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What to expect with CPT?

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I asked my new therapist for a formal evaluation to make sure what I'm experiencing is PTSD, and if it is she specializes in CPT. Anyone here have experience with this? She (new t) said it's pretty brutal and I prob won't like her very much some days lol. But anything is better than what I experience daily right now, sooooooo.....
 
I asked my new therapist for a formal evaluation to make sure what I'm experiencing is PTSD, and if it is she specializes in CPT.
Not all therapists are qualified/licensed to diagnose. That might seem like semantics, but it's actually pretty relevant.

Do you know if yours is?

Re: CPT...the criticisms are much the same as those for PE (prolonged exposure) - that the process is very emotionally stressful, that people often drop out if they are too symptomatic to begin with, that the protocol is too rigid and time-limited.
 
@joeylittle. Yes, I did my research on her before making an appt. She's a PhD'd psychotherapist with 10 years experience, 6 of which were exclusively treating PTSD. I research EVERYTHING, whether it's for fun or in this case, for my ability to function as normally as possible again.

Again, I'm not self-diagnosing, which is why I asked for an evaluation, which is also something I researched in my area and she luckily is qualified to administer the eval and then formulate a treatment plan. If it is PTSD, we'll be doing CPT. If not, guess that'll depend on the results of the eval as well.
 
I did CPT last year. I dropped out 4 sessions in because they were pushing too hard. WAY too hard. And I think one of my triggers is people insisting I do something I am not capable of doing.

It was almost like everything was done to purposely trigger. A for instance.
I live 3 hour drive from the place I do CPT at. I don't want to drive there in rush hour or it will be a nightmare. Also, parking is a problem at certain times. So there was a window of time that I could be fairly certain I wouldn't be stuck in traffic AND be able to get a parking spot.

Chick decides she is going to use this to prove a point and tells me she will not book our appts for that time anymore. I tell her I am not doing this to avoid a trigger, but rather it was a practical choice given the backflips I had to do to get there. No way, no how would she bend. I thought to myself that she was being pushy not to mention aggressive. It was like she was looking at me as a case of PTSD only not a human being with needs and preferences.

Having said that, they gave me a binder with all sorts of great tools in it. I used it all the time and it was terrific because I could go at my own pace. So the program was useful but the facilitator can change all of that, depending on how touchy you are.

I hope this is of some help to you.
 
You can google the CPT script if you want a preview. My experience was that the therapist had that script memorized.

My experience with CPT was that it was mechanical, and everything I did was regarded as a problem. Like @shimmerz mentionrd, any preference or idiosyncrasy that was just part of being human was labeled as a “problematic behavior”.

I finished it, but I was so much worse off than when I started. If I had a do-over, I wouldn’t have done it at all.
 
Thanks for the input, hopefully the good vibes I got from the therapist carry over into treatment. She seemed both pragmatic and compassionate, so I guess I'll just cross my fingers that my experience is beneficial? Idk, I'm still pissed that this is even a thing for me. Haven't made it to the acceptance phase yet, which is prob why I insisted on an evaluation instead of just accepting her opinion, my previous t's opinion, and my own as fact about having ptsd. Besides not wanting to do a difficult treatment if it's not appropriate. Blech.
 
any preference or idiosyncrasy that was just part of being human was labeled as a “problematic behavior”.

I finished it, but I was so much worse off than when I started. If I had a do-over, I wouldn’t have done it at all.
I'm now worried about this! My new therapist knows I don't want to do anything with homework... but he referenced Cognitive Processing Therapy.
I said that I wasn't comfortable with anything with a lot of rules. He said he combines techniques, and this is different from CBT or DBT. But I felt he was pushing me too much, and this makes me wonder. He was a little insistent the idea of exposing myself every single day.
At your suggestion, I googled and was overwhelmed by the information. Coming from plain old long-term Talk Therapy. I appreciate it. It's interesting. Prolonged Exposure was mentioned as well. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but I'm definitely looking into it before continuing.
 
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