Rhonda, Fabrice, and David discuss psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, Fabrice’s wonderful new marriage, his fascinating new podcast, and more.
David and Rhonda are thrilled to have our beloved friend and colleague, Dr. Fabrice Nye, as the special guest on today’s podcast. Many of you will remember Fabrice as the man who gave birth to the Feeling Good Podcast, and acted as host for the first 133 podcasts.
Fabrice describes many events since he turned over the reins to Rhonda earlier this year, including his recent marriage and move to the beautiful but fire-ravaged Russian River area roughly 100 miles north of San Francisco. However, Fabrice still maintains his clinical practice on a part time basis in Redwood City, in the San Francisco Bay area.
The main focus of today’s podcast is Fabrice’s participation in promising new research on the treatment of PTSD. The participants in the study are veterans and other trauma survivors receiving psychotherapy that is assisted by treatment with MDMA during extended treatment sessions. All the patients in the study had tried meds and psychotherapy before, but still had symptoms of PTSD.
You may know that MDMD is also known as the party drug, Ecstasy. However, the MDMA used in the research is chemically pure, whereas Ecstasy is generally obtained on the street and may not be pure. Fabrice describes MDMA as an “empathogen” that makes people more loving and more in touch with their emotions. This can make it easier for patients with PTSD to talk about their traumatic experiences and painful feelings, which people with PTSD usually try to avoid. Avoidance makes all forms of anxiety much worse, where as exposure is usually beneficial.
Patients in the study received three treatment sessions, and a preliminary analysis indicated that one third of them improved to the point that they no longer had symptoms severe enough to be diagnosed with PTSD. Further studies are in progress, including a study with a control group, as well as follow-up studies to find out whether the improvement continued and whether some of the patients relapsed.
Fabrice also describes the fascinating new trend in treatment of a variety of conditions with psychedelics, including psilocybin, mescaline, and ayahuasca. I expressed my personal support for this trend, as these substances have been used by hundreds, if not thousands of years, for spiritual purposes by indigenous people throughout the world.
And perhaps the coolest thing we learned was that Fabrice will launch his own terrific podcast, entitled PeaceAtLast.us, on February 6, 2020. PeaceAtLast.us will focus on the overlap between spirituality and psychotherapy, a topic that I have always found extremely interesting and helpful in my own clinical work with TEAM-CBT. You might want to check out the new Fabrice podcast! I know that Rhonda and I will!
After the podcast, we received the following email from Fabrice, which includes many resources for those of you wanting more information about psychedelics and psychotherapy, as well as his new podcast.
Hi David and Rhonda,
It felt so good to be reunited with you for an hour. Wish we didn’t have to cut it so short. Here are some of the links that you may want to provide to your listeners.
Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), which sponsors and funds the Phase 3 trial of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD: https://maps.org/
Thanks for listening today! By the way, if you are looking for CE credits or training in TEAM-CBT, my upcoming workshop on therapeutic resistance on February 9, 2020 will be a good one. You’ll learn how to use the techniques described in today’s podcast.
See below for details and links!
David
You can reach Dr. Burns at david@feelinggood.com. Dr. Rhonda Barovsky practices in Walnut Creek, California, and can be reached at rbarovsky@aol.com. She is a Certified TEAM-CBT therapist and specializes in the treatment of trauma, anxiety, depression, and relationship problems. She also does forensic work in family court, but finds TEAM-CBT to be way more rewarding!
If you like our jingle music and would like to support the composer Brett Van Donsel, you may download it here.
Coming up in 2020
High Speed Methods to Reduce Resistance and Boost Motivation
This is the most important, and least understood, topic in the behavioral sciences. Nearly all therapeutic failure results from the failure to address resistance. Therapists do not understand what causes resistance or how treat it effectively.
Come to this workshop and learn how to melt away resistance for incredibly high-speed recovery!
This workshop will be live-streamed (and in person in Palo Alto, CA) so you can join from anywhere in the world! There will be many expert online helpers to assist you with the small-group exercises.
