"Give people REAL help - not restricted by Goverment limitations!"

I feel let down by the Open Minds Service. Originally I was referred by my doctor for therapy in addition to the antidepressants I had been on for two years. After 6 sessions of one-to-one counselling, I was discharged from the service despite getting in touch to say yes when they asked if I still wanted to be involved with the service. I referred myself to the service after a long gap during which my depression had become very bad again. I was feeling suicidal and desperate.

When I was given an appointment nearly two months later, I was told that weekly one-to-one counselling was no longer available at this stage of involvement with the service due to Government advice to begin with the least intrusive treatment. I was advised to consider increasing my medication and sent home with the number of the crisis team to call in case I try to kill myself.

I left feeling very disappointed and as though there was no way to become well again.

Luckily, the person I saw called to tell me that there was a weekly depression group starting if I would like to attend. That was the only good thing to come out of the appointment.

I felt worse afterwards than I had before and the support I felt I had had in the past from Open Minds has been undermined by the government’s advice which seems to be totally illogical. There is, unfortunately, still a huge amount of stigma and ignorance surrounding mental illnesses and people don’t tend to access a service like this until they are at breaking point or have had long term issues. They need real help, not some non-intrusive baby steps.