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    Joined: Jan 2014
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    When I went to pick my son up from his Weschler test the psychologist immediately referred him out to CBT frown. She is going to do a write up with his results but she noticed some behaviors during testing that she said "are common in the gifted community" and gave me the # for a group of therapists who "work with this population." I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. I know he gets frustrated easily but she seemed really concerned. Not sure what I'm looking for. Commiseration? Information?

    BTW the results won't be back for 2 weeks as she is doing a write up as well.

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    You may wish to read all you can about CBT, as you most likely will be following-up at home and reinforcing what is covered in his CBT sessions. Here is one article on CBT, from Hoagies Gifted Education Page.

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    Random guess, she may have been seeing anxiety and/ or perfectionism, both really common in gifted kids, and in testing situations. I wouldn't see this as a reason to be concerned - CBT is a really positive way to learn better self-talk and coping skills, and I sometimes wish it was part of the mainstream curriculum - I think we could all benefit from a little CBT! I'd see this as a good thing, not a big worry: you have a knowledgeable and empathetic psychologist who gets that gifties may need help learning to manage their own intensity, rather than ignoring it as something he needs to "get over" or "grow out of".

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    Cognitive-behavioral therapy is one of the best evidence-based talk therapies for managing anxiety and depression. From your brief description, it sounds like she may think he would benefit from CBT for anxiety-driven frustration. This does not necessarily mean that he has a clinically-significant anxiety disorder, just that CBT might offer him some additional tools for improving his psychological quality of life. That she identifies a pool of therapists with GT experience is quite a plus.


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    Joined: Feb 2014
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    Good psychologist. DD12 has seen a therapist who specializes in gifted kids for several years now and the experience has been positive for our whole family. She's a valuable ally at helping DD understand herself and DH and myself to understand her. We started because an injury in the family made her extremely anxious about her physical person. But the work they do has gone beyond that particular issue.

    Being very smart means that in some ways you are very different than other people. You also have disconnects between your intellectual capacity and your life experience and emotional development that can cause issues. We talk a lot on this list about perfectionism, anxiety, sensitivity, loneliness, social disconnect, existential anxiety, etc. If you have a DC who is challenged by one or more of these issues, having outside help can be wonderful.

    The general consensus is that you need a therapist who specializes in gifted populations because they present differently than neurotypical children. Sounds like your psychologist put you on the right track.

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    I know very little about CBT. My son with anxiety/depression has/is doing traditional therapy. Recent reading I've done about CBT makes it seem like DS would be a candidate. But my son seems to be a lot better at this time so I'm not rocking the boat, he has a therapist who works with gifted teens that seems to be helping. What I wanted to say was that I've been there after an eval. It can be a bit of a blow to hear some of what the psychologist had to say about my DS. What I was told AFTER my son did his testing was that most kids are referred to this kind of testing because parents WANT to get a ADHD, ASD or other similar diagnosis because their child has been having behavior problems. And that many testers don't really know how to evaluate a gifted child.

    Take your time. Do a bit of research. Call the group of therapist she recommended and ask to speak to one of them to see what therapy would be like. Get a second opinion if it will make you feel better, it doesn't need to be a full evaluation. CBT is the latest wonder technique and I don't really know what all is involved. But the little reading I've done CBT rankles me a bit as someone as someone values free thinking, creativity and differences.

    How old is your DS? My DS did get very frustrated easily as a child and is MUCH MUCH better now just over the past few months although he isn't perfect. I did have had him in therapy for it in 6th grade and we started it again last year in 9th.

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    I can't thank you all enough for your positive feedback. I wrote this right after we got out of testing and I had a million things going through my head. I think I was thrown off by the gifted label because she just tested him yesterday and even though he scores high on tests etc. I thought identification might be after the test is scored. Even though he is a member of CTY I know this test is a much more comprehensive tool. I think I was a little caught off guard. LOL
    To be honest DS is very intense and it can be challenging as his parent and at times even hard on the family. He can very rigid especially towards my DD who is very sweet and accommodating. I think CBT is definitely the way to go. I was very impressed with the psychologist who did the testing. She has been in the field for 20 years and is very well respected in our area. Thanks again for all of your feedback!!

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    He is 10 years old and in 4th grade. He actually has impeccable behavior at school and tries very hard to conceal his anxiety and stress but I believe he turns it inward. That is what he really needs to work on. He needs to understand that it's okay to make mistakes.

    Last edited by LuluBell; 05/21/15 11:42 AM.
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    One of the best components of CBT is that it's "portable" and you (as a parent) don't need extensive training to support interventions at home.

    That being said, I'd prefer an eclectic mix for therapy, especially for asynchronous gifted children. In particular, I think some mindful-based therapy can be really helpful for people who tend toward intellectualization (rely too heavily on cognition to process emotional content).

    Insight is only a part of the process, IOW. Identifying feeling states and physiological arousal is very helpful if CBT is to be successful--because all distress is not about thoughts.

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    CBT has been around a long time. It is not a new fad. It is highly researched and very effective when taught and applied correctly. It can incorporate mindfulness and does not impair creativity. I would hate to see a lack of understanding about this technique preclude anyone from approaching it with an open mind and a genuine opportunity for success in managing anxiety, depression or other disorders which have a component of negative cognition.

    Thoughts produce distress and both physical and psychological arousal which generates a negative feedback loop. Controlling thoughts can have a profound effect on terminating the loop.

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