Is There Anyone From Nz Here?

[startingout]

I was just wondering if there is anyone on here from NZ? Who possibly has had dealings with ACC and so on...

thanks

[dodo]

Not from NZ - but wanted to say hello anyway!!

best wishes

karen

[MidnightSunshine531]

not from there but welcome to AS anyway

[whimsical1]

Welcome to AS.

[itssnowballing]

Not from NZ nut wanted to welcome you anyway

[broken spoke]

ok !! not from nz ! there are folks from there here though ! i'm sure they will get to you eventually

G west oz !!

[Sadient]

Hello and welcome to AS.

I'm not from NZ, but I'm sure you'll find someone around here who is.

Take care.

♥,

Sadie

[startingout]

Thanks so much for your welcomes (:

[berni83]

Welcome to AS

Berni

[Archie]

Hi,

I am from Invercargill - welcome to AS

Rachael

[manicpanic]

i met an awesome kiwi last night in the chat

rest assured they're around

welcome!

[sisterinsurvival]

Hi,

My name is Lynn, and I am a member of the New Member Support Team. I just wanted to take the time to say welcome to After Silence.

I am glad that you have joined with us and look forward to getting to know you. If you need anything or have questions about the boards or how something works, please send me a personal message. I will gladly help in any way possible...also if you need someone to listen, let me know.

Take care,

[tuliptorn]

Hi welcome to AS!

[Mon45]

Hi I am from NZ as well, and I am in the process of getting counselling through ACC now, but have delt with them before, though many years ago. Let me know if I can help in any way.

Mon45

[startingout]

Hi Mon (:

Thanks, I am having ACC counselling too, has been very up and down.... nice to 'meet' you (:

[Mon45]

How have you found the system - I have just been given a list of at least 20 names to pick one from, from the doc's. I am undecided as to weather I want to use one of them or stay with a trainee EIT counsellor I have met once. I have a choice, but I really don't know. Was your up's and down more to do with your case or the system itself.

[startingout]

I got my first counsellor through the Rape Crisis centre, they set it up. I only saw her for a few sessions then stopped when I was due to have my second bub. After a year or so when I decided to go back, I didn't want to go to her as I didn't click with her, so the crisis centre put me with another one, who has been much better.

The ups and downs have been;

personally, having to face this stuff and talk about it which I never have before, bringing out many memories and stuff like that. I have gone through stages of not wanting to go through this process anymore and feel it would be easier to push it all back down again!

ACC: They require a lot of information quite soon, before I was ready to talk about it. They also requested a psych evaluation after the first 20 sessions before they approved any more, that totally freaked me out and fortunately my counsellor managed to talk them out of it as I would have quit rather than do a 3 hour in depth session with someone I had never met!

You said EIT, I studied there (: Have you heard of Awhina Whanau Services in Hastings? They provide counselling I think. It must be daunting to pick from a list - you don't know what you'll get. Perhaps if you ask them, it may at least narrow the choice down for you.

edit_ I should say, the psych eval is not routine, they just wanted another opinion... said it was a 'complex' case /-:

Edited April 24, 2009 by startingout

[Mon45]

I think Awhina are on the list I was given. At the moment I am seeing a psychtherapist through a womens group. I have only seen her once so arn't sure if shes the one or not. Can usually read people ok, but this time still not sure. She has given me options of either staying with her, going through ACC or both. Just don't know what to do yet.

Yeah I know what you mean about the system. Last time when I got ACC counselling I was told I was also entitled to an ACC benefit called an independence allowance. (I think thats what it is) I had to give detailed accounts for that when I wasn't ready for it also, and then again a year later. Really sucked.

Do you know if it would be normal for the EIT trainee to want video the sessions I have with her. She explained it and I said ok, but I feel really weird and am not so sure now.

[startingout]

We did taping for our communication paper - had to tape a therapeutic interaction but it was with a drama student not a real patient. So it is a normal thing, it is a part of thier training but you are totally allowed to say no. Be aware that it mght be viewed by thier tutor. it is all confidential of course. Me personally I wouldn't! Not for this type of stuff anyway

I guess the only real reason to go through ACC is for your treatment to be paid for. If you can afford to pay for it, or receive free/subsidised treatment elsewhere then that's cool too. I think the advantage of non-ACC is you don't have to answer to anyone and do all those reports and wait to hear if they apprive you and so on.

So did you receive the allowance? I have wondered about this but not brave enough to ask!

[Mon45]

Yeah I have been getting it for some time now. At first I felt guilty as hell but now its ok. They do ask alot of questions though in the initial interview. I went through my GP to get it organised, I think.

The good thing about this counselling is that I only have to pay $5. Cheap compared to what I had to top up the ACC person last time and that was 15 years ago. Don't know if things have changed now. Yeah the video thing is kind of freaking me out but I don't want to have to keep retelling my story if I do get accepted. Also I have been told off the cuff that I will be hard pressed to get into an ACC counsellor, despite there being so many.