Quote:
Originally Posted by SarahSweden
When I read your post I come to think of the the book "The gift of therapy" by Irwin Yalom, Iīm sure youīve heard or read about it or both. He talkes a lot about adapting and accomodating to clients but itīs not from a medical or diagnostic perspective. He lets therapy evolve in a pace that suits the client and he does a lot of things that could be considered extraordinary or even rare when it comes to therapy practise.
In such a setting, not meaning the therapist should exaggerate or act simply to be liked by the client, defenses and rigidity will almost always lessen, sooner or later. What has been seen as "severe problems" will be seen differently as the client dares to open up more. Yalom shows several of such cases in his book.
|
Isn't Yalom an existential therapist and a big proponent of group therapy? I think his approach might be different from psychodynamic therapy, so you and feileacan might be talking about somewhat different things.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SarahSweden
I have a vague sense of self and Iīm easily hurt which has to do with childhood experiences like being left out and not having the emotional support I needed from my parents.
That may sound like some construction or simple explanation but being left out by peers and not validated enough emotionally as a child will affect you as an adult. I react to subtle things and see it as rejection even if others donīt.
I know rather a lot about my problems and from that I also see the danger in meeting with especially "blank slate" therapists. They may worsen the patientīs condition and, as I also heard from one of them, then just explain their failure in meeting me (or other clients) by saying "I didnīt want to engage properly in the therapy process". I hadnīt waited for two years as I did for my latest therapist if I then didnīt want to engage in the process.
|
Yes! My secondary therapist specializes in working with people with intense emotions (which includes people who have been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder), and she and I have talked about how the blank screen is terrible for sensitive people because we read rejection where it isn't there. Same thing for CBT because it can feel super invalidating. Childhood emotional neglect is very real and can have long-lasting effects. Have you read
Running on Empty and its sequel? I also found a pretty good DBT for depression workbook that helps somewhat with emotional regulation, among other things.
It's too bad that you don't have the ability to access anything that isn't CBT or psychodynamic therapy. Something more relational might help you open up a little better. There is still often an awkward phase at the beginning of any therapy relationship, and I think therapists tend to warm up and adapt more readily once they get to know the client, so it can be hard to know when to stick it out and when to throw in the towel. Hopefully you find something (therapy or otherwise) that can help you move toward where you want to be in life.