Psychology

» redback - Tom Harris

'...we went through the book--all the way."

Well, that w/should have provided the right context. I was the only partner prepared to attend the group therapy to support my wife. It was a disparate group. My wife befriended a girl with anorexia nervosa who in turn befriended a fella trying to get off heroin. My wife aimed to 'save' both leading to some hairy moments. The group did not proceed beyond the point of trying to identify what ego state the person who had just spoken, was in. But not any sense of the context of the ego state nor how to tease it back to an 'adult to adult' ego state..

By necessity, cognitive behaviour therapies are adapted to suit a group therapy environment where the individuals are at various stages of their journeys. I'm not convinced these experiences did CBT any great service.

Talking of journeys, I recall my wife had Rolls Royce tastes on our Volkwagon income. She wanted a holiday in Florida when the reality was we could only afford the Florida Motel on our Central Coast. Don't get me wrong. That was probably a much better holiday altho we never actually made it on our 'planned' world trip to compare.

-- posted by redback