CBT - did it help?

[Evedawn]

I'm under a psychiatrist and on sertraline fur depression. Psych recommended CBT and I have 3rd session tomo. To be honest I feel
Like CBT is a complete waste (for "ME") and think the stuff she talks of is stuff I know / try to do anyway.... YOUR thoughts pls. (Ps I'm the dirt who doesn't open up easily anyway but CBT seems to just gloss over everything)

---------- Post added at 16:08 ---------- Previous post was at 16:07 ----------

TYPO not I'm the "dirt" lol should read I'm the "sort"

[blue October]

CBT did nothing for me either, nice to sit and chat but no results.

[PanchoGoz]

CBT is the best decision I made. I opted to try out an online course which is in my signiture and it gave me the tools I need to recover. Having a therapist is something I did not have the opertunity to have. You might as well see it through. Time wasted in CBT is better than time wasted sitting in your room depressed!
Also CBT takes a lot of effort on your part. You really need to do your homework with it - buts thats why it works.

[AuntieMoosie]

I'm sorry that you haven't found it helpful, I suppose it's horses for courses really, some people have success and others don't.

I did see a CBT therapist some years ago, but for me, at that time, it just didn't work for me.

However I'm also doing the CBT4PANIC via this site and I'm really happy to report that I'm making good and steady progress.

I had been agoraphobic and completely housebound since 2004 but last year I started being able to take some trips out, it's hard work and it does take some time but I think this course is brilliant :)

It's not that CBT glosses over everything, it's just that it deals with the here and now and teaches you new behaviours to help deal with your anxiety.

You could always try psychotherapy, that's a little different and that will try and help you understand why you are the way you are, that type of therapy is more a study of yourself really but that is also very beneficial and that also helped me many years ago :)

[cattia]

I did CBT about fifteen years ago and it helped a lot at the time. I have recently been referred again but this time it was over the telephone. I didn't like this method at all. It felt very impersonal, I didn't feel any sort of rapport with the therapist. It just felt like he was reading out of a self help book which I had already done myself. I think CBT can be really helpful but for me I truly want to get to the root of my problems and I feel psychotherapy would be the best route for me to do this.

[Arnie365]

Cbt isn't about what you do when you are with the therapist it's the effort you put in outside of sessions. I wouldn't say it works for everyone but my therapist has said soooo many of her clients just don't put the effort in before writing it off. I maybe became a bit obsessed with mine but really put the effort in to log all my negative thoughts and work through the columns analysing the thought. I did it over and over and over even though most negative thoughts were identical and it actually to really boring! One week i think i filled about 8 pages of A4 front and back with almost the same thoughts! But I kept going and 4 weeks later the negative thoughts just aren't getting through any more. They pop in my head but then get dismissed before I even realise what's happened. It's about training the sub conscious how to work.

As I say I'm not saying those who say it doesn't work haven't put the effort in but I really got stuck in and have had great results in a short space of time so would encourage anyone to give it a try. By doing this outside of the session as well now I just spend 5 mins discussing the week with my therapist then we get stuck into psychotherapy to address the underlying issues.

[Dazza123]

How long does CBT run for? My psychiatrist is referring me apparently, but don't know how long waiting lists are etc. I'm hoping to get something out of it.

[AuntieMoosie]

It really does depend on where you live in regards to how long you have to wait and for how long your treatment will last :)

But that is what I've found is the beauty of the one I'm doing, you can do it at home, in your own time and you're not under any pressure, for me, that's worked very well.

