just being a post-hog....Got a question
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just being a post-hog....Got a question
| Sun, 04-18-2004 - 11:05pm |
I have been seeing a lot about cognitive behvior therapy, and I think that is what my therapist uses with me. I know that there are a lot of issues in my past that I should work through, but I don't feel like I have been doing that in therapy. My question is, does anyone else feel this way, and how do I approach it with my therapist? I know that it is not normally a great idea to dwell on the past, but I know that a lot of things in my past cause little things in the here and now to trigger big tailspins. Any thoughts?

Hi, Sara!
Good luck, I wish I could find a therapist at all, much less one who tries cognitive therapy.
Sending hugs and good thoughts your way.
Take care,
Lisa-)
I know what you mean about feeling like you need to explore the deeper issues within you.
Cognitive Therapy can be very helpful, but I don't think it does the whole job with therapy.
Many people believe that you have to name your trauma from the past in order to change it. If you don't know where your distorted beliefs and traumatized feelings come from, then you can't really understand why they aren't the truth.
Many people also believe that Cognitive Behavior Therapy is just a band aid on top of real therapy and is inappropriate to use for people who have real trauma to heal.
I think that is a valid perspective. Personally, I've done a ton of therapy on my deeper issues. I've explored all of the reasons for my issues. I could talk until the end of eternity about them, but that doesn't change my distorted beliefs and feelings that rule my life. I've also done tons of process-centered therapy with crying, beating punching bags, doing primal screams, and all of that.
I can say that doing those things gives understanding and some relief. I still do some of them and find it helpful. I know people that feel if you go through a systematic process of uncovering the layers of pain from early childhood, you start to heal. Then you are not carrying all of this pain inside that gets triggered by tiny things that are completely unrelated to where the pain comes from.
I've found that even with the exploration of trauma, you still need to reprogram your belief systems. Knowing where your pain comes from doesn't usually do anything in and of itself. There are tens of thousands of people who have been through years of talk therapy and aren't any better because of it. I've heard some people say that all the beating of pillows in the world hasn't made them happy.
There are a number of theoretical approaches to therapy. I don't think there's a right answer. I can tell you what helps me, but I am not all healed and over my depression. Even if I were, that doesn't mean that what works for me will work for you.
If you feel like you need to get to a deeper level in your therapy, then you probably do. The best thing in therapy is to follow your own instincts. I've given up my power to the therapist before and it always ended badly. Now I try to constantly evaluate what my therapy is about. I try different things to help, especially during crisis.
The emphasis in therapy nowadays is on quick fixes. Insurance companies demand this. Insurance companies allow on a small number of sessions for most therapeutic diagnoses. The average is 3-8 sessions. Then the therapist can apply for more sessions. Cognitive Behavior Therapy usually has the most impact in the shortest time.
I think CBT can make big changes even for trauma victims, but I don't think it's the only trauma victims should do. Everyone has issues from childhood. If you have emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, your have trauma from those experiences. You might ask your therapist about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and how to treat that. There are many theories on doing that.
My belief is that the best approach is a combination of Cognitive Behavior techniques and exploring deeper issues, as well as processing feelings have all helped.
Hope this has at least given you some more information on the subject. My goal is to someday know enough to write books that will spell out systematic ways to heal trauma and abuse and live a happy life. I'm still working on it.
All My Best,
MariaC