Therapy concerns

[anxiousjomo]

Hi,

So I had my first therapy session last week and I talked about my past etc to fill in some information for the therapist etc. She immediately latched onto the fact that my mum had severe post-natal depression/anxiety when I was born, and that my dad has always been distant/unpredictable/irritable etc. She also said I should have started therapy years ago and that I really needed intensive sessions etc to deal with all my childhood issues.

I obviously understand how that could all have set me up to be an anxious baby/child etc and that the patterns have been in place since then. But what I don't understand is how knowing this helps me. In fact I am now more anxious, partly because I am worried about the cost of the sessions, but also because I feel like spending months hacking around in my childhood is not really going to do anything to help me as a 38 year old grown adult.

She thinks CBT/Mindfulness etc is all just "surface" and that the only way to get better is to do all this intensive work.

Does anyone have any advice? Should I switch therapists and just to CBT? Or do you think this sort of therapy is helpful?

I also feel like just blaming my mum and dad for everything is not exactly honest and not exactly helpful....

[Fishmanpa]

Many of our issues can be attributed to environmental aspects growing up. Knowing this and delving into how it affected and shaped you as an adult is helpful in learning how to change certain behaviors, reactions and thoughts.

I personally found one on one therapy to be very helpful when I was dealing with some depression after my cancer and heart attacks. I also supplemented it with the free CBT course offered here and my therapist was all for it. I still use some of the techniques today as they apply to every day life situations (work, relationships etc.).

Therapy is hard work but the end result is worth it!

Positive thoughts