Lived Experience Forum

[eth]

Sorry to hear it's been so difficult for you @Former-Member .  I'm a bit out of my depth here as to how to help, short of just being here to chat to.

One thing you need to know is that I have NDIS funding for weekly psychology and I know others who do too.  The person who told you they don't do it is wrong.  But it is very hard to get.  You need to prove that you have exhausted the main-stream supports available and that they're not enough.  And that your diagnosis is 'life-long and significant'.  They will only accept this from a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist.  On top of proving my diagnoses are life-long my psychologist had to say something like "weekly consultations are necessary to help C manage better and will ameliorate some of her symptoms, but will not be a cure".  I can't see a way around having to get this documentation from clinicians, sorry.  I can only speak from my own experience.  And it was definitely worth the fight to get it.  It's $175 per week for almost the whole year from the start of my plan.

[CheerBear]

Hi @Former-Member and @eth. I've been kind of following along here as much as I can. Glad you've found the forum and this thread blackcloud. There's lots of info and eth is amazingly helpful and knowledgeable with NDIS stuff. So sorry to hear you've had/are having so much trouble. I'm finding the NDIS really isn't helping me either. It's tough.

Just wanted to jump in and say I am another who was told psych couldn't be funded but had it funded. From my understanding psychology can come under "behaviour support" and "therapeutic support". I have been given funds to be used for "an allied health professional or therapist to assess and provide support in assisting you to meet you goals of....". Like eth I had a clinical psych letter and documentation from a GP, mental health worker and psychiatrist to support my application.

It is possible to get though even with the above I am yet to be using those funds for my psych as I don't have a service agreement with them yet 😏 That's a whole different story though.

@eth just a heads up that you may want to edit your post above if it has your name in it (just wanted to mention that in case you accidentally included it).

[Former-Member]

That is what my GP told me about it when I told her, problem is that whilst she is more than capable and willing to do that, I need to find a willing mental health professional with the appropriate experience and knowledge to do it like you said. And I can't, so I see now why the funding for me that was approved was designated towards unhelpful categories of support unfortunately. 

[eth]

Oh s*&t @CheerBear thanks for pointing that out.  I was obviously so immersed in writing that reply that I got carried away.  

[eth]

@Former-Member  not sure if it will help but it helped me to find out that funds in 'core' supports can be moved from one category to another within 'core'.  ('Capacity Building' funds cannot).

[Former-Member]

Nope, my plans doesn't allow for that, it is specifically written in it that the funds must be spent as allocated in the exact amounts thay were approved, regardless of it being my core budget. Like I mentioned earlier on, most of my total core budget was allocated towards the social, community and civic participation category and I have no choice but to spend the specific amount allocated towards it on that. 

[Former-Member]

All I can choose is what services within each category I have. Nothing else. I don't know why that is. I've had no success finding any providers for the minimal amount that was allocated towards daily living, and no providers for my capacity building funding either besides the coordinator of supports. 

[eth]

@Former-Member  sorry but I don't see your posts until much later if you don't tag me.  Some of what your last post is about really sounds like your coordinator of supports isn't doing a very good job.  They should be finding supports for you.  I think you have the right to request a new one.  Not sure of the process for that if you are agency managed but I'd imagine it starts with a call to NDIS to tell them things are not working for you.  All my service agreements include the process for ending the agreement if that's what you want.

[Former-Member]

Sorry about that @eth I was in a rush at the time because I had things at home to attend to and sometimes typing on the forums using a smartphone is difficult, I forgot to tag you before. Tasks have been met and I also spoke to my planner and advocate just before. Neither seem to have a clue to be quite honest. 

The reason I have been looking for my own supports is because it took almost 5 months to even hear a word from my coordinator, and our last conversation was a disaster. I don't know how things have ended up so wrong because my GP spent months during my application process writing the medical reports and detailing all my specific problems and support needs, she even went as far as to teleconference the last useless psychiatrist I had simply because she knew her input and past disability services assessments would be inadequate. I have no clue what the psychiatrist provided to her, but if the nonsense last appointment I had with him gives any insight towards his input, I was screwed from the beginning, because he didn't even know what daily functioning means at all. 

[eth]

@Former-Member  you can put in a complaint with NDIS about your coordinator of supports and ask for a new one to be appointed.  It might delay things a bit, but you sound like you've had enough of being stuffed around by the current one.  I think you can do this without actually requesting a review.