Mental Health treatments are scarce in Cornwall due to COVID. I have been trying to seek help for my failing mental health and have been put on several counselling lists.

I haven’t heard from the CMHT at Trevillis House in Liskeard for months.

I contacted them back in November to say that I was struggling with my mental health and needed some counselling and they rang me back to say they would be in touch to tell me where I am on the list.

Which never happened.

I decided to look for other mental health treatments and counselling as I came to a point where it was either sink further into depression and anger or get help and try and get better and seek a more positive outlook on life.

Before Christmas, I contacted Valued Lives after seeing an online Instagram post promoting their vans in Sainsbury’s car parks throughout the county.

After sending them a private Facebook message, they contacted me to make an appointment.

Two people from Valued Lives rang me, and the first person referred me to Penhaligan counselling.

I was told there was a long list due to COVID and the second person who called me later that day, reminded me of putting together a comfort box with my favourite things and said she would phone the mental health team to see if she could help speed things up.

I also phoned Mind another charity in the hope of getting some phone or Zoom counselling, but the man who answered the phone told that their list was full.

The man then rang me back to say they couldn’t offer counselling at this point, but he could ring me once a week for a chat.

I purchased a DBT book as I felt like I was running out of options, and so far, the book has helped me learn a technique called the REST option. I will be reviewing the book on here once I have completed it.

Waves Counselling are phoning me this week, so I’m hoping they can help if not, I’m going to pay for counselling with Betterhelp.

Betterhelp is an online counselling service for people in the US and the UK.

Even the Guardian published an article on New Years Day about the rise in people within the UK now being prescribed antidepressants as the pandemic cuts face to face counselling services in a time where people are confined to their homes, away from loved ones.

The paper quotes that “more than 6 million people in England received antidepressants in the three months to September, part of a wider trend and the highest figure on record.”

Let us know if you or your loved ones have struggled to find mental health treatments in your area?