"One of my earliest cognitive therapy patients asked if we'd spend time exploring his past. He thought we might find patterns that would explain his depression. I was taken aback. I had just discovered a set of powerful, active techniques that helped people change how they felt in the here-and-now. As a psychiatric resident, I had seen that endless venting without specific techniques for change led to little or no relief."
"So, I made him an offer. I told him I'd be happy to explore his past for as long as he wanted-with just one catch. He'd have to work with me for a few sessions so I could cure his depression first. Then, if he was still interested, we could spend as many months as he wanted digging into his history. He agreed, and he responded really well to CBT. His depression disappeared after just a few sessions."
"Over the years, I made the same offer to many patients who had spent years in traditional talk therapy. And without exception, once they were feeling joyful and hopeful again, their interest in exploring the past suddenly evaporated. That experience shaped what I now call TEAM CBT-a high-speed approach to treating depression and anxiety that focuses on what's happening right now."
Current feelings largely predict recovery; an individual's emotional past adds little once present feelings are known. Active, present-focused techniques can change how people feel in the here-and-now and produce rapid relief. A clinician offered past exploration only after first treating depression, and patients often lost interest in past exploration once they felt joyful and hopeful. TEAM CBT is a high-speed approach that targets current experience to treat depression and anxiety, with goals of completing a full course in a single two-hour session. Reported outcomes include about 90% success and rarely used lifetime tune-ups.
Read at Psychology Today
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