This country’s mental health services are a joke

Soy español y he vivido en España toda mi vida, pero escribo el post en inglés para que alcance el máximo de gente posible.

I've been struggling with mental health issues for many years, and I've been receiving treatment for depression and related issues.

In 2022, Spain launched 024, the country's official suicide hotline crisis, managed by the Red Cross. After a severe mental health crisis this weekend, I decided to contact them. For one, the live chat function doesn't even work if you reject the website's cookies. But once I got it to work, the experience was… disappointing to say the least. Whoever was at the other end of the line was clearly operating on a script, their empathy feeling plastic and hollow. Often it took them minutes to reply to a single question or comment. All of this for a discussion that can be summed up as "your situation has no solution, but don't kill yourself". Just keep going to therapy. Yeah, thanks for nothing. I am going to therapy already, and if I contacted you is for a reason, don't you think? I lodged a furious official complaint, that so far has no response. I noted how this situation gives credibility to the allegations that the personnel handling the 024 line are unqualified, underpaid, and were literally duped into working for the line without prior warning. It speaks volumes that I got a more compassionate and humane response from ChatGPT, a literal emotionless AI, than I did from 024.

Speaking of therapy, I receive private psychological assistance at a local health centre. My treatment requires a visit every two weeks. A couple months ago, my therapist was transferred to a distant location, forcing me to start from scratch with a new one. Fine, whatever, it sucks but these things happen. Except that there's only one therapist left at the centre and they literally threw all patients at her, so the system is overloaded beyond belief. Treatment has become of poor quality, and I can only get visits once a month at best. I filed a legal complaint over this too. No response.

This is not the first time I receive questionable treatment from mental health services in Spain. Seven years ago, I was receiving treatment through the public municipal mental health services. The treatment was good and helped me understand a lot of what I've gone through. Too bad they kicked me out after only 3 or 4 sessions for, and I quote directly, "being a drain on public resources".

When we're struggling, they encourage us to seek help. These are the systems that the government touts as protecting us in case of mental health crisis. Yet THIS is how they actually treat us. Not like human beings, but like burdens.