The Cognitive Distortion Starter Kit:
How to Crush Negative Thoughts
TEAM-CBT includes more than 100 powerful techniques to change the distorted thoughts that trigger negative emotions. But what techniques should I select for my patient who feels depressed, anxious, or angry?
As you know, in my book, Feeling Good, I listed the ten most common cognitive distortions, like All-or-Nothing Thinking, Should Statements, Emotional Reasoning, and more, and you probably use that list all the time in your clinical work. But do you know which techniques work the best for each distortion?
Come to this workshop and find out! You’ll learn with tons of cool techniques you can use every day to boost your clinical effectiveness.
This workshop will be live-streamed (and in person in Palo Alto, CA) so you can join from anywhere in the world! There will be many expert online helpers to assist you with the small-group exercises.
I hope you can join Dr. Jill Levitt and me and the brilliant helpers from the Feeling Good Institute for a day of learning, fun, and connection on February 9th!
High Speed Methods to Reduce Resistance
and Boost Motivation
February 9, 2020
8:30 am-4:30 pm PST (11:30 am-7:30 pm EST)
Join us live online ($135) or in person ($195)
at The Creekside Inn, Palo Alto, CA
(in person includes free breakfast, lunch and schmoozing)
This workshop is BRAND NEW. You will learn how to identify and reduce outcome and process resistance for depression (morning session) and anxiety disorders (afternoon session). This can lead to faster, better outcomes.
This is a perfect workshop for those new to TEAM as well as seasoned clinicians who want to hone their skills through. Both in-person and online participants will practice with personalized feedback throughout the day.
We consistently receive feedback that our daylong workshops are not only educational but also engaging, lively, and great opportunities for networking. Jill and I will use a combination of didactic teaching, live role plays, and breakout group practice to keep you interested and engaged all day long!
I believe that therapeutic resistance is by far the most important topic in psychotherapy. The possibilities for improving your clinical work are tremendous. I hope you can join us! You’ll love it, and we’ll really enjoy hanging out with you, too!
David Burns, MD
* * *
Coming on May, 17th, 2020–
The Cognitive Distortion Starter Kit: How to Crush Negative Thoughts
TEAM-CBT includes more than 100 powerful techniques to change the distorted thoughts that trigger negative emotions. But what techniques should I select for my patient who feels depressed, anxious, or angry?
As you know, in my book, Feeling Good, I listed the ten most common cognitive distortions, like All-or-Nothing Thinking, Should Statements, Emotional Reasoning, and more, and you probably use that list all the time in your clinical work. But do you know which techniques work the best for each distortion?
Come to this workshop and find out! You’ll learn with tons of cool techniques you can use every day to boost your clinical effectiveness.
Rhonda and David discuss two challenging questions submitted by listeners like you.
Question #1: Cindy asks: My suicidal daughter refuses to talk to me! What can I do?
Comment: Dear David,
I stumbled upon you teaching in another podcast a few months ago. Immediately I was stunned by how much your words echoed in my mind. I have listened to your book three times in Audible and many of your podcasts. You Changed my life!!!
I am much more relaxed now and I can sleep!!! I talked about you with my massage therapist and she bought your book for her daughter (who has anxiety attacks) and her niece. Her daughter is an aspiring artist who said that she would buy your book and give them away to teens when she becomes famous.
I now ask you to change another life, that of my daughter’s. She has been depressed for more than 20 years, suicidal (bought a noose, watches suicide movies, talked about ways to kill herself) and no therapists could help. We went to therapy together this past summer and it only ended that she abruptly canceled and is no longer responding to me by any means: phone, text, card, or email. The last time I saw her was late August and she was very down and had very poor personal hygiene. I have since sent her a loving text at least every other day, I offer to drive to her city (an hour away) to have dinner with her, I sincerely apologized for everything I could think of that I have done wrong since she was a child, I sent gifts to her by mail, I invite her to come for holidays, I ask her cousins to call (she did respond to them). No response to me at all. I am wondering how to communicate with a loved one who just totally shut you off.
