I recently mentioned to my T. that i felt ready to stop therapy. He doesn't want me to stop but that he is not going anywhere so if I decide to reduce sessions or stop soon he will be around later if I decide I want to come back.

He said that while I may have learned a lot about myself and what impact the CA has had on me, he doesn't think I've learned to change those learned patterns/behaviors/way of thinking...he said that is truely the hard work of therapy....

and I thought the hard part was the six months it took to get myself to tell the T. the story and to admit to myself the CA.

This is so much more than I let myself think in the beginning....I don't know what I want to do but I do know paying T. out of pocket gets very expensive.

Is it possible to change those learned patterns/behaviors/way of thinking that you learned as a young child...seems daunting?

[Dr.Muffin]

it is both possible and daunting.

[granite1]

i'm still working on it .dont give up.i'm told it is worth it

[sittingatwatersedge]

Originally Posted by Dr.Muffin

it is both possible and daunting.

THANK YOU, Dr M. This is it in a nutshell. Speaking for myself. readytostop, I'm still trying to embrace both of those things at once; some days it seems more one than the other, but it really is both. It is so hard... but it is so worth it... the small gains I can see give me encouragement to try again. for you

((((((((((readytostop)))))))))))

I thought telling the story would be the therapy....that I would tell the stories about what happened, get it out of my system, and be done. I was NOT happy when it didn't work out that way!

But yes, I really think it IS possible to change all of those learned patterns of behaving and thinking, and I think that telling the story is the beginning of it. For me, just by telling the story I was starting to change those patterns...I was learning to not keep a secret, learning to trust someone, learning to be vulnerable. Those were huge, huge things for me, and those things have opened the door to the possibility of changing even more.

It's HARD, but it's worth it. And you are worth it.

Originally Posted by treehouse

((((((((((readytostop)))))))))))

But yes, I really think it IS possible to change all of those learned patterns of behaving and thinking, and I think that telling the story is the beginning of it. For me, just by telling the story I was starting to change those patterns...I was learning to not keep a secret, learning to trust someone, learning to be vulnerable. Those were huge, huge things for me, and those things have opened the door to the possibility of changing even more.

It's HARD, but it's worth it. And you are worth it.

Treehouse this was really helpful...I too learned how to trust someone and to be vulnerable which is very huge for me as well...but I thought that was the most I could expect to get....although I'm not happy about how long therapy is taking....I am happy to think that even more change is possible...