Question re: DBT

[PRFL]

So, I saw the alternate counselor this morning, she took a lot of time to explain the DBT approach.
I'm willing to give it a try, but I remain very skeptical. It sounds too much like a cookbook.
The goal is supposedly helping me regulate my emotions (because I'm dysregulated) so I can go back to therapy.
I remain skeptical that this will do any good but I have no other options.
Also, if it's supposedly so good, then what's the point of going back on therapy when this is done? We're looking about about 6 weeks of DBT to "prepare me for therapy" If I could learn to regulate my emotions, that's wonderful, but then why the need for therapy?
6 weeks sounds like an awfully short time to change my lifetime distorted thinking patterns.
So, anybody experienced with this can give me some perspective?
I want this to work but I'm fearful that it won't, so it might help to hear how it can work for other people.
Thanks

Edited to add:
I've been reading about CBT and I'm even more doubtful and cynical and hopeless. How on earth is this supposed to work? I've tried so much of this stuff already, and it seems preposterous that by following this cookbook I'll feel better in 6 weeks. My gut is screaming at me that "this crap ain't going to work!" I'm starting to feel slightly insulted that these silly exercises will be of any help, after already trying so many of them in the past. It seems like a compilation of tools I've already tried in my past, so it feels like I'm just rearranging things.

I know, my attitude is horrible and I'm making things worse for myself. I'm feeling like a porcupine right now and that's not fair to those that are trying to help me.

I just trying to get some sense of perspective and some encouragement.
Thanks

 

[PRFL]

One additional question, somewhat unrelated:
I think I really need to start on antidepressants, this has gone on too long and I feel I'm stuck in a mud hole. I'm not sure if I should pursue this now or wait until later. Since i'm going to get started in DBT therapy, I'm concerned that if I feel better I won't be able to know if it's from the medication or the DBT. I don't want to deal with medication's side effects if I don't have to, but I also don't want to waste my time on a therapy modality that may not work for me. For now, I'm inclined to hold off on medication a bit longer. I see the counselor again at the end of next week, but just thought I'd get some input around here.
Thanks!

 

[blacken]

I use CBT and other approaches, with my clients. I'm not trained in DBT, yet some of my client have reported it helped. There is significant research that supports DBT's use, especially with Suicidal Ideation and cutting, among other issues.
A common issue with any therapeutic approach you look up is that the definition is generalized, regardless of how detailed the explanation is. A therapist, personalizes its use for each individual client's needs. We Meet the client where they are and adapt the Therapeutic- approach to the client. When you read about it, it is like you are trying to do the opposite and typically you don't really get far..

There is no one approach that works with everyone, or with all issues.
A Therapist is trained in the Application of the Therapeutic-approach. It is Not the same as reading a self-help book, of even a technical journal. And no one can really be expected to treat themselves. Will you set your broken leg yourself? Likely not. Why? Because you can't separate yourself from the physical pain. Therapy works like this too. You can't counsel yourself because you can't separate yourself from the emotion pain. We humans can't express strong emotions and balance our checkbook at the same time. Only one side of our brain can be dominant.

As for medication. Medication used to manage depression or anxiety serves a different purpose than bipolar.
Depression meds help take the edge off the symptoms so you can get better effects from the counseling. And they are really intended for temporary use. Bipolar isn't something we can cure, we try to level off the highs and lows of the moods we may experience, and you will likely have to take them the rest of your life..

We all go through stages as we try to decide on a course of action. (the first 2 of the 6 are) Pre-contemplative = not really having the insight that you need help. Contemplative = some insight, kind of considering it, feeling it out, yet may see more negatives than positives...sound like where you are at. So in other words, it's expected that you are thinking this way. That doesn't mean DBT won't be helpful.

Hope this helps
~Paul/blacken

 

[Ceremony]

Hi PRFL, I have had all the thoughts in your thread, including blacken's. I recall you've had a lot of therapy on and off. I too have had the same. It's only been since I found a focus upon what hit me with CSA that I've finally found any results in therapy. I've also had 19 yrs of sobriety as of tomorrow, the 20th. That adds to what I've been exposed to, meaning the 12 step work, and AlAnon. I want to note that I've not been to meetings for about 4-6 yrs; I can't recall. It's all this background, and then starting into ptsd, cptsd, dissociation, depression, EMDR, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, CBT, and learning my body reaction that many things are better understood. I am not stating easier to manage as a whole, but for me, understanding has equated to some added manageability.

