Posted by mattdds on June 2, 2003, at 21:56:02
In reply to Re: responsibility and blame » mattdds, posted by Squiggles on June 2, 2003, at 20:47:28
First off, I didn't intend to make you feel put down. Getting my first PBC from Dr. Bob was kind of a downer, I really do try to behave. I just get a bit emotional about this stuff.
>>I mean that the therapy style which is
in vogue now, and suggests an appeal
to the rational (hence cognitive) part
of man, is part of an image of modern man.
The image of man who, through his cogitative
abilities is able to work out his emotional
problems. The image of man who, through
assisted analysis of his habits and the
process through which he has acquired them,
will be able to change himself through his
own bootstrapsSo the main problem is that it is in style? It doesn't seem very popular to me. I feel nerdy and cheesey talking about it to anyone but my wife. Even here, a mental health support board, I get the feeling that everyone thinks it's hokey and that pharmaceuticals are much sexier.
>It's rehashed Freud, and badly cooked at
thatCBT is the antithesis of Freud. Have you read anything at all by Aaron Beck, who is kind of CBT's grand-daddy? Practically the first 10 years of his career were spent debunking the whole Frued thing.
>>Cognitive behaviour therapy is good for
those who do not need therapy at all, but
simply a good shoulder to cry on or a good
friend to speak to. This is an old fashioned
view. It is not a yuppy view, as defined by
say GQ magazine or shrill empowerment-hungry
radio announcers.I cried on my mothers shoulders for two weeks straight when I was in my second year of dental school. All the psychiatrists at my school had thrown their hands up in the air, wondering what to do. I cried on the shoulder of my wife all year, literally.
It was only after the therapy that I began to improve, and my therapist was anything but a "shoulder to cry on"; he was caring, yet stern and insisted that I should continue on fighting.
>>It is not a yuppy view, as defined by
say GQ magazine or shrill empowerment-hungry
radio announcers.Wait, is this a typo? I thought you just said it *was* a "yuppy" movement.
>>"YUPPIE" is an acronym for "young urban professional"
and perhaps if you are in Britain it is not a common
phrase there.I am aware of what the acronym (and label) stands for, as well as the history behind it. But I was asking more about the connotation, which seemed overtly negative to you. For instance, I am young (just over 25), live in New York City (urban), and will shortly be considered a professional when I graduate from dental school. So by your definition, I am a yuppie. But are these three criteria the ones that make yuppie-ism so terribly bad? I don't ever read GQ magazine and I dress like a slob! And I don't really listen to the "shrill empowerment-hungry radio announcers", whoever they are. So am I a yuppie? Why are you so put off by people that fit these three criteria?
>>I suppose i agree with Hume (the Scottish philosopher), "reason is the slave of the passions".
So do I. But I don't think this issue is totally black-or-white, (almost) nothing is. At times I feel my reasoning is largely driven by emotion. Other times I feel the opposite. This is not out of tune with CBT. CBT is not "thought control", it is just heightened awareness of thinking. CBT actually discourages suppression of thoughts, or attempts at thought control. You are encouraged to be a passive observer of thoughts. Thought intrusions are almost completely emotion dependent, without a doubt. But where we go with these intrusions is what CBT emphasizes. Do we continue to ride the negative pattern out? Or do we choose a way of looking at things that is either more accurate or beneficial?
Lastly, I am absolutely 100% certain that I will not persuade you to my way of thinking. A part of me wants to, my competetive side (the one that got the best of me when I got the PBC from Dr. Bob). But deep down, I know the futility of arguing with someone; it only strengthens their preconceived notions (even mine were strengthened, and I am totally aware I have them too).
See, I wanted this to be a positive discussion, one that would enlighten all of us. I much would have preferred a discussion about *doing* CBT, and the actual dynamics of it. Instead I / we set it up to be a combative, one-upmanship about our opinion on CBT.
Is anyone interested in actually talking about the dynamics of it or techniques, or research, or how it is supposed to work? This is what I wanted. And hope that we can get there.
Out of breath,
Matt
poster:mattdds
thread:230572
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20030529/msgs/230968.html