[wolfie205]

I was just wondering what other people's therapy sessions were like. I've been doing cbt for ptsd and I've only been to a few sessions so I don't know what else to expect. She hasn't asked me about my trauma and she doesn't know what it is, so that's a bit of a relief for me. I just don't know if she'll suddenly ask me about my past and I won't know how to tell her. Does anyone doing cbt or some other kind of therapy for trauma know what usually happens in future therapy sessions? I mean I don't feel like I'm a serious case. I get to choose how often I even want to go for therapy so I'm only seeing her once every two weeks. Sometimes the memories and intrusive thoughts fade and now, I feel better. Like I'm just dealing with the anxiety and thoughts. My sessions are mostly trying to get me to calm down and cope with the anxiety. I find it really hard to trust people and share so I don't talk much during sessions. I am beginning to open up a little bit more though, so I guess it takes time to build up that trust. What should I expect for future sessions? Would I have to keep going for therapy? Do people just get over ptsd?

[ks33182]

I've only been doing it for about 3 months, and I would say I've had a similar experience (but I went twice a week)...At first she did ask if I had trauma, but didn't really get into it until later....we mainly focused on coping with anxiety and some strategies. Then it got deeper into my depression and dealing with the past and present.

[growlycat]

I see two T's-- one is psychodynamic the other is more cbt based---the cbt guy is focused more on my health and anxieties.

Actually, my health T does therapy with some cbt components, not full cbt with worksheets. But I do get a sort-of homework. Usually some kind of exposure to my anxieties.
We talk about the homework, and he will usually assign me a new task.

If I can't do the homework, we will discuss why and he will find a more "do-able" goal.
We take things pretty slow, which I like.

I wouldn't downplay trauma--it is a big deal. Give yourself time to open up and let your T know your worries (I worry about being abandoned and being judged)

[tinyrabbit]

I don't think people just get over PTSD, no. I think you need help and support to be able to do that. Unresolved trauma is pretty much what brought me to therapy. I chose my T partly because he has training across a range of approaches including psychodynamic, gestalt and CBT. His actual modality (if that's the correct term) is integrative relational body psychotherapy, which means he uses a range of different approaches, he's very interested in the therapist-client relationship, and he's very interested in the links between mind and body.

I don't choose when to go. I have a standing weekly appointment, which I actually find very helpful and reassuring. Currently it's very much led by me and what I bring up. We mostly just sit and talk. He has art materials and I used them once and would like to again.

Got a question for you. Are you really worried she will ask about your past - or do you want her to? Sometimes worrying about something can be your mind's way of visualising or fantasising about it. Just a thought.

[CantExplain]

I talk. He listens.

[MoxieDoxie]

CBT Therapist are not all to concerned with the "Whys" as they are about your faulty thinking on situations on the present moment. Oh good luck with the thought records, hot, thoughts, evidence for the hot thought, evidence against the hot thought, balanced thought. It did not work not one bit on PTSD or bulimia. CBT is a fail for that. Yeah I can whip,out a balanced thought....no problem...I know HOW I am SUPPOSED to think but that does now change WHAT I feel. It is like buying a big *** smile on your face when you are so down. It does not work. Run like the wind if they decide to do exposure therapy on those with complex PTSD.

Originally Posted by MoxieDoxie

CBT Therapist are not all to concerned with the "Whys" as they are about your faulty thinking on situations on the present moment. Oh good luck with the thought records, hot, thoughts, evidence for the hot thought, evidence against the hot thought, balanced thought. It did not work not one bit on PTSD or bulimia. CBT is a fail for that. Yeah I can whip,out a balanced thought....no problem...I know HOW I am SUPPOSED to think but that does now change WHAT I feel. It is like buying a big *** smile on your face when you are so down. It does not work. Run like the wind if they decide to do exposure therapy on those with complex PTSD.

With all due respect, CBT can be helpful for working with PTSD. It certainly helped me and it does work with the feelings themselves. No, it isn't for everyone, but blanket statements that a type of therapy is a "fail" in general for treatment for anyone with certain diagnoses is going a bit far. You can only speak for yourself.

My experience with a CBT therapist is that we started with coping strategies and getting me stable before we started working on the underlying traumas. My CBT therapist very much does address the underlying trauma, but ties it in the present and my current coping mechanisms, which I prefer.

MoxieDoxie, we practiced a lot about what I could do or think instead of the persistent repetitious things that actually did happen inside my head. It was slow and at first I would have to stop every time the "problem" thought popped up and very deliberately stop myself and on purpose think the new thing I had decided to concentrate on. It was not fast or easy and required me to make a huge effort to stop every time and deliberately think something different, but eventually, it really DID change my immediate reaction and thoughts when issues pop up.

[stopdog]

I did not find cbt useful for me. It actually made things much worse for me. I understand it can help some people.
I see one who ignores and dismisses the anxiety and it has remained constant with her. I tried talking to her about it at the beginning and it was not helpful to talk about it. Now I just don't bother with her. With the other one, she did ask me about it every week, explained stuff and it has lessened when I interact with her.

[A Red Panda]

Originally Posted by MoxieDoxie

CBT Therapist are not all to concerned with the "Whys" as they are about your faulty thinking on situations on the present moment. Oh good luck with the thought records, hot, thoughts, evidence for the hot thought, evidence against the hot thought, balanced thought. It did not work not one bit on PTSD or bulimia. CBT is a fail for that. Yeah I can whip,out a balanced thought....no problem...I know HOW I am SUPPOSED to think but that does now change WHAT I feel. It is like buying a big *** smile on your face when you are so down. It does not work. Run like the wind if they decide to do exposure therapy on those with complex PTSD.

I know all the right thoughts too... and I even think them automatically already and have done so for years BEFORE I started with my T. I've only had 4 sessions with him and he's say that I can just ignore the belief part of it since my beliefs clearly don't change one bit - I can believe the first thought and yet I KNOW that the "corrected" thought is true. I'm finding all the worksheets to be a huge frustration for me because they make me feel horrible and like all the work I've done for myself over the last decade has been useless - when really, I've came a long way on my own.

I think the worksheets would be excellent for other people though! I'm just very self-aware already and recognize that my thoughts are hugely faulty - I just don't know how to make myself stop believing them.

So far, my T is working to build up trust with me I think as he knows that I have a lot of trust and abandonment issues. At the same time, he's pushing at me already to challenge me to do things, and I don't know if that's normal or if he thinks I can handle it, or what.

[MoxieDoxie]

Originally Posted by 1914sierra

With all due respect, CBT can be helpful for working with PTSD. It certainly helped me and it does work with the feelings themselves. No, it isn't for everyone, but blanket statements that a type of therapy is a "fail" in general for treatment for anyone with certain diagnoses is going a bit far. You can only speak for yourself.

People post things for other people's opinions and experiences and that is what i gave. Replying to a post with "All due respect" and ending with "speak for yourself" is offensive and not called for. You could have simply stated your experiences and shown an opposite effect of CBT then mine.

[Swan61]

I have been going a couple months to a CBT...it is so different for me as my therapy for PTSD was mainly talk therapy. I don't feel my T really knows the facts of my life, thus does not understand me, and that frustrates me. We have b een working on my journal work to identify a situation and my feelings and thoughts at a given time...he told me that coming up are beliefs and thoughts on that. I don't have a lot of confidence about therapy right now. I really like him as a person to work with and feel he is trying hard with me...I have been through it before in talk therapy and wish we could get the facts out and then work on dealing with correcting my thoughts after it is all out. Our lasst session was mainly talking and i felt so much better and encouraged by it. Should i tell him i want to do that or let him have complete control of the way therapy for me goes?