What is a liscenced clinical social worker?

[Trinity]

I finally got a line on one that takes medicare and am thinking they might be doing talk therapy.  Looking for PTSD treatment.

The folk I've been talking to, ie a psychiatrist, a therapist - they have been networking their connections to find help.  Great people, definitely allies.

Any experience with this?

My situation has improved since the medical part got fixed.  But it only takes one trigger for me to spiral out to or over the edge as defined by debilitating thoughts causing inactivity or inability to work or function.  I keep having to reel that back, especially when driving.

What is a LCSW?

[Ativan Prescribed]

Licenced SW is a social worker who has access to the network of mental health professionals.
Generally they diagnose and make recommendations based on what they determine you need at this time.
They don't generally do a lot of therapy work but they are very helpful in that regard just the same.
If you qualify for state benefits they determine that, they are the go to guide to point you in the right direction for any help you might need.
In a sense they are the trail guide and not a carrier of your luggage on the safari, they know the trail well and make suggestions to get you to where you need to be.
If they are LGBTQ ally then they are invaluable in those regards, but that is just a small aspect of your overall well being, they see the bigger picture and show it to you.
Therapists are the down and dirty person who tackles your garbage that is stuck in your head, they help you sort out the BS from what is real.
Psychologists are the next level up from that and they generally just take on the main problems, where a therapist works the day to day so to speak things.
Psychiatrist is just a Dr who prescribes drugs and will just keep trying until you are so sick of them you won't want to be using them, its a total hit and miss kind of thing, no rhyme or reason.
They are kinda like the car mechanic who can't really analyze what's wrong but if they keep replacing things sooner or later they might fix what is a relatively simple problem.
Its the therapist who walks you back from the edge and then gets you back on the trail, which is usually someone who understand that the only people who know where the edge truly is are the ones who have gone over....

[Ativan Prescribed]

Psychiatrists you see once a month, the same with psychologists, a therapist is best seen once a week.
LCSW is kinda like having a handler, half the work is a once a month in person and the rest is phone calls and texting or emails to get the details rolling.
They are the backstop, the therapist is the pitcher, and the psychologist is the manager, and really the psychiatrist is the guy who fills the hot tubs in the locker room.....
Having the SW come to your home gives them a better idea of how things go, and bringing some family members along to meet the therapist is helpful if the therapist requests it.

[Trinity]

The networking is starting to pay off. It took my primary care doc to get me going in the right direction, psyche had affected me physically. I was very fortunate to have connected with University of Central Florida resources and their network for their students to find an LGBT supportive medical clinic that was also mainstream and was not affected by the monsters in power so much.  And this guy is a geriatric specialist and really good.

But based on your comments I did some more research and might have found a clinical psychologist, if she takes new patients it would be a home run and she was also connected with the University of Central Florida. I have a feeler out to her.

The social worker idea scares me. The family is too dysfunctional, physically sick, or verbally abusive and what's holding it all together is me with the grandkids mostly, but maybe we need the help anyway. More and more continues to be on my shoulders, which is affecting the business somewhat, but once we get that house sold I won't be in as much distress.

It's early for medicare to cover the talk therapists, which is what I probably really need. Most have not applied yet for coverage in their practices, but its big for all of us that medicare is finally covering liscenced mental health therapists.

[Trinity]

Got the Psychologist for February!!! A good one, one that works with trans as well as trauma.

Sounds very helpful...

[Trinity]

Is it good to have both the SW and the Psychologist?

The SW listed that she does talk therapy on her website. I guess I'm a little confused.

Medicare will pay for the psychologist and I think the SW as well since she's clinical SW.

My gender guy back in the beginning was a psychologist that saw me every week for four months before writing the hormone letter. He was quite helpful, I needed everyone for me to not go over that edge, I know you and Leena remember those days.

[Ativan Prescribed]

Ask each of them to get better details.
The SW is probably going to want to meet your family, but not evaluate them.
Think of the SW as like the local car mechanic who does the general work on your car and the psychologist as the mechanic at the car dealer who specializes in that car.
Neither of them is the the cure, they are like the guides as you work on fixing yourself, you have to do the work.
And my personal feelings about meds for mental health is that they are a very temp thing, smooth the bump in the road but you still have to do the work.
They are the pathfinders but you still have to walk the path.

[Trinity]

I got on a waiting list for the LCSW and talked with her, was a great chat, she'd be a good fit if I can afford it. I have to find that out, I think medicare won't pay it out and I might be stuck with 75 bucks a session which could be a problem.

Sharp lady. I see what you were saying, she went right for the "this is what you do to take care of that, these are the questions to ask your psychologist, and this is how I do therapy."

So, going to see what happens there, and following through with the psychologist and seeing about those fees.

I hope Medicare can cover it. I still pay about 100 - 200 a month for hormones.

Trans people shouldn't be having to get in over their heads on money for psyche treatment. But I guess its a level playing field, everyone is in the same boat whether its trans or not.

[Ativan Prescribed]

Medicaid paid for my psychologist and the SW costs.
I never paid a thing for hospitalization for whatever reasons I was, even the time I spent three weeks in a bed for an infection and the six hours of emergency surgery.
And that was before Obamacare existed, MN has great coverage for most everything under medicaid, it makes medicare look like a joke.
But its called MNSure here and not ACA, although there are fed dollars in it its paid for with MN taxes, which people think are high but considering what we get for what we pay, its not.
I'm under the impression that FL makes everything expensive and that the state picks up the tab only for somethings, like if you live in Palm Beach....
I pay under two hundred a month for medicaid and just a couple bucks less for medicare, and medicaid covers ten times what medicare does.
Trans care is covered under medicaid right up and including gender surgery, if you make over the minimum to get coverage you can probably afford insurance that covers everything.
The difference between healthcare in MN and most of the rest of the country, especially red states to be sure is that red states would rather you just died than to use tax dollars.
There is a reason why red states have such bed problems with healthcare and its because people keep voting against themselves because they are so damn easy to fool into thinking that somehow republicans care about them.
For some unexplainable reason, republican voters think having dictators running things means they will get everything that democratic states have for their voters, LOL... there is a reason why red states are so poorly educated.