CBT and visual thinking

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Is anyone able to explain how CBT works for a visual thinkers?
The counsellor I am working with keeps bringing up CBT, however I cant understand what it is or how it works. The explanation seems to be directed at verbal thinkers and I can't figure it out.

CBT is about talking to yourself in rational ways to break out of loops of negative thoughts and feelings that make people depressed or anxious.

Someone says that they are worthless, and the therapist helps them figure out why they feel worthless, and someone says that they screwed up a project at work so they feel worthless, and the therapist helps them figure out that screwing up a project at work does not make them worthless, because the project can be fixed, and they have succeeded on many projects in the past, and they are generally good at their work.

It is like using reason to control bad emotional reactions, so they don't go into neverending loops and make you depressed for a long time. I don't know how well it would work for autistic people or visual thinkers. I think that it is moar suited to NTs and verbal thinkers who talk to themselves in their minds, saying bad things, then good things to defeat the bad things. It might be a struggle for others, because you are going to have to verbalize your thoughts a lot to use the techniques, but it could help you verbalize your thoughts bester, which could make it worth a try, I think.

I think that the general idea of CBT is to train people to be able to take a step back from whatever is causing them to feel sh***y.

Verbalizing your thoughts is used to do that, because most NTs have a constant stream of verbal thoughts running through their minds, and they naturally talk to themselves in their minds.

Visual thinkers can use pictures and videos instead of talking to themselves in their minds. When I get annoyed by something, such as the door not being fully open or fully closed, I immediately think of a picture, usually a setting, that I like in my mind, or I play a video of myself on a rollercoaster or skiing down a mountain, to reset my mind and shift my thoughts away from the annoyance. Afterwards, I don't feel annoyed anymore, and I can usually get on with what I was doing, without even getting up to fix the door.

I find transitions difficult, so I will also use visualization to shift to a different activity. Instead of telling myself in my mind that I need to do something else, I will visualize some pictures that I like, and this will zoom my focus out of the thing that I am doing and free up my mind to move on to something else. Otherwise, it is really hard to pry myself away from the thing that I am doing. For me, visualization works, because I like to do it, and it is easy for me to do. Generating verbal thoughts would be moar difficult and less effective, because that takes a lot moar effort than thinking of a picture or video for me.

I think CBT works best for people with rather simple kinds of problems...with more apparent solutions. But its never done much for me because changing my thinking does not change how I feel or my situation. So it turns into me getting fed up with the therapist seeming to essentially want me to use all my energy to lie to myself and distract myself from how I feel. Well I guess it just doesn't work very well for me...because in order to distract myself from anxious thoughts or depression I can't have the anxiety and depression distracting me from distracting myself.

I mean I almost end up feeling like it's comparable to putting a claustrophobic person in a box and not letting them out and telling them to just shut up and think about something else and quit having anxiety reactions. Not exactly possible is it? So if CBT makes me feel that way its probably not the therapy for me.

This thread very much resonated with my personal experience of having a visual mind and struggling to get any benefit out of CBT classes and work sheets. Today I found and ordered this book:

"Visual CBT: Using Pictures to Help You Apply Cognitive Behaviour Therapy to Change Your Life"
ISBN-10: 0857083546 | ISBN-13: 978-0857083548

I will post an update after receiving the book and getting into it.

thanks, sounds like it might be useful. Ive still got people trying to do word based CBT with me :/ its really not working

The book I referred to in my earlier post arrived and I finished it. It wasn't a visual form of CBT. It was the same CBT stuff. But explained very well and clearly using pictures to communicate the ideas. I got some benefit from going through the book. But only very short term and going through it again doesn't seem to kick the benefits back in. I think it explained CBT much better than some of courses I have attended. Was worth the purchase anyway.

Interesting to hear, thanks

My counsellor did CBT visually with me and it was very useful. I only get CBT for specific issues, though (mostly anxiety).