I fully agree with what Arnie365 has said, there is a lot of work to do with CBT it's really the "homework" that's the hardest to master, but once you start doing it, it does become easier as you go and the results are well worth it :)

cattia I think you're going the right route if it's the root of your problems that you want to get too :) Then there's nothing stopping you, when you've finished your psychotherapy, to then have a go at CBT, then you've kind of got a double wammy, because you'll understand how you've got to being who you are and then you can learn new behaviours to lead a more positive life :)

[cattia]

I totally agree that with CBT what you out in is what you get out. I wonder if maybe the fact that I have done it before and the fact that the therapist was so flakey kind of put me off this time around. I think I am ready for a different type of therapy, but I think everyone should give CBT a go. As I say, it helpee me a great deal with managing my anxiety first time around, but I have suffered from this as long as I can remember so I feel I would like to address the underlying causes and beliefs, which I don't think CBT really does (or is meant to do).

[Arnie365]

Hi cattia you are totally right in what you say. Anxiety is actually just a symptom of a more deep rooted issue. Psychotherapy is the best way to address this and hopefully your anxiety will go when you do. Cbt is about managing anxiety in the here and now and won't take away whatever is lurking below the surface of your conscious mind.

My therapist mixes the two up for me. The first few sessions have been cbt based, now I've got a good handle on this we are starting the psychotherapy properly tomorrow. Nervous!

[AuntieMoosie]

cattia yes I say go for it, I think you'll find that it will really help you, I know it did me :)

Arnie365 please don't be nervous you'll be fine :)

Psychotherapy is a much deeper therapy and sometimes it can be painful or emotional when going through it. But it teaches you one hell of a lot about "you" and how you tick. I had 4 years of it altogether, 3 years which were one to one and the 4 th year I was in a group, I must say that the thought of the group terrified me, but once we'd started and all learned to trust each other and felt comfortable with each other, it really did go well and I found it really helpful to listen to others and their experiences, it makes you a richer person.

Just take it each session at a time, make sure that you've got everyone around you to support you, I found it a very fascinating and it was lovely to be able to really understand myself and how I was :)

[Tessar]

Hi Evedawn; its a shame that your experience of cbt isnt great so far. i dont know how many sessions u r booked in for (if indeed u know that yet). But at the beginning I wondered what exactly I was doing there. Eventually I did open up, we'll I opened up as best I could. I learned to trust my therapist & even tho sometimes what I needed to do didn't sit comfortably at times, I did stick with it
It took me a long time but I got there.

My advice is to hang on in there. If u r able, try opening up. It's amazing what can come out of it if you can really get into it. I won't gloss over the commitment that can sometimes be required as the skills u can learn wont necessarily come naturally, but you need to keep at it. Don't give up yet.

At times I felt disappointment that I wasn't suddenly "cured" but then I had no real understanding of how it worked. What I perhaps underestimated what was required on my part. Now, when I look back, I can see that it was a journey I went on. It had plenty of ups and downs but by the time I completed my last session, I had gained in confidence & feel the whole experience was thoroughly worthwhile.

p.s. that was kind of a funny but not funny typo, it did have me worried for a moment!

---------- Post added at 22:01 ---------- Previous post was at 21:49 ----------


How long does CBT run for? My psychiatrist is referring me apparently, but don't know how long waiting lists are etc. I'm hoping to get something out of it.

I think for straightforward cases CBT can be as brief as 8 sessions but many people have more complex issues that require longer treatment. I know sometimes there can be financial restraints affecting the number of sessions. It does depend on what the treatment is going to entail.

I had a mixture of in-depth therapy as well as helpful skills I learned through CBT. It is amazing what you can learn. It's always worth giving it a go when it's offered. It took me over two years to get there but was worth every minute. I filled out thought records & stuff like that.it broke down into detail the way I was thinking and reacting. Most of my decisions were being based on my emotions. So u can imagine if I wasn't feeling good anyway, my decision making was gonna b all over the place. But I learned to stick to facts when I felt triggered. I still do my utmost to stick to facts now & make balanced judgements rather than acting purely on my emotions.

I think also I was very lucky to really click with my therapist too. At one point it's almost as if I was adhering to new techniques just to please her but soon enough I realised actually I was on my own out there in the world doing it for myself. Several years down the line though, her helpful words and support remain in my mind & serve to remind me of my inner strength just when I need it most.