111: Stephanie James Interview (Part 2) — On the Road to Feeling Great

This is the second of three interviews with Stephanie James on her superb radio show and podcast, The Spark. Stephanie is an experienced therapist and dynamic radio personality from Colorado. She is co-authoring a book on how to live a “spark-filled life.”

This interview with Stephanie focused, in part, on the evolution of the new TEAM-CBT from traditional Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Stephanie asks Dr. Burns questions on a wide range of topics, including:

How would you treat a case of social anxiety? What is “therapeutic whitewashing” and how can therapists get over it? What should therapists do instead? How would you work with violent incarcerated teenagers, such as gang members? Why is it so important for therapists who are learning TEAM-CBT to check their egos at the door? After you published your first book, Feeling Good, and the first research study on CBT was published, cognitive therapy swept the world. After your initial euphoria, your enthusiasm dimmed somewhat. Why? And what new direction did your research lead? What are the most common errors that therapists make in thinking about the causes of therapeutic resistance? How can you overcome a patient’s resistance to change? Can TEAM-CBT work rapidly for someone with horrific abuse and decades of failed therapy? How can you prevent relapses following the patient’s initial recovery?

Dr. Burns' third interview with Stephanie will be on the interpersonal TEAM model—how to convert conflicted relationships into loving, rewarding ones.