There has been a severe shortage of psychotherapists for a long time. Jaan Nuutis from Helsinki was urged to exaggerate his own mental health problems in order to find a therapist more easily.
in Helsinki there is already such a shortage of psychotherapists that patients may be encouraged to exaggerate their own need for help.
This is what happened to the 33-year-old from Helsinki I share with Nuutinenwho tried to get into therapy last summer due to severe depression.
Although Nuutinen’s mental health problems were burdensome in themselves and the need for help was clear, according to him, at the city’s specialist doctor’s office, he was told to color his own story so that Therapist would be interested in becoming a client.
The doctor had given Nuutinen a long list of psychotherapists working in Helsinki, but he immediately stated that despite the length of the list, it might be difficult to find a therapist.
This was also evident on HS’s Thursday of the published storywhere psychotherapists talked about the chaos of the field.
Read more: Psychotherapy has drifted into complete chaos, 1,500 psychotherapists tell HS
Therapists are simply overworked and that’s why you should present your situation as attractively as possible, the doctor had said according to Nuutinen.
The doctor continued by stating that looking for a therapist is like looking for a job, and therefore you should exaggerate a bit in your “résumé”. According to Nuutinen, the situation was very confusing.
“I felt that my mental health situation as it is is not a sufficient reason to get help, but the therapists are holding a competition to see who has the most interesting and juicy dick,” he says.
“When I left the reception, I succinctly stated that ‘I’m leaving here to sell myself’, to which the doctor laughed and said, ‘yes, it’s worth it’.”
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“Why hasn’t the capacity of the therapists been found out, but the responsibility has been left to the patient?”
The news ended up contacting two therapists on the list. Another replied that he is unable to take on new customers. He never got an answer from the other.
In the end, the application process felt so burdensome and unpleasant that Nuutinen decided to stop looking for a therapist altogether. He has heard from his circle of acquaintances that others who have sought a therapist in Helsinki have also received calls to exaggerate their own problems.
“I didn’t have the energy or mental stamina to continue making applications, and I didn’t want to exaggerate my situation. It’s terrible enough to suffer from serious mental health problems, and then you have to start lying about them.”
He also wonders why it has been left to mentally burdened people to find out which psychotherapists take on new clients.
“There may be people on the list who haven’t taken on new clients for years. Why hasn’t the capacity of the therapists been found out, but the responsibility has been left to the patient?”
Although in the end a therapist was not found, Nuutinen has tried to keep his own life in balance with the help of clear routines and antidepressant medication. However, he thinks of those whose problems are even more difficult and whose need for help is acute.
“How can such a person manage to embark on such an already difficult process, where in order to get help, on top of everything, you have to lie?”
It is not a good starting point for therapy if, instead of being open, you have to sell yourself to the psychotherapist as a “chapter”
The news unfortunately, the story is not exceptional at all, says Mieli ry’s leading expert Christian Wahlbeck.
According to him, the situation in terms of finding therapists is really bad, because most therapists simply cannot take on more new clients. This was also evident from the article published by HS on Thursday.
According to Wahlbeck, the fact that the doctor has urged the client to exaggerate his symptoms reflects the desperation of the situation.
“And it’s also not a good starting point for therapy, which should be based on openness and honesty and not on exaggeration or hiding,” he says.
According to Wahlbeck, the challenges of finding a therapist do not only apply to Helsinki, but there is a shortage of therapists nationwide. In Helsinki, the situation is even better in the sense that there are relatively more therapists than in smaller towns.
However, according to Wahlbeck, it is particularly problematic that a person suffering from mental health challenges has to find a therapist himself. According to him, the system burdens both clients and therapists, who have to constantly offer non-oota.
“It’s horrible that those looking for therapy are put through this kind of turmoil. At the system level, the matter should go so that the Therapist is organized from the health services side.”
According to Mieli ry, the realization of psychotherapy would require a complete overhaul of the system.
The situation According to Wahlbeck, the solution requires a complete overhaul of the system.
According to him, one key step would be to write the therapy guarantee into law. Based on that, the wellness areas that start at the turn of the year should, for example, enable the client to have quick access to short psychotherapy, which according to Wahlbeck is enough for most people in need of help.
On the psychiatry side of the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District (Hus), an attempt has also been made to solve the problem by building a system where those in need of therapy could be directly referred to an available therapist.
To last until the end of next year Therapies to the front line project the goal is that people suffering from mild and moderate mental health disorders can quickly access effective treatments. The project also cheats the realization of the therapy guarantee.
“We are starting to be ready to implement the therapy guarantee, as long as the parliament decides on the matter,” states Wahlbeck.
Read more: One graphic sums up how huge a phenomenon young adults’ mental health problems are
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