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Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners
How can I talk about my suicidal impulses without being locked up?
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I've gone to talk to a counsellor, psychologist they have called the police. I managed to get out of it a few times but once I was locked in the psych ward where I was abused. It was horrible - definitely the worse place I have ever been so needless to say I just lied my way out, went home and overdosed on sleeping pills (but failed again). Since that experience I have been far worse.
After I recovered I tried to find out why I was abused. I then did a kind of informal survey on the net and asked about 44 people who had been in the psych ward if it actually helped. 38 of them said it made things worse for them.
Anyway, my questions are:
How do I openly talk to someone about my need to suicide without this happening again?
Why do they keep using the psych ward if it isnt actually helping?
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Anyone? Im kind of desperate….
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Marcia Costello
Clinical Psychologist, Psychologist
I am a Clinical Psychologist with over 25 years experience in working with adults, adolescents, children, couples and families. I work by meeting you where … View Profile
Jim
I understand you talk about suicide impulses and then “get locked up.” Unfortunately suicide impulses, urges and thoughts are part of a risk assessment for possible suicidal acts. Your comments also indicate a history of self harm by taking pills, which is a significant risk for completed suicide. If your risk of self harm is high and you do not have other coping skills than self harm acts, there is really not much choice ethically for health care professionals or police but to place you in a secure environment until those impulses can be managed often with medication, but hopefully with compassion, and skill development. This may even occur even if you do not want this. I agree secure psychiatric environments are challenging. You have not disclosed the nature of the “abuse.” One way to address this is to ask your psychiatrist for nursing observations on a regular basis to minimize harm. Often people with repeated self harm attempts have a history of abuse/ trauma, and lack self care skills. This can result in a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder.One way to address this is to ask for help from the treating team ( Clinical Psychologist etc) to develop skills to take care of yourself in hospital. The goal hopefully would be to gain an understanding of the inner triggers for your distress leading to self harm and learn other coping strategies with appropriate support. There are treatment programs which can address long term abuse such as Schema Therapy, Dialetical Behaviour therapy. However you need to be stable enough to engage with this longer term therapy.
If you are mistreated in hospital you can complain to the council of official visitors and your state mental health board to address your concerns. Most hospital have information about how to contact these representative in the wards. Please ask to speak to a peer support work or a council or official visitors. You do not have to say why you want to talk to those people.
While it is often hard to trust others after abuse it is important to find a support few people who can support you when you are distressed so that you do not see the only way forward in life as harming yourself.
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Hi Marcia,
Thanks for your response! So you are saying that because of the Duty of Care item it is unavoidable to be locked up? I do not think thats right as surely it is known that psych wards are not places to heal. The more I talk about it with people in my situation the more this seems to be comfirmed. It seems everyone agrees that the psych ward is a ‘dumping ground’ for people whom society does not want around - drug addicts coming down, homeless people, people with alzheimers and people who suffer extreme degrees of depression. Commiting people to the psych ward is simply bucking the issue, sweeping it under the carpet and worst of all incarcerating people who have usually not commited a crime without due legal process. Anyway, I digress.
To answer your question the nature of the abuse was mostly verbal and, I guess, psychlogical.
Verbal in terms of vulgar remarks about me and others, being very rude and sarcastic and genral abuse such as swearing at as and demeaning us.
Psychological as in preventing sleep (kept shaking us awake when ever we drifted of - please note this was not due to any medication we took and happened to all), not allowing us to call family or friends to let them know where we were, not allowing us an allied representative, denying us medication (often causing us to become ill), not allowing us legal advice and thieving our belongings (I got my stuff back but many were missing phones, or money or entire wallets and never got them back). (Since then I have of course complained and things have apparently changed - they now provide allie persons, information pamphlets and the team has had a ‘shake up’.)
Needless to say I cannot go back there. I was wondering if you might know of any third party organisations that could help? I don't mind if they are costly. Just as long as they are able to help and avoid the above happening.
Sorry for the long windedness of this post but perhaps it is good to fill in any blanks. And thankyou for your reply - getting peoples advice means a great deal to me and the others I talk with!Report this post
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Belinda Chelius
Counsellor, Social Worker
I am a skilled, dedicated, culturally sensitive and passionate Senior Social Work Clinician, practicing in the field of complex mental health and substance misuse (Dual-Diagnosis) … View Profile
Dear Jim
I hear your frustration around the mental health system and have empathy for your experience in it.
As explained, duty of care is a way we as clinicians assist our clients to stay safe, saying this the system can fail us.
I would suggest you get involved with a Dialectic Behavior Therapy group and therapist.
DBT works specifically in building skills around managing suicidal ideation, through emotional regulation and distress tolerance techniques within the confines of a supportive group and clinicians.
The PA Hospital in Brisbane run a group and in the Hunter Valley NSW health manage a DBT program, form which you could get referrals.
Hope this is helpful.Report this post
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Nik Kotlarov
Psychologist
Mind Zone Psychology (ME) … your mind matters… W: www.mindzone.com.au P: 0450 MY MIND E: admin@mindzone.com.au Evidence based psychological practice with demonstrated results. Mind Zone … View Profile
This is an excellent question. Thank you for your courage to ask it. My answer is relevant to Australia – please make sure same happens in the area you live.
I am sorry to hear about your experience in the hospital and suggest that you use the feedback procedure to report what you experienced, so that improvements can be made.
Yes, you are able to seek help for suicidal thoughts without being locked up. I work within suicide prevention framework and as a result find myself in a very humbling position assisting Clients in some of their lives’ deepest, darkest moments – and seeing some amazing things they are able to do to bring their lives around and regain a sense of meaning in their journey on this planet. And as a therapist, I can help in many ways, including by bringing along a professional tool box.
Yet, nothing can be done if you are already dead.
When we experience pain, our minds can make it feel quite permanent. In our moments of reasoning and clarity we understand that lives go up and down and that things can change. In our emotional moments however, things may seem more ever-lasting and unbearable. As a result, we may act to end the pain permanently by ending our life. Safety during that time becomes important and psychiatric emergency will act on that – safety. You may have better experience with some practitioners or in some hospitals compared to others. It is important that when you are safe, you also seek sustainable long-term growth, and the hospital is likely to link you with a therapist prior to discharge.
Through therapy, being able to look past the perception of permanence, to dive under the waves of pain in to the stillness, and have a chance to regain perspective can be very helpful. In seeking this support, Clients may feel threatened by the possibility of being locked up. Psychologists are trained to check a number of factors that may indicate whether or not there is an immediate danger to yourself and others (emergency). If this is not the case, the therapist is likely empower you take charge of your own destiny and put your own strategies in place that will help you be effective during times things are most difficult. The focus here is likely to be more on long-term sustainable change, rather than safety alone.
I hope this helps!
Kind regards,
Nik
Nikita (Nik) Kotlarov
Psychologist | Mind Zone Psychology (ME)
Mobile: 0450 MY MIND (0450 696 463)
Website: www.mindzone.com.au
Enoggera, Brisbane, QLDReport this post
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