Posted by JonW on October 30, 2003, at 23:24:00
In reply to Re: Be *Very* Careful with Med/SSRI Bashing » JonW, posted by ace on October 30, 2003, at 20:35:38
> It made me worse. I believe organic disorders are anologous to a cut on the arm- if one itches at that cut it makes it worse. With CBT I feel one is itching at that 'cut' (OCD, depression etc)in the brain.
Thanks for the reply, Ace! When I was seeing Dr. Liebowitz for meds, he said something similar to what you are saying. He told me it was critical that I be involved with CBT, but he made it very clear that I needed to be ready for it. He suggested that if someone is too depressed or too anxious, it can be like insult to injury.
> That was definately my experience of it. It made me a lot worse and frustrated ('cause it didn't work I got anxious/worried I was applying the techniques wrong). It made my OCD far worse.
>
> I did it for a good two years and read 4 DD Burns books, Albert Ellis, all of those guys.I read Burns, Ellis, and all those guys, too, before initially getting involved with CBT. That was years ago, and before getting involved with Liebowitz. I was very educated going into it, but inspite of that, it was never very helpful. It wasn't until I started the CBT program at Temple in Philly that my life began to change. I have been to some great CBT therapists, but they aren't even in the same league as the AACT at Temple. It is like night and day. It's a very targeted and intense program, and the result of a lot of research specific to social anxiety disorder. Their research defines how CBT is done for this disorder. Dr. Liebowitz is a big proponent of combining medication with CBT, and this has saved my life. But more specifically, the AACT at Temple has saved my life. The program at Temple and others like it are the Nardil of CBT, while the rest are no better than buspar -- no offense to anyone who loves buspar ;) Anyway, my point is that my own case and the research that's been done indicate CBT is a big gun. Unfortunately for you, it may have been no better than a water pistol... I wonder if you were ever involved in a comprehensive program, though. Sorry about the analogies tonight... I'm feeling a littly silly :)
Anyway, you are one of the luckiest "loonies" I know... Nardil has done wonders in your life, and without side-effects. More power to you, and by promoting CBT I certainly don't mean to promote it as a replacement for medication. I just think it deserves as much respect as medication, and the combination of the two can be life changing.
Jon :)
poster:JonW
thread:274933
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031030/msgs/275139.html