Posted by SLS on January 8, 2012, at 6:06:54
In reply to Re: A couple questions for Scott (SLS) » Cecilia, posted by g_g_g_unit on January 7, 2012, at 23:51:47
> > Exactly. Who determines reality? CBT claims that the therapist determines it, and the defined patient is just supposed to somehow make themselves believe what he/she believes. Not only do I not believe the "positive" thoughts, I don't really believe the therapist believes them either. I just tend to think the therapist is laughing inside at whether he or she can get me to believe stuff that's not true. I suppose if you can make yourself believe positive stuff it doesn't matter whether or not it's true. Except to me it does matter. Plus I don't really understand how you can make yourself believe stuff that's not true. Cecilia
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> Hmm. I've never really felt that my therapist was laughing at me per se, but I do feel that there's a definite politic inherent to the therapist-patient dynamic which can leave one bitter upon reflection, i.e. I'm paying 100$+ an hour to receive life advice from someone who's far more functional and (in some cases?) has no subjective experience of my situation.
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> My therapist has claimed that she's in no position to challenge my beliefs; she can only ask, "Is this (belief/behaviour/idea) working for you?" I do think CBT can be a useful tool for maintaining a rational view of one's situation. But, like I said in my comment above, it's behaviour-orientation can fall short in the face of problems like anhedonia, etc. Sometimes, to me, it just feels like this attempt to normalize a mostly hopeless state-of-existence. By paring everything down to behaviour/results, it provides a recovery-model which is very capitalist-friendly, i.e. you're officially well when you're able to go out and work and stop being a drain on the system, quality-of-life be damned.CBT can definitely improve one's self-esteem. I think it is a very useful tool, but is not a replacement for interpersonal therapy (IPT) or psychoanalysis / psychodynamic modalities. CBT is a top-down treatment. The others mentioned here are bottom-up. Some people regard pharmacological treatment as bottom-up. I don't see it that way. For people with MDD and BD, medication corrects for errant biological processes and rebuilds a framework from which other treatments will be more effective. CBT can be combined with these other treatments. Perhaps it is counterproductive for some people. I don't know.
- ScottSome see things as they are and ask why.
I dream of things that never were and ask why not.- George Bernard Shaw
poster:SLS
thread:1006039
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120108/msgs/1006665.html