"I left my appointment feeling unsupported and alone."

I felt as though I was expected to know exactly what type of support I wanted to receive and when I became quite distressed because I clearly needed more guidance, I received none. There seemed to be no intuition and no sensitivity on the part of the assessor, as though they did not understand the difficulty that some of the questions were posing on me. Some of the things that were said made me feel unworthy of receiving mental health services and greedy and as though I was blowing my own problems out of proportion compared to some other people.

I was told to refer myself to a counselling organisation in Leeds (which is currently not accepting referrals) or to go to my University's counselling service. As I have been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, I was told by my GP to book an initial assessment with a view to receive some sort of therapy that would give me insight into my illness and help me to cope with other traumas from my past. Although I am willing to attend counselling sessions at university, I feel that counselling will not be sufficient to do all of this and that a psychotherapy would be more appropriate initially.

I feel the opposite of supported now and felt a severe distrust in the mental health services of the NHS when I left the building, which I know is mainly due to lack of funding and support from this government but it was a real shock. I feel very alone and unsure of where to go next.