BloomInWinter
VIP Member
Nighthawk, I'm sorry you're dealing with these issues of trust and feelings of abandonment.
I can say from my own experience that when I chose to go along with what my therapy team thought I needed, I really saw a lot of change for the better in my symptoms and overall functioning. The skills I learned in DBT have been invaluable, but it certainly wasn't fun. I also quit after 18 months of it - or whatever the time was - but I also had arrived at a place where I felt I had learned what I could from the group.
Essentially, there was nothing intellectually challenging in my DBT group that would have prevented anyone I know from participating. That is, beyond the PTSD resistance/trust issues, but those are emotional. But each session we shared an issue that came up in our lives, and the DBT skills that could help with such a situation the next time were pointed out. Nothing intense. Certainly nothing more difficult than just participating on this board, mental-wise.
We had a few people in there with low IQs, some with very poor education, but the skills being taught are just commonsense things that anyone can do. Things I as a parent taught my children when they were babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and into the primary years. But I never was taught those things in my childhood so I had to practice them.
DBT is not a trauma-sharing group. Unless we reveal our diagnosis, nobody knows why we are there. We can always 'pass' if something is too triggering, and no issue is made of it. My issues were just being in a room with other people, heh.
You said your learning issues would require accommodation. Can I ask what you perceive you wouldn't be able to get or understand? Because you are far too smart to be beyond anything intellectually informing in DBT. I can record my individual therapy sessions but there's no way I'd have ever participated in any group which records any of us, so I can understand why that wouldn't be considered a "reasonable accommodation" as it would violate HIPAA here in the states.
Handling the emotions of physically sitting through the process was very challenging for me, especially at first. Once I learned that it's really just about learning some skills and doing some very basic practice, that helped.
Please don't sell yourself short because there is nothing you 'lack' cognitively that would prevent you from understanding the curriculum. As to the other barriers, only you know what your level of tolerance is.
I do hope you find the courage to express yourself to the therapist. You deserve to be heard, regardless of whether or not they agree.
I can say from my own experience that when I chose to go along with what my therapy team thought I needed, I really saw a lot of change for the better in my symptoms and overall functioning. The skills I learned in DBT have been invaluable, but it certainly wasn't fun. I also quit after 18 months of it - or whatever the time was - but I also had arrived at a place where I felt I had learned what I could from the group.
Essentially, there was nothing intellectually challenging in my DBT group that would have prevented anyone I know from participating. That is, beyond the PTSD resistance/trust issues, but those are emotional. But each session we shared an issue that came up in our lives, and the DBT skills that could help with such a situation the next time were pointed out. Nothing intense. Certainly nothing more difficult than just participating on this board, mental-wise.
We had a few people in there with low IQs, some with very poor education, but the skills being taught are just commonsense things that anyone can do. Things I as a parent taught my children when they were babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and into the primary years. But I never was taught those things in my childhood so I had to practice them.
DBT is not a trauma-sharing group. Unless we reveal our diagnosis, nobody knows why we are there. We can always 'pass' if something is too triggering, and no issue is made of it. My issues were just being in a room with other people, heh.
You said your learning issues would require accommodation. Can I ask what you perceive you wouldn't be able to get or understand? Because you are far too smart to be beyond anything intellectually informing in DBT. I can record my individual therapy sessions but there's no way I'd have ever participated in any group which records any of us, so I can understand why that wouldn't be considered a "reasonable accommodation" as it would violate HIPAA here in the states.
Handling the emotions of physically sitting through the process was very challenging for me, especially at first. Once I learned that it's really just about learning some skills and doing some very basic practice, that helped.
Please don't sell yourself short because there is nothing you 'lack' cognitively that would prevent you from understanding the curriculum. As to the other barriers, only you know what your level of tolerance is.
I do hope you find the courage to express yourself to the therapist. You deserve to be heard, regardless of whether or not they agree.
