Posted by fallsfall on November 26, 2003, at 18:47:25
In reply to Wounded by family...is it hopeless?, posted by Shannon00 on November 25, 2003, at 22:01:05
Invalidation is extremely painful. But it is not hopeless.
Has your therapist given you a diagnosis? That helped me to focus on what my core issues were. Taking online tests is fun, but please take them with a grain of salt - the online tests and my therapist have often disagreed (and I would rather trust my therapist).
I believe that, if you are motivated, issues related to most childhood traumas can be improved by therapy. But I also believe that for some people one kind of therapy can be more effective than another.
I had invalidation in my childhood (my mother just doesn't "get" emotions, and my dad was a workaholic so he didn't contribute much). I have been diagnosed as borderline (which, according to Marsha Linehan, is often caused by invalidation). The highest rated therapy for BPD is DBT - which is a variant of CBT. I took the DBT skills training class, and I did find it helpful. But the 8 1/2 years of CBT that I had, plus the DBT class, didn't fix my problem. I finally switched to Psychodynamic, which DOES go back to the childhood stuff, and - FOR ME - I think it will work better. Even though the CBT/DBT model is supposed to work better for the illness I have.
So, no! Don't give up hope. But be willing to be flexible about the solution (CBT vs. Psychodynamic, male vs. female therapist, meds vs. no meds) - if you find that the solution you try first isn't working for you.
poster:fallsfall
thread:283842
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20031124/msgs/284239.html