Sorry, I’m convinced meta analyses are garbage written by the least capable academics. They create yet another study that supports X or Y position without testing anything at all, that outsiders use to further the X or Y agenda. More meta-studies based off other meta-studies! It’s mountain of useless bullshit.
For example, a more recent meta-analysis by Wykes and colleagues (2008) examined controlled trials of CBT for schizophrenia and confirmed findings from previous meta-analyses (e.g., Gould et al., 2001; Rector & Beck, 2001), suggesting that CBT had a small to medium effect size as compared to control conditions on both positive and negative symptoms.
How brain rotted do you have to be to think this says anything? “We reread the articles and they still say the same thing… because, they’re written.” Maybe we should perform another meta-analysis on the same articles! Third time’s the charm!
The underlying papers are of no use at all:
CBT for depression was more effective than control conditions such as waiting list or no treatment
Like holy shit, really? This is your foundation of evidence that CBT works? Just look at the proponents of CBT–it’s a magical, effective treatment for everything under the sun! I can’t take it seriously, especially when it’s pushed as being effective as medications.
I had some blood work done and it indicated that I would likely have a negative or poor response to an antidepressant I’d been taking for nearly a year. I’d tell the doctors that it does absolutely nothing, but they kept increasing the dose and insisted it would do something positive. It never did. These are the same disinterested, bullshit doctors that would tell you to engage in CBT.
All the therapists would gaslight you into believing it’s all your fault: just think your way out of it. Fucking bullshit. Absolute puerile bullshit.
The reality is I suffer from something that has a genetic component to it: crippling depression that runs in the maternal family. No. Talk therapy doesn’t do shit. No. CBT doesn’t do shit. Appropriate drugs actually work and I’m now in a so much better place after living my whole life with crippling depression, anxiety and panic attacks.
My understanding is that it’s the best method we have at the moment, but might still be ineffective for as much as half of all patients who undergo it.
So, yeah, it kind of sucks, but no other intervention has a better body of evidence behind it. Our understanding of mental illness is unfortunately just very limited.
I seem to recall that, consistently, the quality of the therapeutic relationship is the most important factor for improvement. In other words, get a therapist you like rather than one specialized in a certain branch of therapy 🤷♀️
“You’re very self-aware” is basically a meme in the corners of the internet that discuss trauma. It’s a genuine compliment on the part of the therapist, but also an implied admission that they won’t be able to help you.
You’re already aware of the observations they would make and the tools they would propose, so you might as well skip to the end and look for another therapist.
As a psychotherapist, working with people who are self-aware is a pleasure. I wouldn’t ever say that to someone if not meant as a genuine compliment.
Although I believe not many of our patients actually are as self aware as they think. I think we as humans often are good in introspection where it’s easy and comfortable to do so, while glaring over pretty blatant cognitive errors in some other parts, and this is usually where problems arise and disorders develop. And interestingly some people seem to think of themselves as someone who’s perfectly introspective but just for some external, unchangeable factor immune to any kind of positive change. Maybe they could feel irritated about the compliment, because in their minds it reinfoces their idea of being helpless against their problems (in the sense of: I already know everything, it’s just not possible to change anything or I would’ve already done that)? I could imagine that’s how I would feel, but of course it’s just a guess.
Self-awareness is a good thing, but it’s also the bottom of the barrel when fishing for compliments. In therapy, specifically, the implied sentiment is, “Well, at least you know how fucked yup you are.”
She’s making the comparison to the “pleasure to have in class” line, because it’s similar. If a teacher genuinely has good things to say about a student, it’s probably going to be more specific (i.e. – they were inquisitive, a quick study, made their peers laugh, etc). “Pleasure to have in class,” by contrast, is a generic compliment that doesn’t really say anything.
Oh my god I literally just now got why my therapist kept saying that. I hate people do this and then expect me to get it. Especially therapists they should know better. If you try to sugarcoat it I won’t get it almost guaranteed. Fucks sake what a waste of a time she was. Should have known something was up with how defensive about Israel she was…
It can be, though quite often anxiety can manifest as being too self-aware all the time, to the point that it’s getting in the way of actually enjoying life.
It’s also worth pointing out, I think, that if you’re only aware of your weaknesses and such, but don’t/can’t recognize your strengths, then you’re not really that self-aware