Always your fan,
Cindy
Thank you, Cindy. Sorry to hear about your daughter, very concerning. My heart goes out to you. Our own daughter had a rough time as a teenager, too, but now is doing great. I hope things evolve with your daughter, too.
The first podcast highlights common errors in trying to “help” someone who is hurting, and emphasizes how to respond more effectively, using the Five Secrets of Effective Communication.
The second podcast illustrates how to get people to open up using one of the advanced secrets called “Multiple Choice Empathy / Multiple Choice Disarming.
My book, Feeling Good Together, explains these techniques in detail, with practice exercises, and includes an entire chapter on how to talk to someone who refuses to talk to you. You can learn more on my book page. (https://feelinggood.com/books/). Some support from a mental health professional might also be helpful to you, as these techniques sound simple, but are actually challenging to master.
Your daughter might also benefit from my book, Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy (https://feelinggood.com/books/). It is not a substitute for treatment from a mental health professional, but research studies indicate that more than 60% of the people who read it improve significantly in just four weeks. It is inexpensive, and I’ve linked to it if you want to take a look.
All the best,
David
Question #2: Lorna asks: How can I deal with my jealousy?
Comment: Hi David,
I’ve recently discovered your books and your podcast and CBT has really been helping me in my personal life. I really want to thank you for all the amazing work you do!!
The issue I’m having however seems to still really get my moods down and I was wondering if perhaps you could offer some general advice via the podcast.
I’m in a great relationship but the ex-girlfriend of my partner has recently moved back to the city where we live and now we are in similar social circles. They were together for a very long time and now I’m really struggling with the prospect of spending time with her.
When we all spend time together, it’s actually fine, but afterwards I really struggle with thinking about them together, getting to know her and thinking about her personality and how we compare.
I think most people would find this uncomfortable, but it really has triggered a downward spiral for me. My partner and I argued about it and I struggle to let things go that were said in arguments.
Do you have any advice on dealing with a situation of an ex-partner being on the scene and perhaps how to not dwell on things that were said during arguments?
Thanks,
Lorna
Hi Lorna,
Thanks, might work. What does this mean: “Do you have any advice on dealing with a situation of an ex-partner being on the scene and perhaps how to not dwell on things that were said during arguments?”
The rest of the email seems to suggest feelings of jealousy, insecurity, and so forth, as if she is a threat to your current relationship. is this correct?
david
Hi David,
Thanks so much for getting back to me!
I don’t actually think she is a threat to our relationship, and don’t feel that they have feelings anymore for each other, but it just makes me super uncomfortable to think about how long they spent together.
I’m always comparing our relationship to what I think their relationship was like in the past. I know I should stop thinking about those things but I really struggle to stop!
I know my partner and I are very much in love but I keep having thoughts like
“It’s not fair that I have to spend time with her,” or
“I feel really guilty because he wants to be friends with her but can’t due to how I feel about the situation.”
I also feel like he blames me.
I was hoping you could shed some light on what you think in general is a good strategy for dealing with situations where an ex-girlfriend/boyfriend of your partner is on the scene and you all have to spend time together.
I do have feelings of jealousy and insecurity but I struggle to understand why as I don’t believe they want to be together anymore at all.
We had a few arguments about it initially where he said things like “you are just angry that I have an ex-girlfriend” or “what’s the big deal about it all?”
I was so hurt by the way he made my feelings seem petty and trivial. We have both apologized but I keep remembering what he said and how hurt it made me feel.
Do you have any advice on letting go of past arguments when the ‘problematic situation’ (ex-girlfriend being around) is still on-going?
Thank you so much!
Lorna
David and Rhonda discuss this question, and include David’s story in Intimate Connections as a medical student when David had a broken jaw and the ex-boyfriend of Judy, the girl he was living with in Palo Alto, charged into his house with a tough-looking friend and demanded to see Judy. David called the police, and the two fellows left and set, “we’re going to get you!” David was terrified, since his jaw was still broken, and got some jaw-dropping advice the advice from his buddy, Sergio. You will be surprised to hear about what happened next!
In addition to learning to “let go” of jealousy, Rhonda and David discuss many additional strategies for dealing with jealousy, including:
Use of Self-Disclosure
Positive Reframing: do you really want to give up your jealousy and vigilance?
