar. How about an update on Crazy Horse? She necked herself yet?

CATT is the CRISIS AND ASSESSMENT TEAM. I mentioned it before.

Grow up you imbecile. You’re lack of intelligence on this matter only proves how ignorant you are.

It’s nyssa76, that’s my name. No one calls my nys. There are several alternates to your name that spring to mind, but maturity is winning through.

Now go to bed little one.

Nys, nys, nys! I’m using the diminutive as a term of affection as I’m starting to feel strangely attracted to you. You are correct. There isn’t 4 Es in needle; and there aren’t 4 either. Maybe I was thinking about a really BIG neeeedle. Nah, I won’t get away with that.

No, I’m not a judgemental type (judge mental, oh deary me!) I’m also not too sure what a CATT is. Please explain.

We are getting a bit Wizard of Ozish, what with me not having a heart or a brain. I am now staring to imagine you in Judy Garland’s Dorothy dress, albeit with a fag hanging out of your mouth.

Getting excited. Must go, nys.

Till later.

NEEEDLE – your spelling. There isn’t 4 E’s in needle.

You are as compassionate as a dead horse. You can call me an idiot all you like. However, I can actually pass judgment on CATT, can you?

I hope to God you never have a family member or friend with a mental illness. Then again, you might actually grow a brain and realise how serious it is.

My friend isn’t dead yet. She has supportive friends and family. Luckily she doesn’t have you as one.

Why are you still here arguing with your idiotic diatribe? Your obvious disregard for human life demonstrates that you should 1) go back to God and ask him for a heart and 2) go back to school and actually learn about mental illness and its effect on a person and their family and friends.

FYI, it’s nyssa76.

No, nys, I’m not basically calling ANYONE with a mental illness an idiot. I’m calling YOUR FRIEND an idiot. Oh well, seeing I’m in form, I may as well add that anyone with such an idiot for a friend must also be in the same category.

Is your idiot friend dead yet?

I think the spelling is OK. Please advise.

The CAT team are a waste of oxygen. PSU (psych unit) at Canberra Hospital are not any better. Never heard of mit though.

I am not surprised that your friend has troubles getting decent help.

G

FYI, you can OD on prescription medication and even panadol – which ruins your liver if it is not “flushed” out with saline asap.

Idiot? So you are basically calling ANYONE with a mental illness an idiot?

Take a good look in the mirror mate. Our taxes AREN’T paying for a great service. They are paying for a piss-weak one.

FYI, most people with a mental illness don’t reach for the needle (note spelling), and some have the courage to reach for the phone so as to get some help moron. It’s a shame that 50% of the people on the other end are dickheads.

You obviously don’t know anyone with a mental illness and thank fuck for that.

What does your idiot friend reach for first, the neeedle or the phone?

Well nyssa76, if it’s any consolation you’re not alone. I won’t go into too much depth about my frustration at ACT Mental Health services, I’ll leave it at saying a lady I know suffering schizophrenia was able to walk out the door at the psych ward and ended up at Canberra airport with a one way ticket to a nearby pacific island (this was just a couple of weeks after the Cornelia Rau (sp?) debacle.)

Not to mention the f*ckarse travel agent that made her sign a form indemnifying them from responsibility because she was “acting strangely”.

Never heard anything of the “mit” team, if you find anything please post deails.

The govt can talk all they want about improving funding and services to mental health, but I’ll only believe it when I see it.