Guest guest Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 I don't know. OCD and logic do not work together ... at all! Subject: Went to new therapist To: Date: Thursday, July 7, 2011, 11:08 AM  Last Sunday we went to a new therapist. The three of us (DD, DH, me) sat with her and explained some of her issues and history. This took 1/2 hour. Therapist then met with DD on her own for 1/2 hour. DD didn't want to be left alone with therapist, but we made her do it anyway. After that we were only able to close up/pay. The therapist wants DD to keep a journal of her anxiety moments and bring with her next weekend. She says she is going to approach her issues with logic. I thought, uh-oh, we've tried logic and it doesn't work. I had hoped to do 15 minutes before and 15 after with the therapist, but it didn't work that way. She did not mention CBT or ERP. What do you all think about this? I didn't specifically nail her on it either. Now, DD did like her. DH and I liked her also, for what that's worth. When I was looking for a therapist I kept finding many who mentioned " Christian " in part of their description. Since we are not Christians, I had to skip by those. The therapist we're seeing met us in the middle of the day on Sunday, and has an Indian first name. This makes for a better fit for our family, since we don't believe in any religion. I'm hoping this lady will work out, but I guess I have to be prepared to find someone else if things don't look good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 Maybe she just wants to use logic to figure out which issues to tackle first based on what your daughter puts in her journal?? Not acutally try to 'treat' the OCD with logic. Good luck! Dani > > Last Sunday we went to a new therapist. The three of us (DD, DH, me) sat with her and explained some of her issues and history. This took 1/2 hour. Therapist then met with DD on her own for 1/2 hour. DD didn't want to be left alone with therapist, but we made her do it anyway. After that we were only able to close up/pay. The therapist wants DD to keep a journal of her anxiety moments and bring with her next weekend. She says she is going to approach her issues with logic. I thought, uh-oh, we've tried logic and it doesn't work. I had hoped to do 15 minutes before and 15 after with the therapist, but it didn't work that way. She did not mention CBT or ERP. What do you all think about this? I didn't specifically nail her on it either. > Now, DD did like her. DH and I liked her also, for what that's worth. When I was looking for a therapist I kept finding many who mentioned " Christian " in part of their description. Since we are not Christians, I had to skip by those. The therapist we're seeing met us in the middle of the day on Sunday, and has an Indian first name. This makes for a better fit for our family, since we don't believe in any religion. I'm hoping this lady will work out, but I guess I have to be prepared to find someone else if things don't look good. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 I think you should ask if she uses CBT/ERP so you don't waste any time if she doesn't. Also ask for examples of how she will do it. We wasted time with my son's first therapist who said she did both CBT and ERP, but it really wasn't. Her idea of CBT was more like talk therapy, using logic, which didn't work. (Example - she told my son, who had a fear of lead poisoning from pencils, to just tell the OCD that pencils don't have lead anymore. It's not that simple!) And when I asked her when she would start working on exposures with my son, she said that every time she talks with him about what causes him anxiety, she is exposing him. His current therapist is wonderful. She uses both imaginary exposures (loop tapes), and real life exposures. I also keep in contact with her through email, to let her know how my son is doing, and if I have any questions. That way, she can devote the entire session to my son. Best of luck to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 I don't see anything wrong in writing down anxious thoughts if your daughter is able to do that. CBT involves cognitive restructuring wherein you correct the faulty thinking that has to do with what you do about how thoughts make you feel or how feelings make you think. This is good to use for people with generalized anxiety or other anxiety disorders (not necessarily OCD). However, it doesn't seem like she is looking at a hierarchy for ERP so I would ask her what her plans are to make sure that ERP is part of them - otherwise, it may not be a useful approach. Bonnie > > Last Sunday we went to a new therapist. The three of us (DD, DH, me) sat with her and explained some of her issues and history. This took 1/2 hour. Therapist then met with DD on her own for 1/2 hour. DD didn't want to be left alone with therapist, but we made her do it anyway. After that we were only able to close up/pay. The therapist wants DD to keep a journal of her anxiety moments and bring with her next weekend. She says she is going to approach her issues with logic. I thought, uh-oh, we've tried logic and it doesn't work. I had hoped to do 15 minutes before and 15 after with the therapist, but it didn't work that way. She did not mention CBT or ERP. What do you all think about this? I didn't specifically nail her on it either. > Now, DD did like her. DH and I liked her also, for what that's worth. When I was looking for a therapist I kept finding many who mentioned " Christian " in part of their description. Since we are not Christians, I had to skip by those. The therapist we're seeing met us in the middle of the day on Sunday, and has an Indian first name. This makes for a better fit for our family, since we don't believe in any religion. I'm hoping this lady will work out, but I guess I have to be prepared to find someone else if things don't look good. