Hi friends and colleagues,
As you probably know, in addition to the volunteer teaching I do at Stanford each week, I also conduct Sunday morning hikes for therapists who want more time for personal work and practice with various TEAM-CBT techniques. The hikes generally last several hours, and are fabulous, but the “interior hiking” is what really makes them great experiences.
I was lucky to enjoy three hikes in the past week or so—two fabulous Sunday hikes, plus a Saturday hike, which was also great. We worked on so many topics and personal issues that I can’t recall all of them, but these were included:
- Therapy problems: How to work with extremely severe patients who are hungry for talking and support, but who resist taking responsibility for their lives, doing psychotherapy homework, or developing a meaningful agenda for their therapy sessions. This is one of the most important and frustrating issues in all of psychiatry and psychotherapy, and is the therapeutic dilemma that inspired me to create the new TEAM-CBT.
- Personal relationship problems: How to deal with someone who is pulling away from making a commitment to you, and giving you the run-a-round.
- Personal relationship problems: How to help someone who gets mad and resists your efforts when you try to help.
- Personal relationship problems: How to deal more skillfully with a romantic partner who I am pursuing and afraid of losing.
- Personal relationship problems: How to overcome the fear of rejection or being alone. AND how to help patients who have been rejected.
- Personal relationship problems: How to deal with a family member who won’t pay back borrowed money.
- Personal relationship problems: How to deal with fears of failing as a father. How to deal with your child’s criticisms, so you can transform a conflict into a deeper and more loving relationship.
- Personal insecurities: How to deal with fears of growing old and being alone and thinking you are simply “old and boring.”
If any of these themes interest you, let me know and perhaps I can post on some of them in a little more depth.
There was a lot more, but that will give you a feel for what we do on the hikes. The participation and experiences have been simply fantastic, due to the vulnerability, including the tears, and the compassion and fabulous teamwork people show on the hikes. This is my favorite way of hanging out with folks and getting to know people, and it really beats cocktail parties! Plus the extremely rapid changes we nearly always see make it seem like we are witnessing little miracles on each hike.
One of our beloved group members, Maryam Hamidi, has been taking great photos on Sundays, and in our Tuesday training group at Stanford, so I am including are some of them for you!
david
If you are reading this blog on social media, I appreciate it! I would like to invite you to visit my website, http://www.FeelingGood.com, as well. There you will find a wealth of free goodies, including my Feeling Good blogs, my Feeling Good Podcasts with host, Dr. Fabrice Nye, and the Ask Dr. David blogs as well, along with announcements of upcoming workshops, and resources for mental health professionals as well as patients!
Once you link to my blog, you can sign up using the widget at the top of the column to the right of each page. Please firward my blogs to friends as well, especially anyone with an interest in mood problems, psychotherapy, or relationshp conflicts.
Thanks! David
