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JobCentre Staff Sent This To A Depressed Woman Found Fit For Work

December 1, 2014

From ATOS Miracles on Facebook:

“The cure for depression?! Deemed fit to work by ATOS & this was mailed to me by Job Centre staff!! All those wasted years, when all I needed to do was click a button!! Don’t I feel foolish???!!”

What do YOU think?

CBT can be useful but…..if depression et al could be cured by an online CBT course there’d be a lot of happy people out there. the fact they call it ‘the blues’ raises alarm bells for this admin. ~H

 

20 Comments leave one →
  1. Kenny permalink
    December 1, 2014 4:16 pm

    I was chatting yesterday and the day before about my mental issues. My carer asked me to talk a little quieter because she was watching TV. I told her that CBT is supposed to help, like a miracle cure because the Job Centre prescribed it.
    Apparently it doesn’t include speaking to Little Kenny.

    Like

  2. December 1, 2014 4:32 pm

    I’ve had 2 lots of CBT in the past – 1 lot made me feel worse while another was 8 weeks trying to make it possible to travel to see my mother. I managed it, but it was only of short-term help – sticking-plaster, rather than anything permanent.

    Like

  3. December 1, 2014 5:09 pm

    Reblogged this on chunkyfunkymunky.

    Like

  4. December 1, 2014 5:29 pm

    Reblogged this on sdbast.

    Like

  5. david pearce permalink
    December 1, 2014 6:09 pm

    this is pure BS. Without a psych assessment referring for e-CBT. It’s bad enough that therapists say that a lot fail with structured CBT because they didn’t try – but at least then you’ve been assessed to see if you might be one of the small percentage that it works well (and long term) for. It just shows pure contempt both for the ‘patient’ and the professional mental health teams. What will be next JC+ sending suspected cancer ‘patients’ for chemotherapy? JC+ direct referral for open heart surgery? And if you don’t comply sanction you, even if the treatment (CBT included) may be deleterious to your particular problem.

    Like

  6. December 1, 2014 7:20 pm

    Reblogged this on Lindas Blog and commented:
    Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is the Psychological Therapy of Choice in today’s world mostly because its CHEAP. Many Health Authorities opt for it because of this. Thats not to say that for a few who are suffering from mild depression it can be supportive, when its administered using a Fully Trained and Qualified Therapist. Although this could arguably be down to the placebo effect of engaging with the therapist who is authentic and really listening to you in your time of need.

    I am not surprised to find that the DWP are sending out ludicrous letters like this to people suffering from Mental Health Conditions offering computer based CPT. They have a new policy they intend to roll out for people who are in work but off sick suffering from Mental Health Conditions. Maximus are going to be rolling it out. This New Policy is ‘strangely’ called ‘Fit For Work’, and will take over from GPs writing SICK NOTES after someone being deemed likely to be off sick for more than four weeks. Its target is mainly those with mental health conditions but it will also roll out to everyone in work who is off sick.

    It appears that the DWPS agenda here is to get Maximus to step in Before people are eligible to claim ESA.

    There is talk of conditionality attached to working people being able to claim statutory sick pay and one of the conditions is likely to be that they ‘do everything in their power’ to return to work, which could include completing an online CBT course.

    For me this is very frightening and potentially very dangerous.

    Questions which come to mind are:
    Who has designed the CBT program?
    Has it been stringently verified using recognised psychometric tests? Or has it been designed specifically to fulfil the DWP’ underlying agenda? which is likely to be to coerce people back to work and halt the growing numbers of people from mental health conditions claiming ESA.

    With regards to JSA claimants being sent this info, will they be sanctioned if they don’t follow through?
    Will Job Centre ‘Work Coaches’ (their new name) Ha Ha Ha!!! use refusal as evidence that someone isn’t doing all they can to get well enough to work!!!

    Psychological Therapies are only suitable for some, and one of the criteria for a positive outcome is a ‘willingness’ on behalf of the patient to engage with the process.