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 Oh...as someone said, logic doesn't work with treating OCD. BUT - maybe talking about the illogic of it and having to " report " to the therapist might motivate her to " not listen " to some OCD demands. As Bonnie said, having her write down her anxiety moments isn't a bad idea. It's how they will treat the OCD that's important. A lot of therapists do CBT because it is used so much with mental health issues. But CBT for, say, depression, isn't the same as CBT for OCD, the CBT needs to be specific to treating OCD, so the therapist's understanding of OCD treatment is really important. That's great that you all liked her, so I'd give it a bit more time, see how the next 2 sessions go, then maybe get with her to ask about the therapy if it doesn't seem to be going in the right direction for treating OCD. Here's an excerpt about CBT and how it's used: " CBT has been shown to be as useful as antidepressant medication for individuals with depression and is superior in preventing relapse. Patients receiving CBT for depression are encouraged to schedule activities in order to increase the amount of pleasure they experience. In addition, depressed patients learn how to restructure negative thought patterns in order to interpret their environment in a less biased way. CBT for Bipolar Disorder is used as an adjunct to medication treatment and focuses on psychoeducation about the disorder and understanding cues and triggers for relapse. Studies indicate that patients who receive CBT in addition to treatment with medication have better outcomes than patients who do not receive CBT as an adjunctive treatment. CBT is also a useful treatment for anxiety disorders. Patients who experience persistent panic attacks are encouraged to test out beliefs they have related to such attacks, such as specific fears related to bodily sensations, and to develop realistic responses to such beliefs. This treatment is very effective for those who experience such problems. Patients who experience obsessions and compulsions are guided to expose themselves to what they fear and beliefs surrounding their fears are identified and modified. The same is true for people with phobias, including phobias of animals or phobias of evaluation by others (termed Social Phobia). Those in treatment are exposed to what they fear and beliefs that have served to maintain such fears are targeted for modification. " http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=About_Treatments_and_Supports & template=\ /ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm & ContentID=7952 Hope this helps, keep us updated!!!! > > Last Sunday we went to a new therapist. The three of us (DD, DH, me) sat with her and explained some of her issues and history. This took 1/2 hour. Therapist then met with DD on her own for 1/2 hour. DD didn't want to be left alone with therapist, but we made her do it anyway. After that we were only able to close up/pay. The therapist wants DD to keep a journal of her anxiety moments and bring with her next weekend. She says she is going to approach her issues with logic. I thought, uh-oh, we've tried logic and it doesn't work. I had Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 8, 2011 Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 I agree with this. If the therapist doesn't do CBT/ERP ( & doesn't do it right), I wouldn't bother & would immediately search for a new therapist. Logic approach was/is a waste of time for us, 'cause OCD makes no sense. The 1st psychiatrist I took my daughter to decided she was depressed & treatment was going to be " talk " and medication. I had read some books on OCD & suspected that my daughter had it. I knew from reading those books that " talk " wasn't the recommended treatment, so I searched for someone that did what the books recommended. Writing anxious thoughts could help with forming a hierarchy of things to work on (behaviors, thoughts, rituals, etc.). It's not a cure for OCD though & just talking about anxiety won't fix OCD. Good luck to you & hope you find a wonderful therapist that can really help the OCD. , I had to laugh about the pencil example. Wow. So glad you found a better therapist. Our therapist also does real and imaginary exposures. Nice to hear we are doing things similar to other therapists. Dot > > > > I think you should ask if she uses CBT/ERP so you don't waste any time if she doesn't. Also ask for examples of how she will do it. We wasted time with my son's first therapist who said she did both CBT and ERP, but it really wasn't. Her idea of CBT was more like talk therapy, using logic, which didn't work. (Example - she told my son, who had a fear of lead poisoning from pencils, to just tell the OCD that pencils don't have lead anymore. It's not that simple!) And when I asked her when she would start working on exposures with my son, she said that every time she talks with him about what causes him anxiety, she is exposing him. > > His current therapist is wonderful. She uses both imaginary exposures (loop tapes), and real life exposures. I also keep in contact with her through email, to let her know how my son is doing, and if I have any questions. That way, she can devote the entire session to my son. > > Best of luck to you. > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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