Cost-Benefit Analysis: Is it worth the hassle of constantly being suspicious, as opposed to simply deciding to trust and let the chips fall here they may?
Downward Arrow: What are you the most afraid of?
Love Addiction
Fear of Rejection
Fear of Being Alone
Overcoming the fear of being alone and the “need” for this man’s love, or any man’s love, is discussed in the first section of Intimate Connections.
Exposure: You could fantasize the two of them together, making yourself as anxious and jealous as possible, until the feelings diminish and disappear.
Self-Monitoring: Counting your thoughts about them on a wrist counter or cell phone for four weeks. David describes his work with an intensely jealous law student after his girlfriend broke up with him so she could date another fellow in his class.
Understand the frequent ineffectiveness of apologizing, and why it doesn’t work! This is really important. David describes a powerful vignette about a troubled couple, where “I’m sorry” was CLEARLY a way of saying “shut up, I don’t want to feel about how hurt and angry you feel.” The Five Secrets of Effective Communication are a vastly more effective way of dealing with negative feelings. David and Rhonda contrast effective vs. dysfunctional “apologizing.”
While it can be important to say “I’m sorry,” this formulaic response is usually insufficient because it often ends the conversation but the difficult or hurtful feelings remain. What’s important to add is talking about the other person’s feelings, thoughts and experiences of the conflict and sharing your own thoughts and feelings.
When you say, “I’m sorry,” it’s sometimes insufficient because it often ends the conversation, but the difficult or hurtful feelings remain.
What’s important to add is talking about the other person’s feelings, thoughts and experiences of the conflict and sharing yours.
After David emailed Lorna with the outline for the podcast, Lorna replied:
Hi David,
Thank you sounds great! Can’t wait to listen to the episode. I think I will definitely order your book – I think it’s the only one missing for me to have the complete collection. Thanks again!
Lorna
Thanks for listening today! By the way, if you are looking for CE credits or training in TEAM-CBT, my upcoming workshop on therapeutic resistance on February 9, 2020 will be a good one. You’ll learn how to use the techniques described in today’s podcast.
See below for details and links!
David
You can reach Dr. Burns at david@feelinggood.com. Dr. Rhonda Barovsky practices in Walnut Creek, California, and can be reached at rbarovsky@aol.com. She is a Certified TEAM-CBT therapist and specializes in the treatment of trauma, anxiety, depression, and relationship problems. She also does forensic work in family court, but finds TEAM-CBT to be way more rewarding!
If you like our jingle music and would like to support the composer Brett Van Donsel, you may download it here.
Coming up in 2020
High Speed Methods to Reduce Resistance and Boost Motivation
This is the most important, and least understood, topic in the behavioral sciences. Nearly all therapeutic failure results from the failure to address resistance. Therapists do not understand what causes resistance or how treat it effectively.
Come to this workshop and learn how to melt away resistance for incredibly high-speed recovery!
This workshop will be live-streamed (and in person in Palo Alto, CA) so you can join from anywhere in the world! There will be many expert online helpers to assist you with the small-group exercises.
The Cognitive Distortion Starter Kit:
How to Crush Negative Thoughts
TEAM-CBT includes more than 100 powerful techniques to change the distorted thoughts that trigger negative emotions. But what techniques should I select for my patient who feels depressed, anxious, or angry?
As you know, in my book, Feeling Good, I listed the ten most common cognitive distortions, like All-or-Nothing Thinking, Should Statements, Emotional Reasoning, and more, and you probably use that list all the time in your clinical work. But do you know which techniques work the best for each distortion?
Come to this workshop and find out! You’ll learn with tons of cool techniques you can use every day to boost your clinical effectiveness.
This workshop will be live-streamed (and in person in Palo Alto, CA) so you can join from anywhere in the world! There will be many expert online helpers to assist you with the small-group exercises.
I also spotted an error in the blog I just sent out. The error was an error in the audio file for the Monday, January 13, 2020 (not January 6) podcast on “What if I really am a useless human being?”
