Posted by gardenergirl on December 28, 2003, at 0:01:55
In reply to Re: Therapist Orientation? CBT or psychodynamic? » gardenergirl, posted by mattdds on December 26, 2003, at 17:59:34
This is a great thread! To answer your questions and perhaps respond to later posts at the same time...
>
> I just had a question about that statement. I was unclear about a couple of things. How does being "introspective" relate to the type of therapy that will work? Also...introspective as opposed to what?By introspective, I meant that I tend to turn inward in understanding myself and my world. I use this in opposition to extroversion, which to me means turning to the external world--other's reactions to you and/or your reactions, your own experience of your actions and their effects, etc. It's somewhat hard to describe at this time of night. I don't mean that introspective is deeper or superior to extroversion. Rather I view them as two processing styles which exist on a continuum.
> Also, what do you mean by "feeling-oriented"?
By feeling-oriented, I refer to my own tendency to emphasize and experience my feelings more so than my thoughts. If something does not engage me emotionally, it does not seem to stimulate me as much as when affect is involved. I believe this is why I felt so dissatisfied with my brief experience with CBT--I kept wondering "Is this all there is?"
In my training, I am often torn between working with the affect and feelings presented in exploring past experiences as they relate to the current Self or focusing on irrational beliefs and maladaptive behaviors. My supervisor and I would focus on very different things when reviewing my sessions in supervision. In searching for a model which incorporates both the experiencing and exploration of affect and the associated cognitive aspects, I found the Process-experiential approach.
This approach emphasizes that we are all composed of cognitive-affective schemes or combinations of thoughts and feelings related to our past experiences. These are constantly being revamped and reconstructed as we encounter experiences which may conflict with our schemes or may validate them. What I like best about this type of therapy is that it focuses on the experiencing and exploration of emotion, but also adds the cognitive aspect of it. Because we all attempt to make sense out of our feelings and experiences. This involves using cognition to label and associate the feeling with the concurrent event. We did this in the past, and we continue to do this. What may have made sense in the past, such as the child of an alcoholic learning to suppress negative feelings in order to avoid setting off the intoxicated parent and risking a beating, is maladaptive in the present when faced with justifiable anger say towards the drycleaner who ruined your skirt. If the adult with the maladaptive scheme represses the anger instead of assertively communicating with the drycleaner, they are less likely to get their needs met. This can then lead to feelings of hopelessness or resentment, depending on the current construction of the scheme. It seems like in this approach you are processing on a more effective level versus focusing on one or the other, cogntitions or emotions.
> In short, what I used to call introspection, I now call rumination.I would agree with your calling it rumination. In viewing introspection/extroversion on a continuum, I tend to think that if one focuses most on just one end of the spectrum, i.e. ruminating in order to avoid action or acting in order to avoid thinking, then it may be likely to cause problems. But then my current path for my own life is to become more balanced in all aspects and to focus on being in the moment more. To that end, yoga and meditation have helped me to focus on my current experiences. This is leading me to ruminate less (I did/do that too!) and to value each moment more. But that is what's working for me.
As has been said by many--we are all different, and thus it's good that there are many approaches to the same goals.
Thanks for starting this thread and for stimulating my thinking about why I am doing what I am doing.
Happy new year to all!
g
poster:gardenergirl
thread:293462
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20031221/msgs/293915.html