Level 3 CBT

[Gromit]

Had a telephone assessment with local NHS mental Health services today.

My GP gave me the number, I wrang to see if there was any help to be had.

Apparently I show traits of PTSD and they recommend level 3 CBT, 12 weeks of one to one CBT looking at core beliefs, I think that is what it is, they will send me some information. The other suggestion, which is not on the NHS is psychodynamic counselling. (Which I had some mixed experiences with.)

I said yes to being on the waiting list.
I found the questions hard to answer, I remember my mother being scary, I remember being bullied at school and work, I get emotional flashbacks but there is no specific traumatic event or events and that is what they ask about.
The assessor was not impressed by my living with someone who triggers me, but what am I supposed to do? I am sure my OH doesn't mean to trigger me. I am just not good at coping with people who have a short fuse.
I also had the feeling that she felt I had become enmeshed with other people with the condition (CPTSD) so thought I had it too.

My T did warn me I might feel judged.

Enough of an introduction, has anyone tried level 3 CBT? For CPTSD or whatever I may have that leads me to places like this?

[Eyessoblue]

Hi, I'm from the uk too, and have got my help through the nhs. I'm not sure what level 3 means, I got diagnosed with PTSD and had 12 weeks of Cbt through the nhs, for me it was a total waste of time, I understood exactly what the therapist was saying and she was giving me suggestions on how to change my thought process etc which I found impossible to do and felt like I didn't achieve anything. I then went to a specialist trained trauma psychologist through the nhs and another waiting list, and she has been really good, I have been having a mixture of emdr and psychotherapy, the EMDR has worked really well for my trauma and I can't recommend it enough, you can get this on the nhs too which is great as it's very expensive to do it privately.

[Three Roses]

I've had CBT and I think it can be helpful to someone if they've never examined what their true, core beliefs are. It helps with the negative self talk because it can help you define that for yourself - challenging old, dysfunctional "rules" you're subconsciously carrying around and sort of rewriting the rules to suit you now.

But it won't help you learn how to fight an EF or discover your triggers, etc. Many therapists still see complex PTSD and simple PTSD as the same, so do be inquisitive about what your therapist believes about CPTSD. It's much more common than simple PTSD. If you've had multiple, interpersonal trauma that was purposeful and that you perceived to be inescapable, chances are you've got the complex variety.

I know I sound like a broken record about this book but reading "The Body Keeps The Score" is, imo, indispensable as a starting point of what is and is not trauma related. CBT helps you with your mind, yes; but much of our healing needs to also be addressed to the brain itself.

[Esmeralda]

Hi, I've had CBT on the NHS. I was referred due to my insomnia. My GP said they had a good programme for improving sleep, but when I spoke with my T it became apparent that I have so many other issues and we worked on several.

It is meant to help you change your thinking patterns for more positive ones.

I felt comfortable with my T, I felt he understood me and my problems. I never mentioned cptsd to him as it was a few years ago and I didn't know about it yet.

My CBT experience did not change my stress responses like insomnia, anxiety etc, but it did help me improve my confidence and self-esteem, so I consider it worthwhile.

What I had a bit of a problem with was that it was very structured and limited to only talking about my current difficulties and focusing on how to change my thinking about these difficulties. At the time I wished I could talk about other things, and more about my past, but since then I've had a short experience with psychodynamic psychotherapy and it wasn't helpful but that's possibly because of the particular T I was seeing (which you might remember from my thread).

[Gromit]

Hi, I'm from the uk too, and have got my help through the nhs. I'm not sure what level 3 means, I got diagnosed with PTSD and had 12 weeks of Cbt through the nhs, for me it was a total waste of time, I understood exactly what the therapist was saying and she was giving me suggestions on how to change my thought process etc which I found impossible to do and felt like I didn't achieve anything. I then went to a specialist trained trauma psychologist through the nhs and another waiting list, and she has been really good, I have been having a mixture of emdr and psychotherapy, the EMDR has worked really well for my trauma and I can't recommend it enough, you can get this on the nhs too which is great as it's very expensive to do it privately.

I think Level 3 is the first, & possibly only, point at which you see someone face to face.
The assessor didn't mention trauma but said I was not severe enough for EMDR.
CBT is all about examining  thought processes & looking at the evidence for them. If no evidence, then think this way instead. Easier said than done.
Glad the NHS is working for you.

[Gromit]

I've had CBT and I think it can be helpful to someone if they've never examined what their true, core beliefs are. It helps with the negative self talk because it can help you define that for yourself - challenging old, dysfunctional "rules" you're subconsciously carrying around and sort of rewriting the rules to suit you now.

But it won't help you learn how to fight an EF or discover your triggers, etc. Many therapists still see complex PTSD and simple PTSD as the same, so do be inquisitive about what your therapist believes about CPTSD. It's much more common than simple PTSD. If you've had multiple, interpersonal trauma that was purposeful and that you perceived to be inescapable, chances are you've got the complex variety.

I know I sound like a broken record about this book but reading "The Body Keeps The Score" is, imo, indispensable as a starting point of what is and is not trauma related. CBT helps you with your mind, yes; but much of our healing needs to also be addressed to the brain itself.

It was 'The Body Keeps the Score' that started me on this more focussed journey that led here. My T has read it too.

My T thinks the trauma may be pre-verbal, therefore not the kind that is easy to describe to an assessor who is looking for other things. I don't have specific events to talk about. Only the later bullying throughout school & beyond. Even that was inescapable in my opinion.

CBT can only look at the triggers which happen at the time, I guess, not past, or those yet to be discovered. I do try to challenge my thoughts but it is exhausting.

[Gromit]

Hi, I've had CBT on the NHS. I was referred due to my insomnia. My GP said they had a good programme for improving sleep, but when I spoke with my T it became apparent that I have so many other issues and we worked on several.

It is meant to help you change your thinking patterns for more positive ones.

I felt comfortable with my T, I felt he understood me and my problems. I never mentioned cptsd to him as it was a few years ago and I didn't know about it yet.

My CBT experience did not change my stress responses like insomnia, anxiety etc, but it did help me improve my confidence and self-esteem, so I consider it worthwhile.

What I had a bit of a problem with was that it was very structured and limited to only talking about my current difficulties and focusing on how to change my thinking about these difficulties. At the time I wished I could talk about other things, and more about my past, but since then I've had a short experience with psychodynamic psychotherapy and it wasn't helpful but that's possibly because of the particular T I was seeing (which you might remember from my thread).

I am sorry I did not respond to your Q to me in that thread, I need to follow threads I have responded to, which is why I am quoting this time.

Improving my confidence and self-esteem sounds good.

From your other thread your psychodynamic T sounds more like I would expect for that model than what I experienced. However, 1 thing stands out, they have an answer for everything. (Which is what my mother used to say about me, which is worrying.) My T in that model made me think of Black Swans. So much so I had to look it up. I had learnt about Karl Popper's theory of science and falsifiability in philosophy. It was to do with black swans. A theory which said no swans are black could be falsified if black swans were discovered. Therefore it was a good theory ( there are better explanations online), scientific theories (& I learnt last year that he specifically had Freud in mind when he formed this theory) which could not be falsified were pseudo science. And, what I found with my T, & it sounds like yours too, they were never wrong, they always had a plausible argument for what they were doing.

Instead of being a blank canvas, staying silent, my T was too talkative, & had strong opinions about what I needed. I did not feel listened to, or believed. But, it may just have been a bad match, other Ts using  that model might be good. Being in training in that model I found the set up rather 'cultish', but that may have been that specific organisation. I know there is a local psychodynamic counsellor who is doing some trauma work.