There is no access to mental health services in Nova Scotia. None. You can go to “community mental health” for a peptalk and an invitation to circle time and that’s it. You’re lucky if you even see anything more than a social worker.
Is there GP Psychotherapists? Hell no – that would make sense. And even if there were, the MSI system would only pay 4 hours a year to the Dr. per patient.
Even private health plans here don’t cover mental health. Employers would rather see you go insane and quit / go on disability (which costs them exponentially more) than to provide some basic mental health coverage in your benefits package.
No wonder this place is full of oxycontin using, drunk, nut jobs. There is no other choice then to go it alone. It sure makes those pills or bottle of alcohol seem like a good option.
As my Dr. says, the government would rather deal with you on the other side (i.e. they’d prefer to see you in jail and THEN give you access to a psychologist, hospital etc. than actually provide preventative or treatment services. )
How often do we hear mom and dad crying on the evening news because they coudlnt get the help for little johnny that he needed until he went and murderd so and so, or tortured that dog, or burnt down that house, or stole that car… what the fuck ? —Can anyone help?
Another example of why this place is so fucking backwards.
This article appears in Mar 13-19, 2014.
It appears your issue is trying to find FREE mental health professionals. I am certain there are psychologists and psychotherapists in NS that accept patients on a fee-for-service basis.
i dunno, if little johnny kills dogs, burns down houses and murders people i doubt any kind of shrink is going to help him. little johnny needs to be put down, or locked up FOR LIFE because little johnny is a sociopath.
apart from that extreme, shrinks are ‘free’ thru medicare if you have something that an actual shrink works on. your dr would do the referral IF that is what you needed. so you don’t.
are you just going to your family dr once a week to pour out your miseries? what are you looking for? you don’t like the group therapy on offer. you looking for one on one?
i think you should be more specific. just saying ‘there is no help’ yeah but, for what?
same as physical illness there are various kinds that determine the treatment response.
if someone says ‘there is no help for my illness’ one wonders if they have a cold? or cancer?
are you looking for in house, one on one intensive therapy for a cold? or cancer?
mental health services in NS are shit. Even if you absolutely need the help (attempted suicide, self harm, etc.) you only get it for a limited number of weeks before they are shoving you out the door because they have far too many cases and too little resources to help them all.
we are losing so many talented, brilliant people to mental illness each year and all anyone talks about is the cost.
I know it’s hard, but try to find a group of individuals who are suffering with something similar and try to talk to them. Sometimes it helps just to be around others with the same struggles. Good luck.
Find Dr Paul Freeman on the web….He used to be in the office across from the ferry terminal in dartmouth but god knows if he’s still around. If you contact him, he will help.
I have been suffering mental illness for years now. Anxiety, PTSD, depression…
My dr. has consistently refused to send me through the mental health system. she tells me it will take too much time to get help, and that I’d get the same level of help elsewhere, for free.
I started looking for someone to go see, but these fucking therapists/psychiatrists/whatever charge $160 PER SESSION. This isn’t covered by MSI, and good luck getting your crappy University health plan to cover anything. It is bullshit. You’re absolutely right.
I don’t know if you’re in school or not, but I recently started using the counselling services at my university. They’re wonderful, and free. Also, New Start Counselling in Dartmouth is free. I had been going for 3 years, but my counsellor moved away recently. This place is for victims of domestic violence/abuse, as well as the abuser (who is usually forced to be there). If you dig around, you WILL find something eventually. I’m not sure about the quality of help you’ll receive though.
The system here is complete CRAP. It’s apparently “getting better”, but they’re not making changes quickly enough.
My only other suggestion is to go to emergency. Tell them how you’re feeling, say you’re going insane… Maybe even exaggerate a little bit. You might get through a little more quickly that way… I’m not sure at what cost to you, though. Good luck.
You’re fucked in the head so its the governments responsibility?
“No wonder this place is full of oxycontin using, drunk, nut jobs.”
Well that summed up NS quite nicely.
Ryan with people like you who stigmatize and stereo type all people with any type of mental illness, it’s no wonder sick people are too afraid to seek help.Those are the people who self medicate with opiates and other drugs.
I agree that this is a problem. Not just in NS, either.
If you do not have insurance, try calling some psychology practices in the HRM. Some of them set fees to a sliding income scale, meaning that you pay less if you earn less.
If you do have insurance, take a closer look at your benefits. Most plans cover psychological services up to a maximum of $500-$1000/year (4-8 appointments). In addition, some employers offer free “Employee Assistance Programs” (EAP), which include anonymous online or telephone therapy and counseling. Take-up of EAP services can sometimes lead to free in-person sessions. A recent article in the Financial Post indicated that the take-up rate of employer-sponsored (insured) mental health services is staggeringly low (single digit %), meaning employees don’t know about them or choose not to use them. Please, if you have and need benefits, use them.
Good luck.
