Does CBT differ depending on the issue

Slightly strange question but I had a course of CBT last year (well, nearly a course, we stopped after 8 of 12 weeks because it wasn't helping me and was actually making me worse).
Now my psychiatrist has referred me again for CBT because drugs are not helping. I am really not sure that this is a good idea but she has told me that because it if for a different issue - previously we focused on anxiety, this time it will be for depression it will be different and might work.

I am totally unconvinced because I don't think that CBT will magically change, in that it will still be based on the assumption that my core beliefs are wrong/distorted, won't take into account past experience and even though I will be able to recognise that my thought are illogical, I still won't be able to make myself believe alternative explanations.

Has anyone ever used CBT for different problems, and is it likely to suddenly be helpful (given that my mood now is far lower than it was last time I tried this and the main reason I was given for it not working was that my mood was too low for the therapy to be effective )

I found cbt to be useless and damaging. I would never go near it again.

If I had a choice I wouldn't, but I am pretty much stuck with whatever treatment I am offered by the NHS as I do not have the finds to pay for private therapy.
I am seeing my psychiatrist again tomorrow so will try to ask her again if there are any alternatives but, in fairness, what I am offered is mostly up to the psychological therapy service

Bummer. For me it was not just an innocuous waste of time, it was damaging. For me, not doing it and having nothing would have been better than trying it.

I also really dislike CBT. The first therapist I ever saw (only for 3-4 sessions so I don't even count him as an actual ex-therapist) was a CBT therapist. I was in my early 20s, and had I started therapy for real back then, my life could have been so different. But the CBT was so useless and stupid that I quit after 3-4 sessions and didn't attempt therapy again for years.

I also think CBT can be learned from workbooks if you're interested in learning it. So the therapist is basically pointless and extraneous under those circumstances.

My T does both CBT and psychodynamic. I find it helpful sometimes. When I'm really, really struggling and have trouble thinking rationally, he uses CBT to remind me of how to think properly... but it doesn't really resolve my issues, it helps under certain circumstances. I find it useful in combination with something else, but I couldn't imagine working with just CBT.

I found a course of pure CBT more harmful than no therapy at all. It didn't help with my core issues (which are too deep-seated and complicated for short-term CBT), and it made me frustrated that the person who was supposed to be helping me was clearly trying to administer some technique instead of listening to me like human being. Doing worksheets and stuff also made me increasingly self-critical because I couldn't understand why I was feeling worse if I was doing everything I was "supposed" to. I don't know if it would matter very much if I were working on X thing instead of Y thing, but I have no interest in finding out.

That said, maybe you'll get lucky and get assigned to a therapist who has the warmth and skills to give you something therapeutically beneficial in spite of the fact that they're supposed to be doing a course of CBT. You may not have too much to lose by going to an initial meeting and sharing your concerns about what happened last time.

I had a really bad experience with CBT and I wouldn't want to go through that again.

I had a very bad experience with a therapist who “specialised”..... in.... CBT. I definitely would not want to repeat that experience with another therapist.



ETA .. I only just now noticed the op. And the location.

I’m sorry that the ......... “system”....continues to mess with you .

Do they not listen? Are they completely unable to comprehend??

One size does NOT “fit all”



Ps HOW MANY excuses do they have?

Sorry for the caps.. I do wonder though.

Imo any “insanity” is in the “system” in this forest

Well, when I get to the top of the list I will go along and hope I am lucky and get assigned a good therapist. I just hate the thought that I will potentially waste 6 months waiting for therapy only for it not to work but there is not much I can do about it.

What a mess... that system is...

I have found CBT to be extremely helpful, and psychodynamic to be extremely harmful, but I think the short answer to your question is absolutely. Every type of therapy works well for different sets of issues, and every therapist practices that type of therapy just a little bit differently. You probably had a CBT therapist that you really just didn’t work well with. I’ve had those, too, but when I found the right ones, I realized how great CBT (and DBT) worked for my issues. I’m sure if I had a better psychodynamic therapist at some point, I wouldn’t have such awful feelings towards that school if therapy, but I’m afraid to try it, because, much like you, I had such a bad experience the first time.

Littleblackdog, I think that if I were in your position I would follow the psychiatrist' recommendation and go for at least two or three sessions to what is on offer (the CBT). It's possible that either with a different therapist or because you'll be focussing on a different issue, your experience would be better than last time. If you find it damaging you could always cancel after two or three sessions rather than finishing the course? As you say since it's the NHS you unfortunately won't get much choice so I think I would take the attitude of trying out whatever is on offer.

Regarding what you said about CBT being too short and not going into the reasons behind the 'faulty thinking' - I think you are completely right about this. I see my T privately (he works for the NHS and also has a private practice). I did my own research before going to therapy, and so when I saw him for the first time, I went through the problems I was having and said that I thought I needed CBT. My T explained that because my problems were deeply rooted, CBT by itself probably wouldn't be effective, and schema therapy would be better. It's like CBT in some ways but it goes for longer and also you spend time on understanding why the 'lifetraps' or faulty ways of thinking have come about based on your life and working to change the emotions, not only the thoughts. Anyway it's just to say that my T explained that CBT by itself doesn't work for everyone, for these reasons, and it seems like this is what you have experienced. I also think there was a large study recently which showed that whether CBT is helpful depends a LOT on who is delivering it. You can be much more or less skilled at delivering CBT. So for that reason maybe it would be worth trying again?