David and Stephanie James, part 1
Hi everybody!
I recently did the first of three interviews with Stephanie James on her superb radio show and podcast, The Spark. Here’s how Stephanie described the interview (with minor changes):
We have amazing power within us to change our thoughts, our feelings, our actions, and our lives.
This episode is an inspirational way to take control of your automatic negative thoughts today and transform them in order to create a more joyful present and a more fulling future.
Join us as we talk with the legendary Dr. David Burns about how we can break through the old thinking habits that bind us and begin to live a more happy, harmonious life where we can feel good now.
Stephanie is a superb therapist and dynamic radio personality from Colorado. It was an honor to be on her show. She is co-authoring a book on how to live a “spark-filled life.” It should be completed soon, so you’ll likely be hearing from Stephanie a lot next year!
Following the interview, Stephanie visited my Tuesday training group at Stanford and participated in one of our Feeling Good Podcasts with some students in the group. She suggested we might want to broadcast the Tuesday group live so that therapists from all over the world could join us. We are thinking about that, but will have to check with the powers that be to see if we could get permission to broadcast from Stanford, as well as our Tuesday group members who may have mixed feelings, due to the intensely personal nature of the training.
Let me know what you think about this idea!
My second interview with Stephanie was on the evolution of traditional Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) into the new TEAM-CBT. Fabrice and I will publish it for you shortly. My third interview with Stephanie will be on the interpersonal TEAM model—how to convert conflicted relationships into loving, rewarding ones.
* Copyright © 2018 by David D. Burns, MD
Fabrice and I hope you like our Feeling Good Podcasts, and also hope you can leave some positive comments for us and five star ratings if you like what we’re doing!
Attend a Summer Intensive!
This year, I am offering a July summer intensive in Whistler, Canada, and one in August at the South San Francisco Conference center. The intensives are almost always my most exciting and fun workshops of the year. Hope you can join us at one of these locations.
Here are some details:
Advanced Cognitive Behavioral Therapy:
A Four-Day Intensive Training in TEAM-CBT
July 3 – 6, 2018 Whistler, BC, Canada
For more information, contact Jack Hirose & Associates Inc.
Phone: 604.924.0296, Toll-free: 1.800.456.5424
* * *
High Speed, Drug Free Treatment of Depression and Anxiety Disorders–
A Four-Day
Advanced TEAM-CBT Intensive
August 6 – 9, 2018, South San Francisco Conference Center, California
For more information, click here, or call IAHB.org at 800-258-8411
If you can only attend one of my workshops, consider attending one of these intensives!
I have listened to all the podcasts, some of them several times. I think this one is an excellent overview of what CBT means and what TEAM has done to improve on it, without getting into the details of TEAM.
My challenge is to get my family members to listen to it. Too much resistance 🙁
Thanks, Richard. My work is intended for the individual reading it, so you can change yourself. When you try to change others, rather than yourself, you will nearly always run into a wall of resistance! Thanks for the excellent comment, as this is a really important issue. david
Hi Dr. David,
Loved this podcast and I love that you gave some nice examples of Big Pharm touting all their products that have little efficacy. I admire that you took the direction you did as it must have taken a lot of guts to break away from the brain research grant and do what you believe in which has helped millions feel good – and soon to feel great! I love the example that Stephanie gave about it always being windy and she’ll ‘have a bad hair day.’ It was clear that she (and all of us) have the power to change that automatic negative thought into a more positive thought immediately and thus feel good. Simple, requires lot of practice and work, but incredible results. In fact, when I have a negative thought that pops into my head I usually mentally run through the negative distortions and sure enough AN, Should, MR, ER,etc. rear their ugly heads and then I put the lie to the negative thought and feel better immediately.
Thank you for all that you do!
Phil
Thanks Phil! Love your comment! david
Thanks, David and Fabrice, for making these resources available to therapists and “end users” alike.
As a therapist I have utilized many of these resources for 19 years and have seen clients yield excellent results. I recall that in your “Scared Stiff” training many years ago you discussed the two researchers who originally posited the “chemical imbalance” theory of depression. As I recall you stated that these researchers never found any medical evidence for their theory.
Is it possible to direct me to some of their writings, or other writers who cite that work and those conclusions? I still encounter many medical professionals and potential clients who are convinced that the original theory has been demonstrated true again, and again. I love chapter four of “When Panic Attacks” but hope also to get further info “from the horses’ mouths” as it were.
Warmest regards to you both and to those who work with you. See you in SF in August!
Michael
Thanks, Michael. I suspect you can find lots of resources on the so-called “chemical imbalance” theory from a google search. In fact, I think there is an entire website devoted to debunking this outdated and antiquated theory. If you have trouble finding enough stuff, get back to me. There are likely biological (genetic) and environmental contributions to depression and anxiety, as well as most things human. but we just don’t know the causes yet, and those who claim to know, well, I’d be VERY CAUTIOUS about believing them! Fortunately, we have some terrific new (and older) tools for helping people recovery from mood problems, and I’ll try to bring them to life in San Francisco. See you at the intensive, Michael! david
By the way, here is our research study way back in 1975 showing that massive increases in the brain serotonin levels of depressed veterans had no effect on their moods. So much for the theory that a deficiency of brain serotonin causes depression!
Mendels, J., Stinnett, J. L., Burns, D. D. & Frazer, A. (1975). Amine precursors and depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 32: 22 – 30.
I love Stephanie’s idea to broadcast the Tuesday group live!
Thanks, we have considered that from time to time! There are many strong pros and cons as well. All the best, david