    Trust in the Therapist is also paramount.
    Where or Who are the Therapists here?
    or is the DWP now Training (dont make me choke) its ‘Work Coaches’ to evaluate someones mental health needs in relation to fitness for work via an online CBT program.

    Therapy is deeply personal and can be extremely emotional. It needs a professional to administer not some poor soul being coerced to administer it by the DWP through fear of being disciplined themselves.

    I think this idea is immoral and possibly contravenes human rights.

    People need to understand what they are letting themselves in for and how the data collected via the CBT program is going to be stored and used before giving consent to these possible ‘Personality Profiles’ taking place.

    Like

  7. December 1, 2014 7:24 pm

    Reblogged this on lawrencerowntree.

    Like

  8. December 1, 2014 7:29 pm

    Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is the Psychological Therapy of Choice in today’s world mostly because its CHEAP. Many Health Authorities opt for it because of this. Thats not to say that for a few who are suffering from mild depression it can be supportive, when its administered using a Fully Trained and Qualified Therapist. Although this could arguably be down to the placebo effect of engaging with the therapist who is authentic and really listening to you in your time of need.

    I am not surprised to find that the DWP are sending out ludicrous letters like this to people suffering from Mental Health Conditions offering computer based CPT. They have a new policy they intend to roll out for people who are in work but off sick suffering from Mental Health Conditions. Maximus are going to be rolling it out. This New Policy is ‘strangely’ called ‘Fit For Work’, and will take over from GPs writing SICK NOTES after someone being deemed likely to be off sick for more than four weeks. Its target is mainly those with mental health conditions but it will also roll out to everyone in work who is off sick.

    See links Below:

    Click to access fit-for-work.pdf

    https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/helping-people-to-find-and-stay-in-work/supporting-pages/co-ordinating-the-health-work-and-wellbeing-initiative

    It appears that the DWPS agenda here is to get Maximus to step in Before people are eligible to claim ESA.

    There is talk of conditionality attached to working people being able to claim statutory sick pay and one of the conditions is likely to be that they ‘do everything in their power’ to return to work, which could include completing an online CBT course.

    For me this is very frightening and potentially very dangerous.

    Questions which come to mind are:
    Who has designed the CBT program?
    Has it been stringently verified using recognised psychometric tests? Or has it been designed specifically to fulfil the DWP’ underlying agenda? which is likely to be to coerce people back to work and halt the growing numbers of people from mental health conditions claiming ESA.

    With regards to JSA claimants being sent this info, will they be sanctioned if they don’t follow through?
    Will Job Centre ‘Work Coaches’ (their new name) Ha Ha Ha!!! use refusal as evidence that someone isn’t doing all they can to get well enough to work!!!

    Psychological Therapies are only suitable for some, and one of the criteria for a positive outcome is a ‘willingness’ on behalf of the patient to engage with the process.

    Trust in the Therapist is also paramount.
    Where or Who are the Therapists here?
    or is the DWP now Training (don’t make me choke) its ‘Work Coaches’ to evaluate someones mental health needs in relation to fitness for work via an online CBT program.

    Therapy is deeply personal and can be extremely emotional. It needs a professional to administer not some poor soul being coerced to administer it by the DWP through fear of being disciplined themselves.

    I think this idea is immoral and possibly contravenes human rights.

    People need to understand what they are letting themselves in for and how the data collected via the CBT program is going to be stored and used before giving consent to these possible ‘Personality Profiles’ taking place.

    Click to access fit-for-work.pdf

    https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/helping-people-to-find-and-stay-in-work/supporting-pages/co-ordinating-the-health-work-and-wellbeing-initiative

    Like

  9. Ged permalink
    December 1, 2014 7:39 pm

    6 weeks on a CBT course, it’s great if you want to learn what depression actually is! but goes nowhere in getting to the route of your own personal problems.

