Posted by Penny on February 5, 2004, at 8:27:08
In reply to Re: Question for gg. » alexandra_k, posted by gardenergirl on February 4, 2004, at 23:01:29
Very interesting...
my first T was much more CBT oriented - she was a clinical social worker, and she did focus on childhood issues as well, but she recommended Burns' "Feeling Good" to me right from the start. Now, don't get me wrong - I see the value of being able to recognize cognitive distortions - which I engage in frequently! - and fortunately my T didn't minimize the importance and power of my emotions, but I do think she essentially believed that cognition precedes emotion - whereas I, like you, am not so sure. Yes, of course, sometimes I can pinpoint how a particular thought can cause my mood to darken. But those are the times that it is fairly easy, for me, to apply the CBT skills to 'change the thought.' It's when the emotion at least seems to precede any negative thinking that I can't seem to do much about it.
Fortunately for me, my current T isn't big on CBT. She does do some of the cognitive distortion work with me, but she understands that it's not usually as simple as recognizing the skewed thought process.
P
poster:Penny
thread:309476
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20040131/msgs/309661.html