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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by platinumbride on November 6, 2003, at 9:20:12
Anyone know this feeling? Yes, yes we get to "core issues" and yet nothing changes....
I am sure everyone can also relate to sooooooo many disapppointments from so many arenas, and BOOM you just want to give up. Depression seems waaaay safer than trying AGAIN.
I am sick of meds and I am sick of therapy.
It is pretty hard for me to believe that this is all a mess of chemicals......I used to be able to pull myself up by the proverbial boot straps. Sigh...this really suxDiane
Posted by justyourlaugh on November 6, 2003, at 9:53:24
In reply to feeling like therapy is a viscious circle, posted by platinumbride on November 6, 2003, at 9:20:12
i understand d..
no one told me this was forever..
Posted by karen_kay on November 6, 2003, at 11:33:02
In reply to feeling like therapy is a viscious circle, posted by platinumbride on November 6, 2003, at 9:20:12
I know, just as I was feeling great for about 2 months... BOOM, I remember something very tramatic from childhood. Now, I can't sleep or eat and I feel like my previously wonderful therapist is nothing but a fraud. He's not being supportive. I just wish I would have quit while I was ahead. Looks like I'm gonna be in for a few more years of therapy to try and cope with more of the sick and twisted things my parents did tome when I was a child. I guess therapy is really a life-long sport and I am not a team player. Karen
Posted by fallsfall on November 9, 2003, at 11:45:40
In reply to feeling like therapy is a viscious circle, posted by platinumbride on November 6, 2003, at 9:20:12
"yes we get to "core issues" and yet nothing changes"
I spent 8 1/2 years with my first therapist, and we talked about hard stuff, but it just wasn't getting better. Finally I changed to a therapist who has a different orientation (Psychodynamic instead of CBT). It is still early, but I think that this switch will make a big difference. Maybe you should consider switching to a therapist who comes at things from a different angle.
Posted by platinumbride on November 9, 2003, at 22:51:18
In reply to Re: feeling like therapy is a viscious circle » platinumbride, posted by fallsfall on November 9, 2003, at 11:45:40
what are psychodynamic and cbt?
I really appreciate your responses.
I am a very rebellious type.esp in therapy. I modify behavior for about an hour, and I never want to do what is good for me. Sound familiar???Diane
Posted by fallsfall on November 10, 2003, at 8:17:56
In reply to Re: feeling like therapy is a viscious circle » fallsfall, posted by platinumbride on November 9, 2003, at 22:51:18
This link has a reasonably detailed description of the two therapies. But it doesn't really explain how they are done and how they "feel" different. http://www.grohol.com/therapy.htm
Also: http://www.aabt.org/091101%20Folder/091101/public/what_to_expect.html
In general, I have found (and this is just my experience) that CBT focuses more on what is happening today and how you can solve problems and look at situations differently, while Psychodynamic is more concerned with understanding what is the basis of your personality, and learning new ways to look at how people can interact. CBT is more top-down - how can we fix this particular problem, and then that knowledge can be generalized for other problems. Psychodynamic therapy is more bottom-up - who are you and why, and why the general world might not be like the world you grew up in so if you can change how you see the world then the problems go away.
I gained a lot of skills and understanding in CBT that will be very valuable. I'm not as clear on the Psychodynamic (I've been doing it for 4 months), but at some point I felt like CBT was just touching the surface and that my problems lay deeper. Psychodynamic seems to be getting more to the deeper level.
You might find out what your therapist's orientation is. Ask her about your particular problems and how other orientations might handle them differently - but remember that most therapists have chosen their orientations because they believe that they are more effective than the competition's.
If there is a university library nearby you might want to glance through some books that have Case Studies (transcripts or descriptions of therapy sessions) for the different orientations - that gives you a better feel for how they are different.
I am very different than you in therapy. I am overly compliant, but very frustrated if I don't know what to do.
How long have you been in therapy? What kinds of issues do you have?
Posted by platinumbride on November 11, 2003, at 0:13:02
In reply to Re: feeling like therapy is a viscious circle » platinumbride, posted by fallsfall on November 10, 2003, at 8:17:56
Thanks for the info and the links. I guess my shrink is more the psychodynamic type.......we have even used astrology to sort of ellucidate (sp?) "issues". He is all about transcending and challenging perceptions that I have...very socratic in a way. Sometimes I feel as if I am defending a case!
I think this approach is good for me....I have done the cognitive therapy thing. It was helpful to me from the ages of 19 till about 22 or so. But my then therapist felt that we had completed our work, and I was eager to agree.
Interestingly enough, it was she who mentioned that I have a strong self destructive streak which meets with an equally strong protective streak.I think now, some 10 years later it is the self destructive streak that is winnng. I guess that kind of answers the "issues" question :)
I have been in therapy, on and off, for these 10 years. The current guy knew me when i was doing well and knows what I am really capable of. I just hate the fact taht we keep coming to the same conclusions and yet no change within ME takes place!
I am a true believer that "you can't force it". All of the crap we feel about ourselves comes from inside, so there must be true change, in its own time, from within in order to really affect things. I believed this long before I entered a room with a couch ha ha. (Ever read Of Human Bondage? That is one of my bases for believing wwhat I do. )
I simply hate that it is taking so long for these things to become resolved within myself!!! So I cancel appointments at the last minute, which is bad news......no continuity. On the other hand, even when I was in serious crisis, and i saw him 3 times a week after a suicide attempt and stint in a hospital, I felt this block from within myself. There are simply things which I cannot even concentrate on in therapy......big ideas,which merit a lot of contemplation....but I avoid them.....I can't deal with them yet.
I'm just a bipolar II chick in limbo, it seems...Well, not really......I am cycling like crazy (no pun intended) and I have trouble motivating myself. Often I don't even leave the house. This is not the over-achiever that I tried to be!!!!
I have gone on so long......
Care to share anything about you and what you are dealing with?Diane
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