Posted by pegasus on June 15, 2004, at 22:12:58
In reply to Re: Where to go next with therapy? » pegasus, posted by littlep24 on June 15, 2004, at 17:42:49
Hi litttlep24,
I'm not really doing cognitive therapy at the moment, but when I was, I did do a lot of homework. When I would notice the irrational negative thoughts, I would do these diagrams that helped me to see where my logic broke down, and what a more positive, rational thought would be. After a while I could do them in my head, and now it's pretty close to second nature. Sometimes.
I can't really answer your question about how it differs, because I'm not sure what you're asking. Cognitive therapy differs in lots of ways from other types of therapy, but maybe the main thing is in how it focuses on thoughts that are happening right now, rather than in what went on in your childhood, etc.
Personally, I liked it better when I was doing a more psychodynamic (like most talk therapy) approach, with cognitive therapy mixed in. Because I *wanted* to explore where this stuff came from, and not only how it was irrational and unhelpful. Also, some cognitive therapists seem to not believe so much in the importance of the therapeutic relationship, which feels really critical to me. But that's just me. The studies that show cognitive therapy working well for depression usually study a straight CT approach.
I wish you a lot of luck in whatever comes next for you. Your original post sounded really painful. I hope that you are able to find some relief.
pegasus
poster:pegasus
thread:356656
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20040614/msgs/357075.html