I have also discovered that on the list of Feeling Good Podcasts, all the podcasts from #17 to the present time are off by 1. I am checking with a colleague to see the best way to fix this, as the list is an extremely valuable resource.
I apologize for some glitches we are fixing since the launch of the newly remodeled website, and hope you will like the new version!
Hungry for Some Awesome Training?
BI’ll be doing two cool one day workshops on topics of enormous importance:
How to overcome therapeutic resistance and boost patient motivation on February 9, 2019. This is the most important topic in all of psychotherapy, and the methods you will learn are innovative, surprising, and powerful. The focus will be on melting away therapeutic resistance in patients with depression (morning session) and anxiety disorders (afternoon).
I’m thrilled to be joined at both workshops by my esteemed colleague, Dr. Jill Levitt. We love to teach together! When we teach together, it makes for a dynamic and fun dance of learning. If you’ve heard us before, you know that Jill is warm, brilliant, and incredibly clear, so you can really LEARN and master concepts and practice techniques that can transform your practice.
You can join both online from anywhere in the world, or join us in person in Palo Alto for free breakfast, lunch, and schmoozing! You’ll find the details below.
David
You can reach Dr. Burns at david@feelinggood.com. Dr. Rhonda Barovsky practices in Walnut Creek, California, and can be reached at rbarovsky@aol.com. She is a Certified TEAM-CBT therapist and specializes in the treatment of trauma, anxiety, depression, and relationship problems. She also does forensic work in family court, but finds TEAM-CBT to be way more rewarding!
If you like our jingle music and would like to support the composer Brett Van Donsel, you may download it here.
Coming up in 2020
High Speed Methods to Reduce Resistance and Boost Motivation
This is the most important, and least understood, topic in the behavioral sciences. Nearly all therapeutic failure results from the failure to address resistance. Therapists do not understand what causes resistance or how treat it effectively.
Come to this workshop and learn how to melt away resistance for incredibly high-speed recovery!
The Cognitive Distortion Starter Kit:
How to Crush Negative Thoughts
TEAM-CBT includes more than 100 powerful techniques to change the distorted thoughts that trigger negative emotions. But what techniques should I select for my patient who feels depressed, anxious, or angry?
As you know, in my book, Feeling Good, I listed the ten most common cognitive distortions, like All-or-Nothing Thinking, Should Statements, Emotional Reasoning, and more, and you probably use that list all the time in your clinical work. But do you know which techniques work the best for each distortion?
Come to this workshop and find out! You’ll learn with tons of cool techniques you can use every day to boost your clinical effectiveness.
For many of you, there was an error in the audio file for the Monday, January 6, 2020 podcast on “What if I really am a useless human being?” I have corrected this problem, and you can find the show notes with the fully functioning audio file at this link. Rhonda and I apologize for this error, and greatly appreciate your interest and support!
You can also play the audio right here, but the show notes may also be of interest to you and you’ll find those at the link above.
Hungry for Some Awesome Training?
BI’ll be doing two cool one day workshops on topics of enormous importance:
How to overcome therapeutic resistance and boost patient motivation on February 9, 2019. This is the most important topic in all of psychotherapy, and the methods you will learn are innovative, surprising, and powerful. The focus will be on melting away therapeutic resistance in patients with depression (morning session) and anxiety disorders (afternoon).
I’m thrilled to be joined at both workshops by my esteemed colleague, Dr. Jill Levitt. We love to teach together! When we teach together, it makes for a dynamic and fun dance of learning. If you’ve heard us before, you know that Jill is warm, brilliant, and incredibly clear, so you can really LEARN and master concepts and practice techniques that can transform your practice.
You can join both online from anywhere in the world, or join us in person in Palo Alto for free breakfast, lunch, and schmoozing! You’ll find the details below.
David
You can reach Dr. Burns at david@feelinggood.com. Dr. Rhonda Barovsky practices in Walnut Creek, California, and can be reached at rbarovsky@aol.com. She is a Certified TEAM-CBT Level 4 therapist and specializes in the treatment of trauma, anxiety, depression, and relationship problems. She also does forensic work in family court, but finds TEAM-CBT to be way more rewarding!