    Like

  10. Nick permalink
    December 1, 2014 7:42 pm

    the main idea in going forward is for the DWP to instill fear into you so that they can be sure at all times that you are a genuine case

    for most genuine claimants this will mean staying housebound as the fear level will make this group of people feel ill at all times so wont venture out at all

    this can be tolerated by those who are ill as by the very nature ill people very rarely leave the house anyway but to have the fear level added does make there plight worse as their mantel health will decline

    the same applies to those with disability issues they wont wont people from the DWP breathing down there back at ll times so they to will mentally decline and stay at home

    i feel where going to go back to the fifties in where you never saw a disabled person or a person with mental health and thats a very worrying thought but in a right wing police state agenda there s not much you can do about it

    Like

  11. December 1, 2014 9:11 pm

    Reblogged this on Britain Isn't Eating.

    Like

  12. December 1, 2014 10:18 pm

    If you want to see the consequence of the physiological games the DWP are playing visit your local Mind wellbeing centers safe space drop in service. It is truly humbling at best and frightening at worst what theses ordnery, mostly hard working people have been through when they dare to become ill. If they were not ill at the start of the laughingly named claimant journey, they certainly are at the end. Damaging vunrable people seems to be the latest blood sport in this cesspit that the welfare has become. God help the elderly because they will be the next to be sacrifice d on the alter of eugenics and dogmatic greed.

    Like

  13. Maria permalink
    December 1, 2014 11:51 pm

    I had CBT for anxiety from a councillor. Did it work, well no. It made it worse actually and I often challenged the councillor about it, in the end I just pretended I felt alright, just to get away from something that was making me worse. Still no better for it and that was a year ago.

    Like

  14. December 2, 2014 12:50 am

    This is as irresponsible as prescribing medication without involving a doctor.

    Like

  15. December 2, 2014 1:23 pm

    Clinical depression is an imbalance of chemicals being produced in the brain. Stress also causes depression because people were not evolved to have the stress response other than a brief few seconds. Whereas the fear of homelessness, freezing in an unheated home and starving are the most basic fears of man.

    All this cruelty is actually raising national debt on benefits admin, whilst leaving people more and more to starve, freeze or end up rough sleeping even now in the bitter cold.

    The poorest old face the end of the state pension altogether
    or three quarters of the rest with even less than present lowest level of all rich natins bar poor Mexico.
    https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/state-pension-at-60-now

    The Greens do not realise what a vote winner of new and unique policies they brought about for their 2015 manifesto when they offer, without all the huge billions wasted on benefits admin nor need of Jobcentres, causing starving by the near million benefit sanctions:

    – universal, automatic Citizen Income, non-withdrawable
    to the level of the basic tax allowance

    – Full State Pension to all citizens, irregardless of National Insurance contribution / credit history, mostly reduced or lost due to benefit rule changes and the massive austerity job cuts.

    Both above have a supplement for the disabled.

    If The Greens did tell the tens of millions in the UK within the 20 per cent poorest income, that include the early retied in lieu of redundancy of austerity job cuts on anything down to 4 per cent poorest income for a works pensions and denied state pension payout at 60 since 2013, then they could confidently head to form a majority government in 2015, unlike every other party in the UK.

    Like

  16. garry permalink
    December 2, 2014 2:19 pm

    my partner has a growth deep in her tummy and warfin and heart tablet and due for major opp this month and job center told her to applay for a cleaning job or be sacntion she cant walk

    Like

  17. December 2, 2014 3:04 pm

    If she has a growth, is due for a major op etc, then she should apply for ESA, as she isn’t fit for work.

    Like

Trackbacks

  1. After forced-psychometric-test debacle, now Jobcentres offer online CBT | The SKWAWKBOX Blog
  2. After forced-psychometric-test debacle, now Jobcentres offer online CBT | jaynelinney
  3. Jobcentres Prescribe Online Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. | Ipswich Unemployed Action.

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