OliverThaCat Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 Hi... I haven't posted on here before but am in desperate need of advice... I was diagnosed with PD in October and went for my two assessments for treatment over the last two weeks. Now, I thought it was going to be for individual therapy but it turned out it was going to be two full days of treatment with Mentalized Based Treatment at it's core for a year and a half. I have limited understanding about this treatment, but from the research I have done, it sounds like counselling... Has anyone received or is going through this treatment? My concerns are that I've had countless counsellors over my life and I grew to hate them as they didn't offer me anything to help me get better... I am currently paying for a CBT therapist who I have a great relationship with and I am responding well to the treatment but I can't afford it anymore and the MBT is on the NHS. The CBT works so well for me because it offers coping techniques... from what I know, MBT offers, well, talking... Thanks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starryeyesee Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 Hi and welcome to the forum I don't know anything about this therapy so can't really advise you except to suggest that you speak to your gp or pdoc and let them know how well the cbt is working. I have just started on 6 sessions with a well being practitioner and she is really good at the practical advice but has not even reached the tip of the iceberg as far as my other mental health issues are concerned. .I hope things work out for you. starry xxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickle59 Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 (((OliverThaCat))) Mmmm.........Just looked it up...............Looks very very interesting, and just to reassure you, I have been having psychodynamic therapy over this last year, and it has been like no other therapy I have ever experienced. Most other therapies I have had, including CBT which like you I found very helpful and practically useful, but none of these including CBT looked at my current coping mechanisms or lack of, and the therapy works towards understanding why I behave and react the way I do, rather than just trying to change the feelings and thinking for something else before understanding why I act and feel the way I do, prior to change.. It's been more about understanding why I am the way I am and how I got to this point. Does this make any sense? Mbt I read is an ''innovative'' type of psychodynamic therapy...........I dont know what difference ''innovative'' brings into the therapy. I would really consider sticking with this, because though scarey and unknown, it will be about much more than talking............How it works is very subtle, and I can vouch for it, though I hated how it made me feel for really quite a few months, but I've made more progress in understanding myself and accepting myself in a loving way than I ever have before..........Hope this will help you a little.xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine001 Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 Personally I think its one of the best therapies for PDs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OliverThaCat Posted March 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 Thank you all for the replies... This is such a hard decision for me to make. Starry, my GP is hopeless. It took them 10 years to actually refer me for an assessment to find out what was actually wrong with me and that was only because I demanded it as I thought I had bipolar... but I guess it's worth a shot... Pickle, I completely understand what you are saying and the thing is I already know why I think and behave the way I do. I have become so aware that it is unreal. The jist I got from the assessments is that they start at what they think is the root of the problems - a weak sense of self. But I'm not sure how they go about changing that... I asked so many questions but they were so vague... It's comforting to know that you are going through a similar therapy as I seriously have my doubts. I have a somewhat understanding of the origins of my problems but more so an awareness of how I think and react in the present...if that makes sense. I think I know why I'm like I am but I have not accepted it...I'm very much used to structure and being able to see my progress on paper and being given challenges to do outside of sessions... but the therapist said in my assessment that there is no structure to this treatment and it scares me.. I've been waiting for help for the most part of my life and I just want it to be the right treatment. I know this is a tricky question, but what steps do they take in order for you to understand and accept yourself? What does the treatment actually consist of? Feel like I've been climbing a mountain my whole life and when I got the letter saying I would get treatment, I thought "finally, this is it. I can fix my broken self" and now I feel like this is another mountain to climb :'( Christine, thank you for replying - have you been through this type of treatment? xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickle59 Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 (((OliverThaCat))) The hardest thing about this therapy for me was the lack of doing!!! It is about being and not doing.........and that I found very very difficult............I suspect you might find this hard too, but it really is worth sticking with it and going with it (((OCT))) One of the things I am thinking is maybe they will guide you into looking into you and seeing and realising why you have a weak sense of self............Whats behind it............help you to explore and find the root issues as to why you have a weak sense of self. I'm used to seeing progress and being given things to do between sessions. This was hard for me to understand why they didn't want me to do anything inbetween............so I hear where you are coming from. All I do know, is that since starting this therapy, and mentioning to people what sort of therapy it is and how difficult I was finding it, I found several people who were in this type of therapy too, and all of their thoughts around it were stick with it, it will be worth it, and takes at least a year or maybe 18 months before you start to feel the positive effects. So I stuck with it, and i now understand what they mean, coming up to nearly a year. So many things are making sense now, but it does take time.xxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OliverThaCat Posted March 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Pickle, I think that will be the most difficult thing for me - the lack of doing and rather being. It sounds like a treatment that is definitely going to take time to work. With the CBT I have it works with the idea that we do not need to change who we are, because we were always emotionally vulnerable and life experiences developed the BPD. Rather, the CBT works in ways to modify your thoughts, feelings and behaviour. With the MBT, I get the feeling that it will try to change the person I really am... I don't know. Confused thoughts and it's getting me down. Sometimes I really think this treatment will work for me and other times I just want to scream. Another factor is that the treatment is over the course of 2 or 3 full days over 18 months where it includes individual and group therapy alternating every other week, drama therapy, community meetings, creative writing... I was merely looking for individual therapy where I could go once a week so when they dropped this on me, I felt that the walls were closing in. I have a full time job, am struggling with money and I can't afford to lose 2 or 3 FULL DAY'S pay. I feel like I'm hitting a brick wall. Do you just have individual therapy? xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OliverThaCat Posted March 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Btw, what region are you in to get your treatment? xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickle59 Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 (((OliverThaCat))) Yes I do just have individual therapy and I am in South East London. The therapy just to to reassure you has not tried to change the person I already am.xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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