If you like our jingle music and would like to support the composer Brett Van Donsel, you may download it here.
Coming up in 2020
High Speed Methods to Reduce Resistance and Boost Motivation
This is the most important, and least understood, topic in the behavioral sciences. Nearly all therapeutic failure results from the failure to address resistance. Therapists do not understand what causes resistance or how treat it effectively.
Come to this workshop and learn how to melt away resistance for incredibly high-speed recovery!
The Cognitive Distortion Starter Kit:
How to Crush Negative Thoughts
TEAM-CBT includes more than 100 powerful techniques to change the distorted thoughts that trigger negative emotions. But what techniques should I select for my patient who feels depressed, anxious, or angry?
As you know, in my book, Feeling Good, I listed the ten most common cognitive distortions, like All-or-Nothing Thinking, Should Statements, Emotional Reasoning, and more, and you probably use that list all the time in your clinical work. But do you know which techniques work the best for each distortion?
Come to this workshop and find out! You’ll learn with tons of cool techniques you can use every day to boost your clinical effectiveness.
Rhonda and David address a question from Karolina, a therapist in Poland who was failing with a depressed patient who felt totally convinced he was a “useless” human being. I think you will find their discussion of this case fascinating, as it deals with the cause of practically ALL therapeutic failure, and illustrates the solution al well, using TEAM-CBT methods and concepts.
Today’s podcast is intended for therapists and patients alike!
For the show notes, we are including the email David received from Karolina, as well as his initial response.
Dear Dr. Burns,
I’ve been listening to your podcast for 6 months now and it’s been so helpful with my work as a therapist as well as in my personal life. I’m starting to develop a habit of considering every unwanted state with a “what does it say that’s awesome about me?” and I’m much happier now :).
I’m wondering if you’d consider helping me some more. I have a client who’s been struggling with depression for many years. At the moment he’s doing ok and his mood is up. Lately the topic of his uselessness came up again and he’s willing to work on that. He said he’ll consider the possibility that he’s not a useless human being and asked me to not to dismiss the possibility that he is – that’s how he’ll know that I’m not just trying to cheer him up.
It’s been bugging me ever since. Although I’ve agreed, I really can’t find in me any part that is ready to think that. I strongly believe he’s not a useless person. I can’t imagine labeling anyone in that way and in his case it feels so personal as I like him very much and I care about him.
I’m starting to have dreams about our next session when I fail him by trying to convince him to think as I do. How can I be open about our conclusion when my mind is already fixed? Any thoughts on this would be deeply appreciated.
Best wishes from Poland
Karolina
Hi Karolina,
Thanks! The term has no meaning. It is just a vague put down, like what a bully might say.
I might ask him what time of day he was feeling useless, and then have him fill out a Daily Mood Log for that moment, step by step. We can only help him at one specific moment.
You can use a large number of techniques but must first get an A on Empathy, and then do effective paradoxical agenda setting, starting with the Paradoxical Invitation Step and then asking “what type of help would you be looking for?” then you can do the Magic Button and Positive Reframing.
All of the negative thoughts and feelings on the Daily Mood Log will be advantageous and will show something about him that is awesome and positive. You should be able to generate a list of at least 25 overwhelming positives. Then you can use the Magic Dial.
When you get to M = Methods, you can put the thought, “I am a useless human being” in the middle of a recovery circle, and then select a minimum of 16 methods to challenge it.
You can start with Identify the Distortions. There are likely at least 9 distortions in the thought, including AON, OG, MF, DP, MAG / MIN; ER; LAB; SH; SB.
You can try, “let’s define terms,” and ask what’s the definition of a “useless human being”? You’ll find that no matter how you try to define it,
The definition will apply to all human beings.
The definition will apply to no human beings.
The definition does not apply to him.
The definition does not make sense.
The definition is based on some kind of arbitrary cut-off points.
You can do this as a role-play, being a close friend trying to find out if you’re useless, and asking him for guidance on how to find out.
