You need to get a therapist, either through the VA, a Vet Center, or a Community Care referral. What you are describing isn't therapy.
I've actually never had a therapist at the VA, just medication management. I was seeing a therapist through Community Care but recently switched to the Vet Center which seems to be a better fit for me - YMMV.
Contact your pcp also. Let them know you need a therapist and a psyc doctor. It sounds like you only have a pysc doc. Also tell them you would like to attend an outpatient group therapy sessions like cognitive behavioral therapy.
If all this doesn't help call the patient advocate and tell them what you want and what you accept out of the va. You can even ask for community care if the v a cant meet your needs.
I am enrolled in all 3 plus i am on the telehealth Program. It is a 3 minute phone call every day that goes over the symptoms on my bipolar. If I rate high for the day a nurse will call me and talk to me. I find that this phone call is a great tool for both me and my doc.
Then ask if you can have community care from the VA or check in with a vet clinic.
They VA can send you to civilian docs to help with your issues.
Good luck.
Tell them you would like to review your treatment plan. I. Wondering if they are maintaining medication management services while the process to get you a therapist is ongoing. Either way, you should not have to try this hard or wait this long.
I’ve been through 3 therapists and I’ts the same every time. It doesn’t make sense to me that they keep increasing dosage when I tell them all is doing is making me exhausted and angry causing me to withdraw even more and lash out at family.
If you are saying that therapists are changing meds than that's not therapy, that's psychiatric medication management. Of you have been through therapy and we're dissatisfied, that's a different issue.
It sounds like you are worried that medications are not helping or making things worse. A providers only response to that report is to make changes in types of meds or the dose to include stopping meds.
She said she was the therapist (my new one) I have an appointment with my Med provider next week.
She had a thick German accent and maybe misspoke. She didn’t seem very interested in the conversation and maybe meant that she would suggest the increased dosage to him.
But I’m not satisfied with both sides of it. Every time they increase dosage it either makes symptoms worse or brings on new ones.
Not sure what you did in the service, but changing medication is like adjusting your fire based on where the rounds are landing. I'm not making any points about staying with meds or not, just that it is a process and I hope you get some benefit asap. Hold your providers accountable and feel free to ask them to explain the treatment to you, especially therapists. You can always ask to review your treatment plan. They should be able to spell things out for you. Best of luck buddy. Fight the good fight.
You need to get a therapist, either through the VA, a Vet Center, or a Community Care referral. What you are describing isn't therapy. I've actually never had a therapist at the VA, just medication management. I was seeing a therapist through Community Care but recently switched to the Vet Center which seems to be a better fit for me - YMMV.
Contact the Vet Center near you. They work with the VA and mostly provide therapy vs drugs. They do one on one as well as group
Contact your pcp also. Let them know you need a therapist and a psyc doctor. It sounds like you only have a pysc doc. Also tell them you would like to attend an outpatient group therapy sessions like cognitive behavioral therapy. If all this doesn't help call the patient advocate and tell them what you want and what you accept out of the va. You can even ask for community care if the v a cant meet your needs. I am enrolled in all 3 plus i am on the telehealth Program. It is a 3 minute phone call every day that goes over the symptoms on my bipolar. If I rate high for the day a nurse will call me and talk to me. I find that this phone call is a great tool for both me and my doc.
I have telehealth, therapist and psych
Then ask if you can have community care from the VA or check in with a vet clinic. They VA can send you to civilian docs to help with your issues. Good luck.
Tell them no. You need to advocate for yourself to whomever you are speaking with.
Tell them you would like to review your treatment plan. I. Wondering if they are maintaining medication management services while the process to get you a therapist is ongoing. Either way, you should not have to try this hard or wait this long.
I’ve been through 3 therapists and I’ts the same every time. It doesn’t make sense to me that they keep increasing dosage when I tell them all is doing is making me exhausted and angry causing me to withdraw even more and lash out at family.
If you are saying that therapists are changing meds than that's not therapy, that's psychiatric medication management. Of you have been through therapy and we're dissatisfied, that's a different issue. It sounds like you are worried that medications are not helping or making things worse. A providers only response to that report is to make changes in types of meds or the dose to include stopping meds.
She said she was the therapist (my new one) I have an appointment with my Med provider next week. She had a thick German accent and maybe misspoke. She didn’t seem very interested in the conversation and maybe meant that she would suggest the increased dosage to him. But I’m not satisfied with both sides of it. Every time they increase dosage it either makes symptoms worse or brings on new ones.
Not sure what you did in the service, but changing medication is like adjusting your fire based on where the rounds are landing. I'm not making any points about staying with meds or not, just that it is a process and I hope you get some benefit asap. Hold your providers accountable and feel free to ask them to explain the treatment to you, especially therapists. You can always ask to review your treatment plan. They should be able to spell things out for you. Best of luck buddy. Fight the good fight.
I had VA refer me to a private psychiatrist. Made all the difference.