Is My “therapist” Trying to Get Me to Engage in Thought Suppression?
Question by Aaron: Is my “therapist” trying to get me to engage in thought suppression?
I suffer from severe, and I do mean SEVERE, obsessive compulsive disorder. It’s all thought based, as in I worry in my head that I may have done something terrible despite tons of evidence do the contrary (not to mention a boatload of reassurance). I have read from numerous sources that trying to suppress your thoughts is ineffective and only leads to more problems in the long term. My “therapist” seems to be giving me completely ineffective “treatment”. She’ll tell me that whenever I have a thought come into my head, I should “recognize it for what it is, which is OCD” and tell it to go away and immediately think of something else. Isn’t this thought suppression? Because I have been doing this for months now and haven’t noticed ANYTHING different. In fact, it seems to be getting worse the past week or so. I have talked to my parents about this but they get frustrated because they’re honest to god the most impatient people you will ever meet in your life. So, is my therapist trying to get me to suppress my thoughts? Because if she is, then I think it’s time to find a therapist who has at least a marginal understanding of how to treat mental illness.
Best answer:
Answer by JoAnn
Thought stopping is a valued technique, and it is part of cognitive behavioral therapy that is one of the most effective modalities out there for your situation as long as you do your homework. It sounds like you are reading pop psychology and using that to sabotage your own therapy. Too bad. It sounds like maybe you don’t want to give up your dysfunction yet. Maybe you are scared. Stop second guessing your therapist. You are not the expert here. Get some humility and allow yourself to be vulnerable. Remember that the reason you are going to therapy is because your thinking is distorted right now by your own admission. Let the therapist guide you until you are more centered. Save your anger for yourself when you don’t do your homework completely enough. You’ve been having the same thinking patterns for years and it will take some time and effort on your part to fix it. Be patient and diligent. Good luck. It sounds like you need it.
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Overcoming anxiety 19 – 2nd therapist aptmt – My second therapist session. Had to do by phone because I got no sleep the night before.