Question about CBT therapy

[boi]

I was wondering about something. I am currently in CBT therapy. We never discuss things that have happened to me in my past. I would never bring it up and I am not asked. I know CBT focuses on the here and now. Should I bring up the past? I then question well why should I if I am so uncomfortable talking about it. I wish my therapist would ask me and bring it up. Should I be talking about it?

 

[Into The Light]

Re: question about CBT therapy

if it is something that is on your mind then yes. but it might not be resolved via cbt.

i did cbt to deal with my depression, and it dealt with the here and now. it helped lift me out of my depression for the most part but the past was still nagging at me. i have been working on that for quite some time now.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

The focus of CBT is on current negative thought patterns, rather than the past. Some therapists stop there - some don't. I use it as a way of helping a client acquire the skills to cope with the current crisis, and then, if they are willing and interested, look at the factors including past issues that led the client into the current crisis.

By all means talk to your therapist about this. It may well be that s/he is trying to help you get to a point where you will be able to cope with the stress and distress of what delving into your past may bring.

 

[boi]

thanks ITL and David,
Maybe I will just ask her as well. You could be right David, she is trying to bring me to a place where I can cope with that stress
thanks for the feedback

 

[Anti-Citrite]

I don't want to knock CBT, but my experience has been that the roots of most problems often run very deep. CBT can give you some good techniques on how to cope in the now. You have to really consciously decide to do it and you still don't really get why you are always pre-disposed to do things a certain way. The "Feeling Good" Handbook will not deal with the root of the problem and I think it simplifies bigger issues.

If you've spent 20 years thinking a certain way and have faulty belief systems - you likely don't even know why you fundamentally believe what you believe and how that thought/way of thinking got there. In this case "positive self talk" isn't going to cut it.

If you don't pull a weed at the root, it grows back - and spreads.

My two cents based on my own personal experiences with CBT.

 

[boi]

thanks for all your input.
I asked my therapist about it, and was very cool about it. I was very happy with the response. Basically, when I am ready I can talk about anything I want but its only when I am ready to do so. The ball is basically in my court. Now its a matter of getting the courage to talk about stuff that is very difficult for me.

thanks