Posted by mattdds on March 11, 2003, at 20:22:23
In reply to Re: But... » mattdds, posted by Dinah on March 11, 2003, at 16:55:31
Hi Dinah,
I agree the homework can be a pain, and sometimes I feel like I'm treading water. Once in a while though, I will "get it" and make substantial improvement. Along the way I've run into plenty of plateaus, but also had some major breakthroughs.
What do you find so irritating about it? Did you hate doing homework in high school or college? Just curious.
You say the problem is that you can "believe two completely and opposing ideas on two completely different levels of my being". I can too, and I think this is true of everyone, even those for whom CBT works. You are no different in this aspect. CBT (when it is done properly) has the intention of integrating what you know to be true on a logical, rational level with your emotional "felt sense".
Again, like I say, this takes incredible effort, and I detailed some of the techniques that I used to make this happen. Although I must admit, without the homework, it certainly would not have worked for me.
CBT is not for everyone, especially if you feel that bothered by the homework assignments. There was some research done at Stanford University (Diane Spangler, and Burns) showing a direct correlation between completion of homework and improvement on depression scores. In other words, if you don't do the homework, you may as well not bother with CBT. I hope that doesn't sound preachy, and I'm not pushing homework on you, but this really is the foundation of good CBT therapy.
Best,
Matt
poster:mattdds
thread:207189
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20030310/msgs/208216.html