Dear Colleagues,

If you are a TEAM-CBT Practitioner, you are already familiar with one of the most advanced, sophisticated and powerful thought replacement systems we have: TEAM-CBT. This approach, typically delivered in the therapist’s office, but also delivered by coaches, Low-Intensity-CBT Practitioners, clergy, and others, was developed by Dr. David Burns and colleagues over the past 40 years. Dr. Burns studied and worked with Aaron Beck in Pennsylvania, decades ago, and continues his research, teaching, and technological development at Stanford in California. I was fortunate enough to meet Dr. Burns back in 2004 as a psychiatry resident trainee and continue to be fortunate enough to learn with Dr Burns and share his teaching with others. TEAM-CBT is a process for working with people that is trans-diagnostic, non-pathologizing, respectful, collaborative, powerful, and even fun.

If you are a therapist who is not a practitioner of TEAM-CBT yet, it’s well worth checking out. I have known countless therapists who are blown away by the changes in themselves personally and professionally as well as the tremendous impact implementing this approach has for their clients. Learning to implement this approach with skill is akin to arming yourself with therapist superpowers, not only to help patients heal, but to connect, re-connect, and heal in a transformative way.

So what are we after in TEAM-CBT? Total transformation. 

How do we accomplish that? By changing our/our patient’s thoughts, the story they are telling themselves, the meaning they are making of their circumstances.

In a word, we are looking to replace the current running software - “I am not good enough.” “I don’t’ matter.” “No one likes me.” “Things shouldn’t be this way.” “I am alone.” “Thing will not work out.” - with an upgraded version. We want to ask the brain to play programs that sound more like this: “I’m a human having a human experience.” “I matter.” “Things are going just as they should.” “I can be okay, even when this is happening.” “Sometimes I feel connected to others, sometimes I don’t, and that’s okay.” “I can figure this out.” 

There has sometimes been the perception that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is superficial or “Pollyanna”-ish. Both terms being used in a derogatory way. It certainly can seem we are missing something if we just ask someone who feels they are not good enough to tell themselves they are good enough – when their brain is not yet ready to believe it. Enter TEAM-CBT, part of whose job it is to ready the brain for believing such a thought, or others. And it does a darn good job of it. Hard to operate on an unprepared brain. Feeling safe, comfortable, connected, trusting. . . seeing our beauty, pain, and values for the wonderful things they are, melting resistance and enhancing motivation all create a brain ready for change. . . not change to rob anyone of anything, mind you, change to empower, so that one can become more of who they are.

So, what if we already have a prepared brain? Or we have practice preparing our brain already?

Can we just pick the opposite thought, tell it to ourselves and all is well?

Yes. And no. Or more accurately, sometimes yes. Most accurately, if we pick wisely.

What we are really looking for is a replacement thought, a thought we can think on purpose to replace a previous thought that was not serving us. We must be savvy, because our brains will not accept just any thought. So, how can we go about this?

You already know one of the most effective ways, TEAM-CBT. TEAM-CBT is made up of a number of methods. Here are a couple that are not traditionally part of TEAM-CBT:

Finding a replacement thought: Thought Ladder or Thought Garden.

Let’s talk about how to find a replacement thought. I like to use a Thought Ladder or even just pick one from a carefully planted Thought Garden.

For today, let’s consider a Thought Garden (I just made up that word, but I like it a lot).

A Thought Garden is a place to find and maybe even plant replacement thoughts.

In our Winning Round Two Bootcamp we are wandering through the garden and planting some beautiful thoughts!