Psychotherapy intervention
Donation protected
My name is Emma and I am an Intensive Care nurse for the NHS. I was on frontline at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, looking after patients ans bearing witness to the radical new circumstances that came with my role.
Shift after shift of looking after countless patients, the situation eventually became too much resulting in me being sectioned twice between June and September: I spent a total of 2 months as an inpatient in a secure mental health unit. During my stay I was diagnosed with complex trauma post traumatic stress disorder (c-PTSD).
I have set up this page to raise £5,000 to pay for private treatment as I await a painfully long wait for treatment on the NHS despite my experiences of working on a Covid-19 ward and previous experience of domestic violence. Due to my illness and the prolonged wait for treatment I currently cannot work or look after my daughter.
The £5,000 would pay for an initial psychiatrist assessment (£300-550) and 6 months weekly therapy sessions thereafter (£150-175). This is around the same number of sessions patients with less severe PTSD would receive. Any funds raised above the £5,000 target would go towards further treatment which may be needed in my case.
I am asking for donations towards this as I would be unable to fund it myself. Here is my story;
During my last week on the ward, I had been emotional. On the last day, six of our patients passed away and I performed last offices. The worst bit is when you have to cover their head with a sheet. I cried in full PPE. The next day colleagues asked where the patient's were and my answer: the morgue.
I felt shattered and had been looking forward to the half term holidays and annual leave: 2 weeks off with my daughter Eleanor doing normal things like planting stuff in the garden, baking and playing together. However, during the half term holidays the nightmares started coming,mostly about my experiences of domestic violence or that Eleanor would be taken away from me.
I think it was the extreme pressure that broke me: on 18th June, I was sectioned under Section 2 of The Mental Health Act and taken to a secure unit. I saw a psychologist twice a week and psychiatrist once a week and was diagnosed with complex trauma PTSD. Barely sleeping and attempting to escape or harm myself, I paced the unit day and night talking about my patients.
I have been taken off the waiting list for NHS Improved Access to Psychological Therapies service because they thought I would be covered under the Community Mental Health Team but I don't meet their criteria. I feel left in limbo and finding it so hard to get psychological treatment through the NHS. Even if I was finally referred, the waiting list would be 6-12 months.
I am thankful that Frontline19, a charity, has stepped in and is providing me with 12 free counselling sessions but I need dedicated treatment so I can get better.
At this time, I really do not know what the future holds, but more than anything I want to be well for my daughter Eleanor and be well enough to go back to work as an Intensive Care nurse.
Emma.
Shift after shift of looking after countless patients, the situation eventually became too much resulting in me being sectioned twice between June and September: I spent a total of 2 months as an inpatient in a secure mental health unit. During my stay I was diagnosed with complex trauma post traumatic stress disorder (c-PTSD).
I have set up this page to raise £5,000 to pay for private treatment as I await a painfully long wait for treatment on the NHS despite my experiences of working on a Covid-19 ward and previous experience of domestic violence. Due to my illness and the prolonged wait for treatment I currently cannot work or look after my daughter.
The £5,000 would pay for an initial psychiatrist assessment (£300-550) and 6 months weekly therapy sessions thereafter (£150-175). This is around the same number of sessions patients with less severe PTSD would receive. Any funds raised above the £5,000 target would go towards further treatment which may be needed in my case.
I am asking for donations towards this as I would be unable to fund it myself. Here is my story;
During my last week on the ward, I had been emotional. On the last day, six of our patients passed away and I performed last offices. The worst bit is when you have to cover their head with a sheet. I cried in full PPE. The next day colleagues asked where the patient's were and my answer: the morgue.
I felt shattered and had been looking forward to the half term holidays and annual leave: 2 weeks off with my daughter Eleanor doing normal things like planting stuff in the garden, baking and playing together. However, during the half term holidays the nightmares started coming,mostly about my experiences of domestic violence or that Eleanor would be taken away from me.
I think it was the extreme pressure that broke me: on 18th June, I was sectioned under Section 2 of The Mental Health Act and taken to a secure unit. I saw a psychologist twice a week and psychiatrist once a week and was diagnosed with complex trauma PTSD. Barely sleeping and attempting to escape or harm myself, I paced the unit day and night talking about my patients.
I have been taken off the waiting list for NHS Improved Access to Psychological Therapies service because they thought I would be covered under the Community Mental Health Team but I don't meet their criteria. I feel left in limbo and finding it so hard to get psychological treatment through the NHS. Even if I was finally referred, the waiting list would be 6-12 months.
I am thankful that Frontline19, a charity, has stepped in and is providing me with 12 free counselling sessions but I need dedicated treatment so I can get better.
At this time, I really do not know what the future holds, but more than anything I want to be well for my daughter Eleanor and be well enough to go back to work as an Intensive Care nurse.
Emma.
Organizer
Emma Diette
Organizer