Prolonged exposure t couldn't answer a simple question

[Dana1010]

Have you done any exposure work using your trauma narrative, @Dana1010?

I mean we've talked about the traumas, and we singled out a particular memory to work on. But it's only been two sessions. I think this would be covered in the imaginal exposure. I guess I'm not sure what you mean.

Some of my hardest stressors and triggers took years to sort out.

And I wonder if this is because the "trigger" is something that is just plain terrifying to begin with.

Like some of my triggers are just plain scary/disgusting/repulsive to me and to anyone, even if they were never traumatized by them. It makes me wonder how far I can get with those.

I also want to mention that the PE mobile application the therapist had me download is beyond glitchy. Part of the program involved recording sessions with the app to listen to later in the week. Last session, the recorder simply didn't work. It played back a loud static noise. This really pissed me off, because we covered major issues in that session.

I went online and read the app reviews, and literally every single one mentioned recording issues. Um. I feel like she should have known about this.

She called it a glitch. No, slow loading is a glitch. This thing simply doesn't do what it's supposed to do.

It's the only app off its kind as far as I know.

 

[Justmehere]

With every therapist you have posted about, you have found something to not like about the therapist very quickly. You have generally found them to be stupid, incompetent, unhelpful, etc. And you have run into some crap therapists.

Would it be nice if your therapist was more skilled in technology, especially the tech she recommends using? Sure. Absolutely. Should she have a solid well tested way of doing the therapeutic work? Yep. Of course.

Is your recovery dependent on a crappy application working? No.

And that's where I think the rubber meets the road.

I think you are pushing away getting help as a defense mechanism to push away dealing with the real pain you are in. You have a legit right to be frustrated the recording failed and she recommended that app instead of something more reliable. Even the best tech will fail at times, and so will therapists. Any form of treatment and therapy is going to have problems and issues that come up along the way. The challenge for the therapist and client is to build a working relationship to get through the bumps to do the work of healing. I think you may be walking into these brand new theraputic relationships already so frustrated from past bad experiences, that therapists get defensive from the get go, perhaps downplay concerns out of their defensiveness, then you feel invalidated and around and around it goes? That seems like what could be happening here with how much she downplays your concerns.

And you end up more stuck than frustrated than ever, and feeling like the real issues are not being dealt with, because you're right. The real issues are not being dealt with. The app isn't the real issue. Your need to recover is the real issue.

I think you may need to try something different with how you handle concerns and problems that come up and trying to establish a new therapeutic relationship.

Instead of challenging them, try turning the tables on them. It's a DBT technique. Ask them her how she recommends moving forward in light of the application not being reliable and your need for reliability? put the ball in her court in a way that invites a response on how to move forward.

The type of PE that uses a voice recorder can be done with even a plain digital voice recorder and no apps. Most smart phones have one built in. (That's how I recorded sessions for PE use.) It might be a little bit more work for the user, and requires a little bit more psychoeducation about how long exposure therapy works. When I did PE in an intensive trauma program, we used old school cassette tapes. No joke. It worked.

 

[Dana1010]

You have generally found them to be stupid, incompetent, unhelpful, etc.

Most therapists are stupid, incompetent, unhelpful, etc, especially the ones the public health system will give you for free. You may not appreciate this if you have always been able to vet through top psychologists before selecting one.

Is your recovery dependent on a crappy application working? No.

According to the protocols of this program, it is dependent on repeated exposure through recordings and homework and SUDS tracking, all of which are dependent on the app working.

I think you may be walking into these brand new theraputic relationships already so frustrated from past bad experiences, that therapists get defensive from the get go, perhaps downplay concerns out of their defensiveness, then you feel invalidated and around and around it goes?

This doesn't resonate. I usually go in very hopeful that this will be the one that doesn't suck, finally.

And I'm not saying that this therapist sucks. I had no problem with her until the app thing happened.

The app isn't the real issue. Your need to recover is the real issue.

Again, they are linked in this particular program. It lasts only 12 weeks, so you don't have a lot of room to mess up.