“i dunno, if little johnny kills dogs, burns down houses and murders people i doubt any kind of shrink is going to help him. little johnny needs to be put down, or locked up FOR LIFE because little johnny is a sociopath. “
I know this sounds insensitive, but the Greyhound Decapitation was (apparently) the result of a person having a mental illness and not knowing it, or at the very least not having the tools to be able to have it dealt with. If violence is a symptom of mental illness, then mental health professionals can provide treatments (therapy, medication) that will manage, reduce, or eliminate the symptoms. This is the exact biomedical model that we apply to physical illness. Why can’t it be applied to mental illness?
That being said, I do not believe in the term NCR by reason of mental illness or insanity. Someone like Vince Li (if that’s his name) should, at minimum, be on parole for life.
Whatacrock- Nowhere in my comment did I stigmatize or stereo type anyone. I simply said why is it the governments responsibility.
Then if its people like me who make it no wonder sick people are too afraid to seek help then whats the point of this so called Bitch? Being afraid to seek help is an entirely different issue then saying there is no help to give. Do you see the contradiction here? So which one is it; No help for those that seek it or help is there but people are too scared to seek it?
Oh yes, self medicate away because then the tax payer is funding the addiction and the treatment. Do you see now? Its a lose-lose situation for the working class.
Well, the problem is that people use mental health services when they shouldn’t. Worse, mental health services won’t turn them away.
It’s like those who go to the emergency department with a stubbed toe or the sniffles. They usurp time and resources meant for those who are really in need.
Only until the establishment tells them to fuck off and go wipe their own noses will we see any semblance of service.
Mr. Meaty:
“people use mental health services when they shouldn’t”.
False. Revisit my recollection of the FP article, which stated that people do not use such services even when they are insured.
Secondly, people use all sorts of medical services when they shouldn’t. Ever visit an ED or clinic?
sir meow, you can lead a schizophrenic patient to his anti-pyschotic meds, but you can’t make him take them.
if meds will keep someone from hearing the anti christ speaking thru the walls well and good but how do you enforce the daily pill? how do you even monitor it? until the person runs amok they have basic civil rights and can choose to not medicate. how do we know which person will decompose into a mumbling street person and which will look rational enough to buy a bus ticket to hell?
i have no clue what the solution for this would be.
Not sure who you hang out with, but what sane person wouldn’t take their meds knowing that, when not on medication, there is a reasonable chance they will turn into a murderous cannibal.
I call bullshit on your reasoning.
In any event, even if you are right, this is exactly why I would propose lifetime parole – with parole conditions tied to medication use – for people found NCR for crimes that would otherwise result in a life sentence.
Though I’m not sure a policy such as the one I proposed would satisfy our Supreme Court. There may be constitutionality argument against imposing lifetime parole on people found NCR.
In any event, my point is that there would likely be fewer criminal incidents involving people with mental illness if mental illness were properly treated. Not everyone with mental illness would opt to receive treatment but those who do would be better equipped to live a life with mental illness. I’m not sure what makes this so difficult for some people to understand.
“You’re fucked in the head so its the governments responsibility?”
That’s like saying “you broke your leg, so it’s the government’s responsibility?” with the same contempt. No one ever questions it when people attempt to get the government to cover the costs of medical care for broken limbs, pneumonia, cancer, etc….
Yes, mental illness is just like any other illness. When you break your leg, you get medical costs funded under MSI. When you have a mental illness, MSI should cover it all the same.
A very dear friend of mine was a paranoid schizophrenic, he had meds but hated them. They made him numb and listless, unable to think or function well. So he only took his meds when things got bad. Then one time when things got bad, he didn’t/couldn’t take his drugs, and he listened to the voices. He’s dead now.
RSVP
:Hugo Phurst (03/19, 8.41AM)
I sympathize on the loss of your friend. My dad was the same and when he didn’t take his meds…one could really tell the difference.
Now, now Meow! You need to look beyond what is written; look to what IS… therein lies the truth.
meow, i hope hugo’s comment illustrates the very real situations where people DO make that choice to stop their meds, thinking they can jump back in if it gets ‘bad’, but of course by then they are not making good judgments.
and on making meds a condition of parole, yes, i think we would agree on that, the problem i see is enforcement of those conditions. and what about people who have not yet run afoul of the law, who have no conviction NCR or otherwise. how can their meds be monitored?
those were my concerns.
I think Hugo’s tragic story actually supports my view that mental health services should be funded in the same way that medical care is funded. Universal funding for mental health means more interaction between mental health experts and people suffering from mental illness. This would naturally increase diagnoses and monitoring of medication compliance.
we do not disagree on that. illness is illness.
but just as no one actually watches me to make sure i take my blood pressure meds (and i will likely pop off rather quickly if i miss a couple days, thereby removing a valued tax contributor) how can we ensure med compliance with someone who has no criminal conviction? i would imagine a special ankle bracelet monitor would only increase any stigma.
currently anyone with any kind of illness would be seeing a GP under msi. so those visits are covered. if you get a referral to a psychiatrist, it’s also covered.
psychologists and counselors are not (AFAIK). i believe we need to get these health practitioners INTO the system.
some illness must be treated by a psychiatrist. some illness doesn’t need one, just as some illness requires open heart surgery and some can be taken care of by over the counter aspirin.
my original comment was about that.