Kirklees Talking Therapies (previously known as IAPT) - Mental Health

Had to wait months for my initial six sessions to begin, but was told additional sessions would be available after that if I needed them.

Although the therapist I finally saw was very understanding and compassionate, my six sessions equated to less than two hours contact time. And, despite feeling worse at the end of the six sessions, I was told further sessions were no longer an option.

I was offered some online / self-help treatment instead but, despite writing to them on numerous occasions, I have not heard a thing from them. (This may be to do with the fact that I have stated to them I do not wish to discuss my condition with them over the phone, as this is personal stuff - which I'm not up for sharing with GCHQ...)

Signs of incompetence were there right from the beginning - the young lad that did my initial assessment, clearly unexperienced and not really getting what I was saying.

Despite glimmers of hope during my treatment, things have finished off equally disappointing.

This is a far cry from the way things used to be just a few years ago when appointments lasted a lot longer, were incredibly effective and you weren't just cut off and ignored at the end.

If you get referred to IAPT, I would seriously consider going private instead, as your mental health is worth far more than how these people may value it.

Very supportive and understanding. Parking and coffee bar

I phoned up after being referred by my GP and I was told to phone IAPT, which was a voicemail ... I NEED HELP!!!!!!!!!

So far I have going round in circles trying to get my husband a referral to the appropriate service so he can get an appointment to be seen by a professional. the over the phone assessment took place a few months ago and he was diagnosed as needing help and was promised a referral to community links but after making numerous calls to IAPT I am still in the dark as to when my husband will be seen by the relevant professional. I spoke to a manger at IAPT at the beginning of September and explained how I had been told that the referral had been made four weeks ago to community links and i should phone them to obtain an appointment for my husband but on ringing community links have not received any such referral. I also told the manager that I had been sent a letter saying that we were not receiving her calls so she is
discharging my husband when we had not received any calls or messages. At this point I was very disappointed as i had made the referral in April 18 and was concerned that my husband was not receiving the help that he needed as he had beed assessed as needing help. However the manager was quite understanding and understood my frustration so she promised that she would get someone to make the referral asap so they phoned my husband on the same day and went through a series of questions and assured my husband that the referral was going to be made on the same day.

I waited for a month and had not heard anything so phoned IAPT yesterday to check the status of the referral and was shocked to hear that my husband had been discharged from IAPT as he was told to refer himself to community links. I was naturally left extremely disappointed yet again so i spoke to the manager (a different manager was available to the one I had spoken to in the past) who promised he would look into it and get back to me by the end of the day. I waited for a call till the end of the day but no call so I phoned IAPT again this morning asked for the manager, told the manager that i had been waiting for the call he had promised me by the end of the day to which his response was that he staff member should have called my husband. Any way I informed him that we had not received any call on which i was informed that the staff member had to refer my husband again yesterday to community links as there must have been a problem with the email system so community links had not achieved any of the previous referrals. At this point I told the manager that i believe IAPT have poorly managed my husband's case/referrals. His response was: Do you?

My concern and frustration arises from the fact that IAPT is supposed to be helping people with anxiety and mental health disorders not adding to their anxiety and frustration and once a referral is made to them and they have carried out an assessment and identified the need for further treatment required they should be ensuring that the referrals are reaching the relevant bodies and not getting lost in the system as has happened twice in my husband's case. Not everyone who is identified as needing help to mange anxiety or a mental health problem has the support, skills and confidence to pursue the referrals and ring up and enquire about the progress of the referral. Referring yourself to a service like IAPT takes courage and for IAPT to let a patient drop through the system as has happened in our case twice is poor management and lack of care. How many vulnerable people are being neglected by the system and how many families are suffering? Mental health does not only affect one person in the family, it has a domino effect on everyone in the family, so I can only hope that no one else feels the frustration and disappointment we had to endure and our case was an isolated one and not a regular occurrence.

I got referred by my GP to talk to someone one on one however I had to wait almost 3 weeks for the initial phone consultation. Which when I received this call it was initially to inform me that the person who was meant to be calling me could not do so as they were on leave and was it ok if when she returned back in 2-3 weeks to do the assessment. After I explained that this was not the first time I had contacted IAPT as the first time they came to the conclusion that I did not need therapy and I was frustrated at this the woman kindly did the assessment then. So I was informed that someone would call me the week after but nobody did as the person who was meant to call me was also on leave for 2 weeks because I called them. I was then informed that their conclusion was I needed a sleep leaflet and Group sessions when I specifically asked for One on one! I have again been left feeling like I do not matter to IAPT and feel as though they have taken my issues and my GP'S Referral as though it is un important. I have already contacted my Local councillors regarding the attitude towards so called services that are meant to help people with mental health issues as I believe it is all just statistic driven and looked at from that point of view. In short, Appalling service!!!

My partner rang I.A.P.T, Kirklees on the 21st October 2015, after seeing her GP who confirmed she was suffering from anxiety and depression. She spoke to a member of I.A.P.T, who told her she would be contacted by phone for a screening process but not until 26th November 2015. (36 days) After this phone interview she was given an appointment for 28th December 2015 at Folly Hall, Huddersfield. She attended this session, and all the questions she answered over the phone on the 26th November where asked again.
My partner was told that she passed all the criterea for help with counselling sessions, so far so good. Then she was told that she would have to wait 5 months to see a counsellor, with nothing else on offer she accepted...... what else could she do?
By April 29th 2016, I had had enough of waiting, and tried to contact I.A.P.T, that afternoon to no avail. Not one to give up easily I contacted Kirklees Point Of Access, who also could not contact I.A.P.T, then I contacted SOUTH WEST YORKSHIRE PARTNERSHIP NHS, who also could not get in touch with there own service. I eventually left a recorded message, and sent an E-mail to Folly Hall, the result nothing,
After the Bank Holiday 2nd may 2016 I contacted SOUTH WEST YORKSHIRE PARTNERSHIP NHS, with my concerns over a service which relies on the telephone for referrals not answering the phone at a time when people with mental health problems (a long weekend) would be at there most vulnerable.

After this last contact my partner was offered counselling at Pathways Mirfield, a place she had made a point of that she could not attend (she had been given four options at the face to face interview, only turning down Pathways, so much for listening to the client.) When she turned down Pathways she was told that she would have to go back on the waiting list. I rang customer services at S.W.Y Trust, and surprise, surprise. An appointment was made for a counselling session(s) in Dewsbury.

The "I" in I.A.PT. stands for "IMPROVING", waiting 216 days from that first phone call on 21st October 2015 until 16th may 2016 does not seem to be "IMPROVING" a Cinderella service such as mental health intervention!

They will not give people with disabilities the same rights as those without disabilities to access talking therapy in regards to having post traumatic stress disorder on another matter of which is totally unrelated to having disabilities. They rather focus on the disabilities of people rather then talking about the traumatic events that they had enduured.