Exploring Why Clients Might Not Want to Change
David Burns • 7/3/2019
Do you have a client who you can't seem to help, no matter what techniques you try? In this brief video, master clinician David Burns—one of the developers of CBT and an expert in treating depression and anxiety—explains why we shouldn't automatically assume that clients actually want to change the problems they initially present in treatment.
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What to Do When Your Client Doesn't Want to Change
David Burns • 6/24/2019
By David Burns - What if a client's resistance to change reveals something positive, beautiful, and even healthy about them—something that we’ve overlooked? If we can learn to put unconscious resistance front and center in our clinical work, we can lessen or even eliminate our clients’ resistance altogether.
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The Secret to Better Outcomes in Less Time
David Burns, Rich Simon • 5/26/2016
According to David Burns, MD, one of the originators of CBT and an expert in treating depression and anxiety, too often therapists ignore clients’ aversion to change. So he's developed a powerful approach to overcoming client resistance — once and for all. In our new online Master Class, Overcoming Resistance with Dr. David Burns: The Secret to Better Outcomes in Less Time, you can learn how David applies his evidence-based TEAM approach to motivate clients toward change and increase positive outcomes.
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David Burns on the Paradox of Resistance
David Burns • 9/4/2015
According to therapist and author David Burns, the biggest barrier to treating anxiety successfully is recognizing how clients covertly hold onto their symptoms, even when it causes them distress. Here, Burns explains how he addresses resistance to create meaningful and lasting change.
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David Burns on the Origin of His Hidden Emotion Technique
David Burns • 7/1/2015
When I first began my career in CBT, it seemed to work a lot better than medications and talk therapy, and clients liked it. Sometimes, the results were fast and spectacular. But something was missing. It seemed obvious that negative thoughts triggered anxiety, but what caused the negative thoughts? What was it inside a person that made him or her so vulnerable to intense anxiety and insecurity? Then one day, one of my patients got me to thinking about anxiety in an entirely new way.
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We May be Anxious, but not to Change
David Burns • 7/1/2014
As therapists, we typically assume that a person suffering from severe anxiety is eager and motivated to receive the help we offer. But we should never naively underestimate clients’ hidden antipathy to change, despite their discomfort.
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