Hi Dr. Burns,
A request for a future podcast, if I may: The session you did with “Mark” and his son, “Oliver,” was awesome!!! I’ve listened to it several times. That paradoxical agenda setting technique is just genius (because it’s so genuine)! And I’ve been using it with depressed/low self-worth friends and clients with amazing results! Any chance you could do a session like that with someone struggling with severe trauma? I would love to see how you adapt your TEAM approach to working with trauma clients.
By the way, I wanted you to know you are welcome to use my full name on your website, if that would be helpful to you. I’m honored to be quoted!
V. Ritchie Pruehs, LMFT
Employee & Student Assistance Program
LOMA LINDA UNIVERSITY HEALTH/Shared Services
Hi V,
Thought you might enjoy this photo from my podcast host, Fabrice Nye, Ph.D. We took the photo last Saturday morning during a recorded therapy session with Marilyn.
Thanks for another wonderful email. The upcoming live therapy with Marilyn will show you how I work with someone experiencing severe trauma, in this case, a recent diagnosis of terminal cancer. Also, I’ve been doing trauma workshops around the US for the past three years, always with a live demonstration on the evening of day 1 with a volunteer from the audience who has experienced trauma. I will be doing more trauma workshops in the fall, and I think one will be in Southern California again. I’ll be updating my workshop page soon to include the new dates and locations, but I’m pretty sure it will be in Woodland Hills, CA, November 9 and 10. Perhaps you can come to it!
In addition, I hope to have many trauma examples in the new book I am writing, some with links to the actual recorded sessions. You can also see how I treat trauma if you click here. The session you will link to is with a woman who experienced three decades of rape and domestic violence. I have always found that trauma cases are the easiest to treat, which I think may be the opposite of the way most people think about it. It is a great honor to be able to provide rapid and profound relief to individuals who have been suffering so severely and for such a long period of time.
I have treated approximately 40 patients who have experienced severe traumas in the past several years, including rapes, beatings, horrific accidents, severe medical problems, childhood abuse, family tragedies involving injuries or deaths of children, psychological exploitation, and more. Almost every individual I’ve worked with has experienced a complete, or near-complete, elimination of symptoms in just one two-hour session using the new TEAM-CBT techniques.
The rapid changes are due, in large part, to new techniques I have developed to reduce or eliminate what has been called therapeutic “resistance.” I’m glad you are seeing some of the same amazing results in your work! It is SO EXCITING to have these new tools available.
I believe that TEAM represents a significant breakthrough in treatment, but it requires considerable commitment to learn it since it is not a gimmick or formula, but a systematic and highly individualized approach to treatment of all patients, and not just those struggling with the aftermath of a traumatic experience. And in my teaching, I have learned, sadly, that it can be difficult, sometimes, to pry therapists loose from their current orientations, even though their outcomes might fall far short of what one might hope.
So stay tuned and stay in the loop! Fabrice and I really appreciate your thoughtfulness and interest!
All the best,
David
If you are reading this blog on social media, I appreciate it! I would like to invite you to visit my website, https://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 tons of 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 forward my blogs to friends as well, especially anyone with an interest in mood problems, psychotherapy, or relationship conflicts.
Thanks! David
