[Eleny]

Which do you feel is better? From what I've read CBT seems to be effective but I'm not sure if this is sustainable in the long term if you have underlying issues. Perhaps a mixture of both? What do you guys think?

[stopdog]

Some people here report finding cbt useful. I found it worse than useless and felt like it treated clients like idiots. So for me, it would have been a disaster for self-esteem.

[Whiteroses02]

CBT has been amazing with curbing my GAD. It's still there, but I'm learning how to accept and manage it. However, when it comes to my self esteem and body image it just doesn't work. My T has even commented on this, so she has been really trying to instill acceptance and commitment therapy instead. So far my body hatred is so ingrained it's been hard to really break it down.

[ThingWithFeathers]

Imho, I think it depends on whether you issues stem from current day life or if tgey stem from your past or childhood. If you have issues stemming from current day stuff, then CBT may work well for you. If you have troubles that impact upon you from the past, then maybe a different approach might work better.

[AncientMelody]

Originally Posted by Eleny

Which do you feel is better? From what I've read CBT seems to be effective but I'm not sure if this is sustainable in the long term if you have underlying issues. Perhaps a mixture of both? What do you guys think?

You can sometimes do CBT within the framework of more extensive therapy. I've been seeing my psychiatrist for almost two years, and I did a lot of CBT early in. This treated my anxiety symptoms. However, undlerlying self esteem issues were better addressed through other therapeutic means with her than the CBT

[Lauliza]

CBT works well in conjunction with traditional talk therapy for self esteem - it doesn't need to be one or the other. Poor self esteem is often the result negative beliefs that we internalize, sometimes starting in childhood and sometimes later. I don't think it matters so much how long you've had these beliefs as it does how you think and what motivates you. CBT can be succesful because its action oriented and people who like it like the direct tangible nature of it. I think whether you prefer traditional CBT or a combo with something else really depends on your personal style.