Has anyone done cognitive behaviour therapy?

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Has anyone ever done this ?

Yes. I underwent CBT for self harm issues. It helped me a lot.

I have painful flashbacks and used to punch myself in the head when I had them.

I've mellowed a bit since then.

What does cognitive therapy entail and what about it do you think helped you?

Yes, I've done it, and found it mostly useless. Occasionally beneficial, occasionally harmful. The therapies that have produced positive change in me are EMDR, ego state therapy, somatic reprocessing, and hypnotherapy. EMDR is certainly the most powerful, the tactical nuke of therapies. But different people benefit from different approaches and the same person may benefit from multiple approaches at different times, so I think you have to experiment some. The more proficient psychologists will try different approaches until they find what works for you.

Yes I did it for a few years in the early 1990s a very long time before I even knew I was on the spectrum or sought a diagnosis. My therapist also was not aware of high functioning autism as it was before the time when even most professionals were aware. She assessed me instead to be operating under "lost child syndrome" which is a psychological make-up a dysfunctional family dynamic can produce. Uncannily, "lost child" patterns and traits eerily echo some traits shared by Asperger people and high functioning ASD.

As for the benefits of the CBT -- I found my particular therapist to be very good, and her methods effective for me at least in terms of the dysfunctional issues I was having that were general ones anyone might have. It's possible to have spectrum issues and then layered on top also other issues that any NT might have too when dealing with certain of life's challenges, as we still overlap with being human just like everyone.

It was all strictly talk-therapy and examination of my history and mindset and how unhealthy patterns and thinking impact my functioning. She was qualified to assess and I was diagnosed at the time with depression. Her talk therapy was very effective in getting me to see unhealthy patterns in my family dynamic and how they had impacted me; helping me to find better ways of dealing with situations in my life from the point of view of things like standing up for myself, not accepting poor treatment, etc -- these are things any person can struggle with not just someone one the spectrum, so, with those things I found her help very helpful.

Of course we never got to the bottom of spectrum issues because it just wasn't known. I would have been helped even more, and much more tailored to the real issues, if we had known.

I still feel I got enormous help despite that though. However, being that this was 23 years ago, I feel like I need a "top-up" of the strength she managed to inspire in me.

I've done over a 100 hours of CBT with mental health professionals. I have found it to be the most effective option for my social anxiety and OCD. With regards to depression, it's not as useful, because it's much more difficult to believe the balanced thoughts.

Hmm thanks guys

I'd very much like to, though I'm not sure I'll be able to find someone both qualified and willing to do it for the things I'm struggling with.

I went thru CBT; it really helps soothe a lot of your anxieties, and it makes you feel good to know that each time you work with your therapist you're furthering your healing. I unfortunately didn't get to go far in it because I lost my insurance coverage, but I can tell you that it was helping me. It changes your perception of a trigger that causes anxiety; it helps you 'unlearn' certain knee-jerk reactions to something that scares you or causes you anxiety. I was also going through EMDR which is what people with PTSD go through--it also helps you associate positive feelings/images with traumatic images in your head so that your flashbacks are no longer associated with negative/fearful feelings. It's done by exposure to what causes panic attacks, and CBT does similar things where you have to talk about something traumatic over and over and over again until you're able to be in a place where you can change your emotions toward that thing. It is very scary when you first start because they expose you to your trauma or fear, but after that it makes more sense. I hope you find what you're looking for!

I've had therapy that I was told by the therapist had elements of CBT in it (and elements of a lot of other things)....but I've never been able to get a clear understanding of what CBT is.

Was that addressed to me, Crylie?

The basic idea is that we develop an inaccurate intellectual understanding of certain issues, and that by changing those understandings, we can change our emotions. So for example, someone who was constantly criticized by their mother might think "I'm worthless" or "people will criticize me." CBT would seek to change those cognitions to something like "I'm worthwhile" and "people won't criticize me." In doing so, it addresses the neocortex, the most recently-evolved brain region and the one responsible for high-level understanding.

Other forms of therapy are focused on the subconscious mind and seek to address one's emotional responses, which are centered in the more primitive paleomammalian brain, more directly, often by addressing issues that occurred in the past, e.g., as a child.

I've had a few therapists for anxiety, OCD, and depression. They've used some cognitive behavior therapy techniques when negative or irrational thoughts came up in therapy, though I wish they had been better at uncovering more of them.

The basic theory and the goal of changing thoughts to influence emotions and behavior, I do know.....what I don't know is what actually happens in CBT -- for me, the actions or words/dialogue used to achieve/work towards the goal of CBT are "what CBT is".

It was strongly suggested by all my doctors but i didnt go.

There are some books on that, written for general audience. Unfortunately, I can't make a recommendation since I don't remember the name of the one I read myself several decades ago. Maybe someone who knows more can step in, or maybe you can find something on Amazon?