Review of Sam Obitz "Been There, Done That." book

[spuds]

I sent off for this book from America having seen it mentioned as helpful. I must say I was very disappointed. It is a very, very, very simple account of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy tools to help anxiety and depression.

Firstly, the book is very thin, (112 pages), the print is large and widely spaced and the chapters short - i.e. there is really not much in it either in terms of actual volume of information or substance.

He gives an account of how he went to a number of therapists to overcome his anxiety due to an unsupportive father and the death of his mother when he was a child, but only made progress after beginning CBT. He then goes through the usual thinking errors that anxiety sufferers make such as jumping to conclusions and blowing things out of proportion.

Obitz then introduces TEA forms - a simple version of the CBT exercise of writing down your irrational thoughts and a rational response. His headings are Thought, Error (how this is wrong, eg you are jumping to conclusions), Analysis (a sensible, rational response to what you are thinking).

And well, that's it really. I didn't even feel he gave any great insight into what it is like to suffer from anxiety, unlike Claire Weekes books' where you think, 'Yes, that's just how I feel sometimes'.

Sorry to sound negative, but I was very curious about this book and was hugely disappointed. It's only good point I think is that it is very basic and simplistic, but I didn't feel at all empowered by it. A better buy is David Burns "Feeling Good, the New Mood Therapy" - this is harder to read but much more detailed.

[cece]

We used this book in my cognitive training group along with the one by David Burns you mentioned and I really related to it and I liked the simplicity of it. It gave me the confidence I needed to dedicate myself to the tea form and helped me get to where I am today. The Burns book was much more detailed and added many more exercises but I think it may have overwhelmed me if it was the first book that introduced me to cognitive training. They are both really good books in my opinion but probably at opposites ends of the spectrum as far as technical merit. Really the only exercise I still use with frequency since shortly after completing my group is the tea form exercise.

[bmouthtony]

Spud,

I see you are in the UK. If you found the book disappointing, would you be prepared to sell it to me? I feel that I would benefit from a read of it.

Regards
Tony

[davew]

Wow spud. I had the exact opposite reaction to this book that you did. I loved the simplicity of it and identified with a lot of what the author went through with his anxieties. I am using the TEA forms for about 10-minutes a day and feel better than I can ever remember. The fact that I am helping myself by doing, rather than talking like all my previous therapies, has even given me the side benefit of building my confidence and self esteem.
I hope you find something that benefits you in the way this book has benefitted me