I think CBT is useful, just not very comforting and if one wants comfort, one is not left with much. One can do CBT in the vacuum of one's own head, but I want human interaction.

I think either way, mouse, whether one's mother was "busy" and couldn't attend to one or whether one's mother didn't "want" to attend to one, CBT can help so we understand that it isn't about the other person, it's about what we want. It doesn't really matter why the mother didn't attend to one, if one wanted attending to or even needed attending to (if one were very young) understanding that can help (me, at least) attend to myself better and braver so I listen to myself better, but it can't solve the hurt of mother not attending. . . but then, no type of therapy or therapist can. However, a therapist attending now, can help give us the feeling sense of what it feels like to be attended to well and we can learn that skill for ourselves and to apply to others. So, maybe I think CBT is a useful "half" of the equation but no one thing is a whole I don't think.