July 17, 2017 by Dr. Burns

046: All You Need Is Love… or Do You?

All You Need is Love. . . or Do You?

The Beatles tell us that all we need really need is love, and in her famous song, “People,” Barbara Streisand proclaims that “People who need people are the luckiest people in the world.” But is this really true?

Fabrice asks David whether love is a human need? David describes hearing Dr. Aaron Beck proclaim that love is not an adult human need, and feeling shocked, during one of Dr. Beck’s cognitive therapy seminars in the 1970s. Although initially skeptical, David did a number of experiments to test this belief, and came to a startling conclusion. David describes the impact of needing love on his depressed and anxious patients, including lonely individuals who were constantly being rejected in the dating scene.

You’ll find this podcast provocative, controversial, and hopefully interesting. We’ll also include a survey you can complete below, indicating your thoughts about this topic!

In the next Feeling Good Podcast, David and Fabrice will discuss Tools, Not Schools, the title of David’s TEAM-CBT eBook for therapists, and the following podcast will discuss Relapse Prevention Training, since the likelihood of relapse after successful treatment is 100%. But if the patient is prepared and knows what to do ahead of time, the relapse, while often painful and disturbing, doesn’t have to be a significant problem.

July 15, 2017 by Dr. Burns

Summer Intensives Coming Immediately!

Here’s a little slide promo for my upcoming intensives! There’s no sound–we’ll have to figure out how to add some cool music for the next one! I’m flying to Canada tomorrow, July 16th, for the Banff intensive, in fact. It’s right around the corner!

I am offering two four-day intensives for mental health professionals this summer, in Banff, Canada and Burlingame, California. These are always the most effective and rewarding training conferences of the year. Here are the details:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A Four-Day Intensive Training

July 17 – 20, Banff, Canada

For more information, click here

Phone: 604.924.0296 Toll-free: 1.800.456.5424

High Speed, Drug Free Treatment of Depression and Anxiety Disorders–

A Four-Day TEAM-CBT Advanced Intensive

July 31 – August 3, Burlingame, California

For more information, click here

phone: 800-258-8411

I hope you can join us!

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, 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 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

July 10, 2017 by Dr. Burns

045: More on OCD — Cognitive Flooding

More on OCD — Cognitive Flooding

Warning: This podcast includes raw and disturbing material that may be upsetting to some listeners. If you are concerned that your own feelings may be triggered, it might be wise to skip the program.

Fabrice begins with another question on OCD—if you successfully extinguish the symptoms with Exposure and Response prevention, would they just resurface in some other form, such as worrying, or some other anxiety disorder. David agrees, and describes the solution to this problem.

Then David describes his treatment of a pregnant woman with OCD who was afraid her baby would be switched at the hospital so that she’d end up with the wrong baby. Although she rationally recognized that this fear was irrational, she could not shake it from her mind, and obsessed about it constantly.

After trying more than 30 CBT techniques that did not work, David used the What-If Technique to pinpoint her deepest fear, which turned out to be quite shocking, to say the least. He then encouraged her, with some reluctance, to confront this fear using Cognitive Flooding.

After describing the surprising outcome, David and Fabrice discuss the fact that 75% of American therapists are afraid to use Exposure Techniques because of the fear that the patient is too fragile, or they will re-traumatize the patient. David reminds us that this is “reverse hypnosis,” where the patient hypnotizes the therapist into believing something that is not true. If the patient is successful, and the therapist agrees not to use Exposure, the prognosis for effective treatment is quite poor. David gives an example of a therapist who was afraid to ask an OCD patient to drink one ounce of coca cola—something the patient feared would drive him into insanity!

July 7, 2017 by Dr. Burns

After 32 Years of Depression–Your Podcasts Helped!

Hi David.

My name is Hassan and I have been suffering from depression and anxiety for the last 32 years.

I am glad that after listening your podcasts and reading some of your other written materials, I have finally managed to reduced my mental suffering considerably. I am a math teacher and recently earned a degree in psychology, just to understand the causes of my mental disorders.

Could you kindly guide me on how I can take part in your workshops and other training sessions? I want to improve my learning in order to cure my psychological issues and help others in my country tackle anxiety and depression.

Hassan

Hi Hassan.

Thank you for your email. I feel sad you’ve been feeling depressed for so long, but I’m impressed by your hard work, and I’m sure it will pay off for you!

