CBT, good or bad or was it just mine who was crap?

[Jami83]

I have struggled with emet for 22 of my 27 years. It got worse when I was 18-19 so I started on meds. Ivé been seeing therapist at every school and grade that Ivè been in. When I was 21 I started in CBT. I think it was about 10 sessions or something. I was so happy "this is the answer, this is my rescue". The therapist said that the goal with cbt is to eventually v*. Afterwards I heard people say that the goal is not to v* , it`s to feel ok with the thought of it, to learn to control the anxiety and the fear. And you don`t have to v* to learn that.

To sum up a long story, on the 8 session my therapist gave med Ipacec (stuff that makes you v*). But as an emet who almost lack of gag-reflex It took 2-3 hours before I v* instead of the 15-20 min she said It was going to take. She had to send me home with worse n* ever, she was like "ok, I have to get home, your on your own".My dad came to pick me up and I did the thing I dread the most, locked up in a moving car that`s turns and rocks while your in panic and n*. I did v* about an hour after I came home. I was so sick, threw up maybe 4 times and the Ipacec had gone so far through my body that my bowels was out of order for like 2 days after. Not the Easy piece of cake my therapist said It would be. Although Im really proud that I actually did it. Can u imaginge holding that little cup of Ipacec, knowing whats going to happen when u drink it, I cringe with fear looking back.

Anywas I wasn`t that traumatized after cos I hadn`t been sick with a virus, it was something I had controlled but my therapist said that It obviously didn`t work on me as it should and that I shouldn`t take Ipacec again....like ever. And then I had 1 session and the she was like "bye bye, your time is up, sorry".

That was the last time I went to therapY but I have come up with ways to manage the emet so I actually feel better now, despite of the bad CBT-drama and my hope and faith in therapy being crushed. Nowaday I try to cure myself with just challenge myself with eating out, travelling alot and doing pretty much everything my brain tells me not to do in order to not get exposed. Although I stay away from people when they are s*, Im not there yet with total exposure.

Was that a normal CBT?? How did CBT work out for you?

take care/jami

[KaydeeJayde]

My CBT has been amazing so far, it's been all about breathing and learning to normalise my breathing and my anxiety levels. If you read my thread "Pet Therapy and CBT", I've recorded a lot of exercises that I've been told to do as well as some helpful info. I'm sorry that your therapist made you throw up, I'm sure Sage would have some issues with that!! :O I don't find that healthy treatment at all. I don't think it's a normal CBT treatment at all.

[sage]

haha Kaydee I sure do! omg Jami I'm so sorry you had to go through that! It's just so sad that there isn't anything out there in the way of information let alone training of therapists. They come up with their own wacky ideas about how to make someone better. It's a wonder the whole event didn't further traumatize you to vomiting.
CBT is not all like that, and the CBT I do with clients is about gradually exposing yourself to words, pictures, sounds, videos....i.e., working at LOW levels of anxiety until you can control your anxiety, rather than having it control you. People normally take on average 20 sessions to feel anxiety-free. Others come for 10 or more sessions and feel like they can live their lives without constant worry.
Anyway, perhaps your therapist could benefit from going to my resource page and using the various resources there. Or find another therapist who will!
All the best!

[grrlga30]

Mine is not like that at all. She doesnt believe that exposure treatment works for everyone, so we will not be doing that, and i know that does not work for me, i have 2 kids, i have plenty of exposure. We are working on relaxing, and living in the now, and how the brain works. And the one that is helping tons so far is re dirceting thoughts.

[mizzy316]

My therapist was a kn**. She was basically, this is what WE are going to do, no consideration for me, no questions, not making an effort to know me.

I just try and use the mood gym now.

[Embramp]

I'm so sorry you had to go through that! Although I guess like you said, at least now you know you can do it!

But still, CBT shouldn't be like that at all. It's about showing you that some thoughts are irrational and therefore lead to irrational behaviour. Then once you've recognized this, you can try to make these thoughts and behaviours more rational. That's what I've learnt on my degree so far anyway lol.

I've had about 8 sessions of CBT myself now and my therapist is also using exposure therapy, but not at all to that extreme. He said that I need to do experiments that take me out of my comfort zone, but we come up with those together so I don't feel like I have to do things that I'm really uncomfortable with. We've also looked at Sage's resource website (thanks Sage!!) and he's told me that I can work through those stages along with some of my own, such as buying fake v* to familiarize myself with the thing that I've been avoiding for 10 years and bring down my overall anxiety levels, but this will never involve inducing v*!

I'm glad you've found things that work for you now

x

[jmdonofrio]

I'm so sorry you had a therapist who did that to you. That certainly isn't the way to go about handling this phobia.

I have a great CBT therapist who is moving at my pace and said she will never make me V* if I don't want to. That's not the point of the therapy. It's to adjust and redirect the way I think.

I hope you can find a different therapist who can better help you. Don't let this one experience turn you off!

[sage]

Folks are quite right - it's the "behavioral" part of CBT that involves gradual desensitization techniques. The "cognitive" part is equally important. Training your brain to really integrate the thought that "vomiting is not dangerous" is difficult, but not impossible. Every emet knows this, on one level, but we get mixed-messages from our brains as well that we're in horrible danger. And that's unbelievably scary! But teaching the scared part of our brains the logic is definitely possible. Difficult and it takes a while, but it's possible.