You can do the Paradoxical Double Standard Techniques, Downward Arrow, Hidden Emotion, Externalization of Voices, Acceptance Paradox / Self-Defense Paradigm, Examine the Evidence, Semantic Method, and on and on.
The problem is NOT that he’s a “useless human being” but rather that he’s obsessing and wasting time on a meaningless construct, and beating up on himself.
The whole key to success will be agenda setting. You can take the position that maybe this is not something that he really wants to challenge, since it may be working for him, and also reflects all those 25 wonderful things about him.
The whole key to success will be agenda setting. You can take the position that maybe this is not something that he really wants to challenge, since it may be working for him, and also reflects all those 25 wonderful things about him. Remember that just about 99.9% of therapeutic failure results from Agenda Setting errors. Is this something you want to help him with, or something he is desperately asking you for help with? I am almost 100% positive that this is your agenda, not his. In fact, your need to “help” him with this may actually keep him stuck.
In fact, here is the proof. You write: “I’m starting to have dreams about our next session when I fail him by trying to convince him to think as I do. How can I be open about our conclusion when my mind is already fixed?”
If you don’t understand this, I recommend some supervision from a TEAM therapists or join one of the online classes, or attend my workshop on resistance, coming up in a month or so, check out my website workshop page for details. You can join online.
David D. Burns, M.D.
Hi Dr. Burns,
Thank you so much for your quick and thorough response!
I kinda felt that my “helping” is the issue here as I’ve felt my own frustration rising…
Thanks for reminding me that uselessness is just a meaningless concept, I needed that. And I love the idea of role-playing as a friend asking for help with defining his uselessness. I’ll pace myself, though, and give us time to walk through all the steps, especially Empathy and Agenda Setting and check how it goes and what my clients wants, not I.
I appreciate information on the resources and supervision I can access online, so good to know there are options!
You can use my real name, can’t wait to hear the podcast :).
Karolina
Thanks for listening today! By the way, if you are looking for CE credits or training in TEAM-CBT, my upcoming workshop on therapeutic resistance on February 9, 2020 will be a good one. You’ll learn how to use the techniques described in today’s podcast.
See below for details and links!
David
You can reach Dr. Burns at david@feelinggood.com. Dr. Rhonda Barovsky practices in Walnut Creek, California, and can be reached at rbarovsky@aol.com. She is a Certified TEAM-CBT therapist and specializes in the treatment of trauma, anxiety, depression, and relationship problems. She also does forensic work in family court, but finds TEAM-CBT to be way more rewarding!
If you like our jingle music and would like to support the composer Brett Van Donsel, you may download it here.
Coming up in 2020
High Speed Methods to Reduce Resistance and Boost Motivation
This is the most important, and least understood, topic in the behavioral sciences. Nearly all therapeutic failure results from the failure to address resistance. Therapists do not understand what causes resistance or how treat it effectively.
Come to this workshop and learn how to melt away resistance for incredibly high-speed recovery!
This workshop will be live-streamed (and in person in Palo Alto, CA) so you can join from anywhere in the world! There will be many expert online helpers to assist you with the small-group exercises.
The Cognitive Distortion Starter Kit:
How to Crush Negative Thoughts
TEAM-CBT includes more than 100 powerful techniques to change the distorted thoughts that trigger negative emotions. But what techniques should I select for my patient who feels depressed, anxious, or angry?
As you know, in my book, Feeling Good, I listed the ten most common cognitive distortions, like All-or-Nothing Thinking, Should Statements, Emotional Reasoning, and more, and you probably use that list all the time in your clinical work. But do you know which techniques work the best for each distortion?
Come to this workshop and find out! You’ll learn with tons of cool techniques you can use every day to boost your clinical effectiveness.
This workshop will be live-streamed (and in person in Palo Alto, CA) so you can join from anywhere in the world! There will be many expert online helpers to assist you with the small-group exercises.
3. The Annual South San Francisco Intensive
August 10 – 13, 2020
Small Group Practice with Personal Feedback and Mentoring, and Chances for Personal Work and Healing
