Dr. Allan Abbass: Understanding & Navigating Treatment Resistance in Psychotherapy

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Treatment resistance/non-response in psychotherapy is a major contributor of disability and loss of functioning among clients as well as a considerable source of  burnout in mental health clinicians.  Renowned psychiatrist and psychotherapist Dr. Allan Abbass joins us for a discussion of treatment resistance/non-response in psychotherapy which includes: 

• how treatment resistance is defined
• the prevalence of treatment resistance in psychotherapy
• structural factors (i.e., the dose of therapy available in public/private settings) that may contribute to treatment resistance
• the biological & social factors that predict treatment resistance  
• clues that treatment resistance may be attributable to an underlying medical condition 
• how psychosocial overlay to prescribing practices could influence treatment resistance 
• the special challenge that adverse early life events pose with respect to creating non-response to treatment
• conceptualization of non-responding clients from a psychological perspective 
• common maladpative therapist responses to treatment resistance in the context of the treating relationship 
• burnout in the context of treatment resistance clients and what can be done to avoid this
• the active ingredients in Intensive Short Term Dynamic Therapy (ISTDP) that help to address some of the unique challenges experienced by non-responding clients
• analogs in CBT to ISTDP that could be leveraged to address treatment resistance
• general tips/perspectives for clinicians relating to treatment resistance in their clients

Dr. Allan Abbass is a psychiatrist, teacher, and researcher. He is a professor of psychiatry and psychology and the founding director of the Centre for Emotions and Health at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada. Dr. Abbass has consulted widely with governments, universities, and health agencies on the cost-effectiveness and applicability of short-term psychotherapy.  He has provided over 300 invited presentations around the world as well as ongoing video-recording-based training to professionals in several countries. In addition, he has been awarded many research grants and has over 200 publications.  He is also the author of Reaching Through Resistance: Advanced Psychotherapy Techniques as well as co-author on numerous other books.  Dr. Abbass has been a consultant to the American Psychological Association on the Unified Psychotherapy Project and to the American Psychoanalytic Association, where he serves on the Scientific Committee. He was a board member of the International Experiential Dynamic Therapy Association. He has been an editorial board member for the American Psychological Association journal Psychotherapy. Dr. Abbass is proud to be the David Malan Professor of Psychotherapy at the Tavistock, London, UK.

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