Here are several things might help, if you’d like to learn more about the new techniques I’ve been developing:

Attend any of my workshops, if you can. They are listed on the workshop tab on my website, feelinggood.com. The two upcoming 4-day intensives later this month (Banff, Canada and San Francisco) should be extremely helpful and fun. In the fall, I will also be offering two-day workshops on the high-speed treatment of individuals who have experienced trauma, with additional workshops on other topics in 2018.
You might benefit from my eBook, Tools, Not Schools, of Therapy. Order forms are on my website. This is a step by step guide in how to do TEAM-CBT. It is intended for therapists.
You could join one of the weekly online training groups, and you can find information about them on my website as well. These would be ideal for you, because you can join in from anywhere in the world, and the teachers are outstanding! There are small numbers of individuals in each group, so you get lots of individual attention and chances to actually practice the new TEAM-CBT techniques.
You can visit www.feelinggoodinstitute.com . They have a variety of online training groups, plus a TEAM-CBT certification program.
You can read any of my books for the general public. They seem to be helpful to therapists as well as individuals who are looking for help with depression, anxiety, or relationship problems. All should be available from Amazon.com and other online book sellers. Here are some of the titles:

Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy
Feeling Good Together
The Feeling Good Handbook
Ten Days to Self-Esteem
When Panic Attacks
Intimate Connections

If you are ever in the San Francisco area on vacation, you would be welcome to visit one of my free of charge Tuesday evening training groups at the Stanford Medical School. You would be welcome on one of the Sunday morning hikes as well. I know it is a long way from your home, but we actually had a visitor (a neurologist) from China recently! She also came to a summer intensive, and then married one of our Tuesday group members, and now lives with him here in California!

Good luck, Hassan, and thank you so much for your kind email. Fabrice and I appreciate hearing from folks who have been listening to our Feeling Good Podcasts!

David

My two four-day intensives for mental health professionals this summer are filling up fast, but there are still a few slots available in both. One is in Banff, Canada and Burlingame, California. These are always the most effective and rewarding training conferences of the year. Here are the details:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A Four-Day Intensive Training

July 17 – 20, Banff, Canada
For more information, click here
Phone: 604.924.0296 Toll-free: 1.800.456.5424

High Speed, Drug Free Treatment of Depression and Anxiety Disorders

A Four-Day TEAM-CBT Advanced Intensive
July 31 – August 3, Burlingame, California
For more information, click here
phone: 800-258-8411

If interested, move quickly. The dates are fast approaching and they often sell out, since attendance is strictly limited at both events. I hope you can join us, and look forward to getting to know you if you attend!

Thanks! David

July 5, 2017 by Dr. Burns

My Experience Resonates with Mona!

Hello Dr. Burns.

My experience resonates with Mona. Your book, When Panic Attacks, has helped me immensely. It was a turning point in my life. Now I am almost panic free and I am sharing my experience with others so that they can benefit from it.

I always wanted to thank you!

Himanshu

Hi Himanshu,

Thank you for your kind comments, and for giving me the permission to share them on my website. I greatly appreciated it!

David

Thanks! David

July 5, 2017 by Dr. Burns

Priceless and Beyond Valuable

Hi, Dr. Burns.

This is Mona, I’m writing to you the second time.

Not sure if you can remember my case with hypochondriasis. I was reading the What-If Technique in your book, When Panic Attacks, and did the exercise, starting with my Negative Thought, “I think I have Hepatitis C or HIV.” As you suggested, I asked myself, “If that were true, what’s the worst that could happen? What am I the most afraid of?” You said you could ask this question over and over, and it was a good way to get at the deepest core fears that fuel our anxiety.

It worked really well, and the end result was, “I’m gonna end up being alone and lonely,” which send tears streaming down my face. As a result, I had a conversation about my fear of rejection with my husband sitting next to me that made me feel very relieved.

Now the second very emotional moment came when I was listening to your podcast describing the case of Ralph which was EXACTLY identical to my case. I couldn’t hold back my tears listening to his struggle and couldn’t stop laughing with my tears coming down when you said the good news is that you’re going to experience the same whenever you have a Hidden Emotion.

I just wanted to let you know that these podcasts are all very constructive and I’d recommend them to anyone who is reading either Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy, or When Panic Attacks. The podcasts really showcase each technique and make the points made in the books crystal clear.

Dr. Burns, I don’t know how to thank you for all these insights and I would like you to know that your contributions are priceless and beyond valuable.

I don’t really believe in God but if you do, God bless you!

Mona

Thank you, Mona! Your email means a great deal to Fabrice and me. We are so happy that people like the Feeling Good Podcasts and find them beneficial! They are fun to do because I really enjoy working with Fabrice, but I hear from many therapists and non-therapists alike who say they really help, and that is what we hoped might happen.

On one of the Sunday hikes, a young therapist who works with children and teenagers told me that he listed to one Podcast per day for 30 days, and this really boosted his understanding of TEAM-CBT. I could see that this was absolutely true, because he has only recently joined my free weekly training group at Stanford, but his psychotherapy skills are simply zooming forward.

Mona, all the very best to you!

David

Thanks! David

July 4, 2017 by Dr. Burns

Summer Intensives Coming Soon!

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A Four-Day Intensive Training

July 17 – 20, Banff, Canada

For more information, click here

Phone: 604.924.0296 Toll-free: 1.800.456.5424

High Speed, Drug Free Treatment of Depression and Anxiety Disorders–

A Four-Day TEAM-CBT Advanced Intensive

July 31 – August 3, Burlingame, California

For more information, click here

phone: 800-258-8411

If interested, move quickly as the dates are fast approaching and they often sell out, as attendance is limited at both events. I hope you can join us, and look forward to getting to know you if you attend!

All the best,

David

Thanks! David