My work environment was very toxic. Staff and clients were verbally abusive and threatening when I did nothing wrong. They were the ones who failed to do their job correctly. The CEO of our company called security on me twice even though I was fully dressed in my uniform and my picture ID tag was clearly visible hanging from my neck.I can go on and on. Too many work issues to discuss here.
My life slowly got worse over the years until I could barely walk and talk. My GP sent me to a psychiatrist who immediately diagnosed me as suffering from Depression.
I started seeing a private psychologist on my own to help myself. He has a PhD. We did CBT using the book Mind Over Mood. My insurance sends forms for him to fill out every six months. He never completes the forms on time and my insurance threatens to cut off my disability. This causes me lots of additional stress.
I am finding psychologists visits are too expensive for me. I cannot afford them. I have asked my local health centre for a psychologist.
I am wondering if I can stop seeing psychologists because they fail to help me. They do not listen to me and they make stupid statements which trigger me and make me more ill.
Thank you for your responses. I know my post is very long.
The terms of your insurance probably say that you need to be under regular medical care.
Does your GP think you should be seeing a psychologist/psychiatrist?
If it is just a matter of being prescribed drugs then I would think the GP would be good enough.
I would tell your GP that you don’t think seeing a psychologist anymore is necessary.
Who signed your original disability forms, your GP?
Your insurance company probably just need you to be under “regular care” which I would interpret as being the doctor that signed your original application for disability.
I would talk to them.
Explain that you don’t think it is helping and the issues you have with it.
I think you need to be able to explain why you would no longer be under the care of the type of doctor (psychiatrist) that signed your disability forms and why a gp is good enough (just prescribing the same drugs, etc).
Please have a look at David’s posting regarding medical conditions. He has posted an entire topic on Bipolar disorder and I think perhaps there’s also an article on PTSD. Here’s a link to the Bipolar article: Winning Disability Benefits for Bipolar Mood Disorder - Resolute Legal Disability Lawyers. In David’s post he says it is critical that a psychiatrist is treating you if you are on LTD for bipolar.
You have two medical doctors treating you: a general practitioner; and, a new psychiatrist, who you now see on a weekly basis. It’s fantastic that you have a treating psychiatrist as the primary physician treating the medical condition causing you to be disabled from work. Many Canadians have difficulty even getting a consultation with a psychiatrist, and that’s all you were able to get when you initially became sick. Your psychiatrist and GP (familiy doctor) are at the centre of your care, and will create a treatment plan with you that includes the medications, counselling, exercise, and other treatments you must follow to help stabilize and improve your health. They may suggest seeing other health professionals such as psychologists, dieticians, occupational therapists, etc., and you will need to work with your treating physicians to obtain these resources. David has provided advice on this as well - I’m just paraphrasing him since I’m not a lawyer or medical professional!
It sounds like you’ve finally got a diagnosis and I hope things will get much better for you.
Background - It’s common that folks are not always clear on the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist. For the benefit of others, a psychiatrist is a medical doctor with many extra years of medical school training and residency to qualify as a psychiatrist. Only psychiatrists prescribe medication in Canada. Psychologists are medical professionals too, and most psychologists in Canada have a PhD, and therefore have earned the title “Dr.”, but they are not medical doctors and do not prescribe medication. There are many other differences between the professions. Both psychiatrists and psychologists are incredibly important in treating people suffering from mental illnesses, however, it is very rare that psychologists in Canada are covered under provincial medical plans.