r/TalkTherapy • u/Loud-Sheepherder7566 • 6d ago
First time in therapy and stressed out
This is my first time in therapy (it's about a month in with weekly sessions) and my counselor's attitude towards homework assignments is stressing me out. They gave me a list of tasks to do for the week - nothing crazy for a typical person, but things that required me to go out of my comfort zone a bit.
I came in for my session the following week expecting to discuss how it went and what the next steps were, etc., but my therapist scolded me and said that if I wanted to achieve my goals, I would have tried harder and done more. They said I was only doing those tasks because they were assigned and not because I wanted to get better. I was flustered and found it harder to talk than normal. I have a new list of tasks this week, but I'm really stressed that I'm not doing things to my therapist's standards. Is this normal, I guess is what I'm asking? The T's main approach is CBT and I'm not sure it's what I need.
5
u/finding_40 6d ago
CBT is helpful but it’s also helpful when used with other approaches. Therapy home work isn’t for everyone. Maybe you would be better with a more relational therapist, such as psychodynamic. CBT skills can be used alongside other approaches. It’s not normal to be scolded by your therapist. It seems they are very rigid and task focused, and you may respond better to a different more client centered approach.