High-Yield Cognitive-Behavior Therapy for Brief Sessions: An Illustrated Guide

High-Yield Cognitive-Behavior Therapy for Brief Sessions: An Illustrated Guide
breaks entirely new ground in explaining how to weave together the powerful
tools of CBT with pharmacotherapy in sessions shorter than the traditional
"50-minute hour." Written for psychiatrists, therapists, and other clinicians,
the book details ways to enrich brief sessions with practical CBT interventions
that work to relieve symptoms and promote wellness.

An engaging and
instructive resource of video illustrations included with the book demonstrates
how to successfully implement brief CBT sessions for some of the most common and
important problems seen in clinical practice-depression, anxiety, psychotic
symptoms, suicidality, sleep disturbances, substance abuse, and coping with
physical health issues. Written by practicing clinicians with extensive
experience in combining CBT and pharmacotherapy, this volume builds on the
constructs and techniques described in the authors' earlier best-selling
illustrated guides, Learning Cognitive-Behavior Therapy and Cognitive-Behavior
Therapy for Severe Mental Illness. The authors describe in detail the general
features of CBT that can be applied in less time than the 50-minute hour The
therapist and patient function as an investigative team; the power of this
collaborative empiricism can be evident in even the shortest of clinical
encounters. Clinicians teach patients how to rapidly set agendas, focus on
specific problems, pace sessions, and give and receive feedback on progress;
this structuring approach is especially well-suited to brief sessions. A basic
tenet of CBT, psychoeducation can effectively be delivered in sessions shorter
than 45-60 minutes and, in fact, may become a more dominant aspect of treatment
during briefer time frames. Patients can learn practical, high-yield methods
for decreasing symptoms fairly quickly, making these methods highly suitable for
application in shorter sessions. Homework extends learning beyond the confines
of the session and encourages self-help in the treatment process, effectively
increasing the value of shortened clinician-patient time.

When sessions
are brief, clinicians must be able to generate succinct and targeted
formulations that include key pieces of information that allow for full
understanding of the patient, while honing in on specific problems where
positive results can be collaboratively pursued. This book, with its video
illustrations and learning exercises, was designed to help readers achieve
incisive formulations while they sharpen their basic CBT techniques and
successfully apply this knowledge in the stimulating and rewarding domain of
brief sessions.

A must-read for working clinicians as well as trainees,
this book offers pragmatic solutions for the challenge of providing effective
psychotherapy in brief treatment sessions.