High-Yield Cognitive-Behavior Therapy for Brief Sessions

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.