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Therapy vs CBT

Posted , 5 users are following.

linda61597
linda61597

What is the differences between cbt and regular therapy.

 I am going to a cbt therapist & I can't tell the difference compared to a regular therapist I saw a few years ago!!

1 like, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • shaz6098
    shaz6098 linda61597

    Posted

    Hi Linda,

    I guess it depends on what type of therapy you had years ago. If you find that things CBT isn't working you, then i would suggest speaking to your GP and discuss what other types are available.

    Good luck

  • jan_39653
    jan_39653 linda61597

    Posted

    CBT has a specific objective, I think - getting you to identify the damaging thoughts and reshape them so you think differently. It's about you, now. It's time-limited and therefore very popular and has high success rates in some research. Therapy is a term that could cover all sorts of things but successful psychotherapy can't be time-limited (so it's expensive) as it involves digging deeply into your life and thoughts and feelings and finding your way towards something better.

    You will know by about halfway through your CBT course if it's helping. I do hope it does. It doesn't work for everyone, nor does it work for every MH condition so don't blame yourself if it doesn't give you the results you hoped for - it will just be the wrong therapy for you. Then ask for something different. Never give up!

    • linda61597
      linda61597 jan_39653

      Posted

      Thanks Jan, I will see her again 4/20 & hope we can make some lead way! So far not seeing any difference in my thoughts. I'll give it a little longer & see how it goes. She hasn't dug into my problems with what is causing me to feel the way I do.

    • jan_39653
      jan_39653 linda61597

      Posted

      Fingers crossed - but CBT isn't designed to explore the past, just the thinking now. That's why it didn't work for me - my past was shaping my thinking!! On the other hand, that's why it's so successful for those who don't need to address their past.

      Why don't you ask her what the difference is and why she's chosen this route for you? It may be an eye-opener for one of you. Let's face it, it can't be rewarding for therapists to work towards dead-ends like mine did! I should have stopped her and asked if she thought we were getting anywhere - but... wise after the event. Just remember, if it doesn;t work, it's not you at fault, it's the choice of treatment!

    • ann55375
      ann55375 jan_39653

      Posted

      I have had over 20 sessions of cbt with a qualified clinical,psychologist.  I dont feel any better.  She says i am very hard on myself and i dont give myself credit when i achieve small goals.  True.  But i wonder why the theraoy is not cracking it.  I dont think i have any skeletons in my cupboard, lovely parents, good upbringing, happy children.  They say i have anxiety, yes, always had it since child but just lived round it. Now i can hardly go shopping or see friends.  Had a spell of agitated depression 20'years ago, but it got better and was normal.  Now i cant find normal and its three years. All the meds seem to make me worse.  What hope of a recovery.

    • jan_39653
      jan_39653 ann55375

      Posted

      I'm so sorry it hasn't worked for you. The therapist's comment may have been valid but it seems more likely to set you off blaming yourself for CBT not working. No, CBT was obviously not the therapeutic approach you need.

      I'm 65 now and still hope for a recovery so I feel able to say from experience, keep hoping. New fads, new therapies emerge (CBT is relatively new). Something may work. If I'm honest, I'm not looking for a recovery (to what?); I'm looking for something that will allow me to enjoy a good-enough life.

      I hesitate to add this but feel I should. I was the happiest child going, right up to 14. Then the MH problems set in and took control over the years. I was in my 40s, undergoing a long period of therapy, when I began to remember a past I had completely concealed from myself an others (with no prompting from the therapist - I just felt safe enough to do so, possibly because I was working through Penny Parks' Inner Child book). No child is anxious without cause. It's not a natural state for a child. So the chances are there's something from childhood that brought on your anxiety. By adult standards, it could be something relatively harmless but, to the child, it was too big to deal with and got consigned to a currently-inaccessible part of the brain.

      Some research came out a week or so ago about how we store memories in 2 separate parts of the brain. It made such sense to me! Don't struggle to find it. It will emerge when you fee safe enough. 

    • linda61597
      linda61597 jan_39653

      Posted

      Hi Jan & Ann, well it's been a few months seeing a cbt therapist & I don't feel any better. I feel she hasn't helped me with my anxiety or depression.

      I am on Wellbutrin 300mg & just got back on xanex 1mg. I got on the Wellbutrin to quick smoking & depression & it doesn't help with either one. In fact i am smoking even more since being on it since Sept, 2016.

      I feel I need to try another antidepresssion med. I can't go on like this!!

      Mornings are the worst & feel like not even going to work. When I'm off from work I don't have the motivation to get dress & go out.

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