I find the cycle of dysregulation for me, is tied to my ongoing depression and anxiety. I have to stay on my medications. I found intense insomnia and negative thinking without my medications. I take two. The 2nd was added this past December during a very painful bought of depression. I've noticed I still need it, so I'm not changing. If I know my cycles of up toward fight mode, or down toward flight mode get too intense again, I know I'm in trouble.

If that part above, noting my dysregulation seems to resonate, I want to share that the CBT and Sensorimotor skills my T taught me were over the course of therapy. Thinking about how much time she spent explaining them and showing me the skills, I think it would be 6-7 sessions. I'm hoping that helps you about the timeline that's been presented to you. I can imagine the kind of talks I had with my T, and I was benefited by her use of drawing some of what she meant, or having a handout about others. the dysregulation explained to me was best understood when she explained the "Window of Tolerance". To me, it described my cycling high and low, and not managing to stay within a tolerable range. I hope you'll Google "Window of Tolerance" to add that to what might be of interest? it helped me to have a graph that explained what my mind was doing in conjunction with my bodies reaction to stressors.

Early on I learned about how our brains wired differently because of Survival Mode. Many of us with ptsd and cptsd, along with other mental health issues, are very used to Survival Mode, and our brain is wired that way. To bring more Cognitive work into our thinking, or brain wiring, we practice some of the skills learned. Those were taught to me, and I have to practice them if I can, and work on it in sessions. My EMDR and other have helped me to partly gain some rewiring. Some practice I do at home helps too. The practice is not to be considered a self-made self-help routine, these were training I have done in session. I learned to recognize my bodies reactions to what my thinking is like, and if I'm in a good place, I hope I'll try to do something mindful and other. It's the other that is hard to explain, and probably best found in session, and not too much research on ones own.

I hope your therapist has some handouts for you, but also, I've hoped that sharing this with you gives you something extra that could be helpful with your DBT work? I hope something I've written seems to resonate, but at any rate, I've noticed your discomfort and hoped to join in being an ally as you work on what you need. Best wishes.

 

[PRFL]

Thanks, Ceremony and Blacken.
I wish I was more receptive to the DBT concept because it is so well thought out and makes a lot of sense.
Problem is, when I read the introductory hand out, I just want to scream in frustration that "this feel-good psychobabble BS ain't gonna work" and I actually feel insulted because I feel I'm being treated as a kindergardener.
Which is probably exactly the way I'm behaving.
I'm trying to understand why I'm so angry about this. I'm not normally an angry person, but for some reason I'm feeling threatened and triggered.
It may be that I have had so many failed therapy experiences by people that were well meaning and did what they were supposed to do, that it feels like more of the same.
At the same time, I know enough about depression that my thinking is likely to be impaired if my neurotransmitters are depleted. I feel like I'm in a fog. I recognize this place because I've been here before. So, as reluctant as I am, I'll try to see about getting on medication, and I hope this would clear up my thinking and make me more receptive to the therapy and DBT.
I wish I wasn't so negative. I just want to feel better, and this current path is not helping, in fact, I feel worse, and I don't know how much longer of this I can take. So, if medication gives me a necessary boost, then it may be a good idea to pursue it
I'm extremely appreciative of all the feedback, it really helps a lot.
Thanks!

 

[PRFL]

and I actually feel insulted because I feel I'm being treated as a kindergardener.

Just to clarify, I don't feel insulted by Blacken or Ceremony, sorry if it came across that way. I just feel the whole approach is insulting but I know I'm not the best judge right now to dismiss it as worthless.

 

[blacken]

Perhaps the "kindergartener" feeling is in response 'how could something so easy work after so much else has not' ?
A lot of therapy is in the delivery. Finding that connection that just 'feels right' with your T can make the difference between getting no-where & making progress that sticks.

 

[PRFL]

I feel conflicted because the delivery has been appropriate and by the book, but I keep feeling worse. I’m trying to look at my bad attitude and I think I need to get on meds because I feel I’m in a fog, so hopefully this may help me hear better what they are trying to tell me without my amygdala interfering.