Posted by likelife on February 5, 2003, at 1:47:10
Reading some of the posts here got me thinking about the cyclical nature of therapy. I know I've read the term 'cyclotherapy' somewhere, referring to the idea that issues that come up in therapy just seem to keep coming up, perhaps in slightly different forms, but the rough content is the same.
I know I've experienced this in my therapy, and it drives me crazy, because it makes me feel as if I'm making very little progress. I know overall that the loops don't just circle back on themselves; that there is some forward movement as well, but it's frustrating nonetheless. I've brought it up numerous times with my therapist, usually under the guise of asking whether she's getting sick of hearing the same things over and over again. She continues to tell me that she will repeat the same messages to me, in a consistent manner, until I start to believe some of them myself.
Why is it that there are some things we just can't make ourselves believe, even when there is a preponderence of evidence that they are true? Is this some kind of cognitive impairment? My therapy has been mostly of the CBT variety, which I admit also drives me somewhat crazy. I can achieve an intellectual understanding of the concepts--yes, my thoughts affect my moods--but it hasn't helped me much in changing those thoughts.
Just rambling now. Does this sound familiar to anyone?
poster:likelife
thread:2500
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20030203/msgs/2500.html