Is this normal procedures?

[Guest Saz]

I'm glad I didn't request to have my account deleted just yet. I hope nobody minds me asking a question.

I had a call this morning to go through an initial assessment for cbt. Why do they need to ask for details about your children suh as names ages doctors and schools? I feel incredibly panicked about this. Is this normal for them to ask this?

Also she said everything is confidential apart from if they think you are a risk to yourself or other people. How on gods green earth do you open up then about your intrusive thought? I'm petrified.

Please please someone help x

[Guest HeadAboveWater]

I know that I was also petrified to open up to anyone about my POCD. But once I started working with my therapist I just told her right away all of my obsessions, big and small and of course explained to her how POCD has been taking over my life the past 8 months. She didn't seem freaked out at all and it was such a relief to talk to her openly about my fear and my OCD. I have literally told her all of my thoughts and even about the groinal response and she never reacted any other way than, ''yes, you are suffering from OCD and you need to stop doubting that''. You don't need to be afraid to tell your therapist about your OCD.... they have most likely heard it all before... especially if they are OCD specialists or CBT therapists. (Mine is a CBT therapist)

Edited December 10, 2014 by HeadAboveWater

[Guest Saz]

Thank you headabovewater, glad you have a good therapist, it must be a huge relief. x

I just don't see why she would need to take the details of my kids, and mention if they thought anyone was in danger then they would need to involve these other agencies. That is extremely extremely off putting. Can anyone else confirm if this is normal? It's the IAPT people.

And again how do you open up to a therapist after all that? I have an overwhelming fear this is all going to end in disaster. I cannot take any risks when I have children. I cannot just hope they understand, its too frightening.

[Guest Saz]

P.s. I feel pretty silly for writing on here when I said I was leaving x

[Guest Lyn77]

They always say that...if they think u are a harm to yourself or othees its the only circumstance they would break confidentiality agreement. I know all to well what its like to not have someone understand. I called a crisis line and after telling her my intrusive thoughts I was told social services were being notified. I could have died. It was the worst few months of my life. But all done and dusted now and every person involved ie dr health visitor psycologist said it should never have been refered and the person who done it was going to be trained in recognising ocd symptoms. Anyway I believe it is very rare for this to happen. However it has taken away any trust I had in services and I doubt I will seek help from a crisis line or anything ever again. Its a shame. At the end of the day though they are just covering their backs and yes im sure at several of my meetings with councellors or therapists they have taken the kids details. X

[Guest Saz]

Thanks Lynn,

It's all very worrying isn't it. I really don't know what to do for the best now. I feel so anxious x

[OCD_Guy_UK]

Do we have an abbreviations page? I was away from this forum for many years until recently and I don't have a clue what POCD and IAPT stand for?

[OCD_Guy_UK]

It is all very normal behaviour. When I referred myself to an NHS supplement service recently I had to go through the same things, answering questions, which is highly difficult given the very nature of the issues I had in my head. Mind you, I figured I'd rather they knew what was in my head and make the right decision based on it, than me not say what was in my head and something bad happen because of that. So, although I found it very hard to utter my thoughts, I really preferred they knew than didn't.

[Guest Lyn77]

You could start treatment and build a rapport with the therapist and then u may feel able to open up to them. You should not turn down any treatment u are offered. Cbt is a great tool to have and essentially u learn to be your own therapist and it gives u the means to deal with things as they come up. I have never had formal cbt but I have a book on it which I am reading. I would have loved the chance to do cbt but I got refered to a person centred therapist and it has been not very helpful for my ocd. Xx

[PolarBear]

It sounds like those are just normal, pre-therapy questions they ask. I don't think it matters where you are from, they always warn you that if you are deemed to be a risk to yourself or to others that the therapist is bound to inform the proper authorities. That's just standard operating procedures.

[Guest jayjay89]

Also if you are worried, you don't have to tell the therapist the nature of your ocd thoughts to get treatment. Cbt is a tool they can teach you which you can apply to any number of issues, a therapsit doesn't need the nuts and bolts to effectively help you

[Guest Saz]

Thanks guys but then I feel like if I'm not being fully truthful they won't understand my torment. I don't believe this to be ocd myself so I think I need all the help I can get to get better or to at least finally try to understand a little.

I feel very stressed x

[Guest jayjay89]

If you don't think it's ocd .... Isn't it a good thing they want to check on your children..?

[Guest Saz]

Im a bit confused Jay. What I mean is I myself am yet to believe its all ocd. Near enough everybody has told me that it is.x

[Guest Saz]

I feel so sick, I can't do this

[PolarBear]

Yes you can. You came quite far over a period of time but you've slipped right back to square one (or very close to it). You're letting your doubts define what you do and that's never a good thing to do.

You need to get this out so you can access the help you need.

[Guest Orwell1984]

Sarah you will need to ask for help. You can't do this alone. It;s a perceived risk to tell about the children but when you think about it, psychs would want to know about a patient's dependents in case the person became incapacitated through depression etc and it would let the psychs know that you would have additional parental stresses .

[Guest Saz]

I kind of think I've catastrophised here, thinking worst case (as uaual). I'm sure it is just procedure. But the feeling freaks me out and absolutely panics me. I'm just so worried about it all, about everything!

[Saffie]

Normal procedure yes. Unfortunately in Ireland they were required by law to do a Child Protection assessment, which was horrible. But asking those questions is just part and parcel of a mental health risk assessment.

[Guest Orwell1984]

Normal procedure yes. Unfortunately in Ireland they were required by law to do a Child Protection assessment, which was horrible. But asking those questions is just part and parcel of a mental health risk assessment.

That's exposure in itself I suppose. A massive one . But you came through it though pretty much unscathed 1 nil for you vs OCD

[Guest Saz]

I'm not doing very good just now and feel like a freak for ending up like this.

Thanks for everyone's replies though. x

[Guest Orwell1984]

You should probably ring OCDUK's helpline. Get some good advice and act on it

[gingerbreadgirl]

Yes I agree it would be good to speak to Ashley x

[Guest Saz]

Hi Orwell and thanks for your concern but I've had so much amazing advice from everyone on the forum. I don't know what the hell is going on with me. It says it all if I can't implement it. Surely I should be better after a good year of posting on the forum and trying.

I'm feeling a bit emotional tonight, just been one of them days x

[Guest Saz]

What do I say? X