Sometimes transcripts of sessions with an experienced cognitive behavioral therapist sound so natural and easy, you can imagine the clinician as your best friend, chatting with you on a park bench. However, successful treatment takes foresight, and the use of these seven tips. Conceptualize a case adequately. Picture the way...

...

Medications are more effective than therapy.”“Therapy is just as effective, but lasts longer.”Depending on your biases, you can probably find evidence to support either of the above propositions.Dozens of trials compare cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) to a waiting-list control group, and hundreds of trials examine how antidepressants compare to placebo.

You’ve obviously heard about cognitive therapy (CT), also known as cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), and perhaps you practice it. But most psychotherapists in the U.S. do not identify themselves as CBT therapists, instead practicing an eclectic brand of therapy combining psychodynamic theory, supportive techniques, basic problem solving, and a smattering...

...

...

In the US, 60% of children report exposure to violence, abuse or other trauma in the past year. Traumatized children like Karina can present to treatment with a range of symptoms, including anxiety, irritability, disruptive behaviors, mood dysregulation, and developmental regression.

EMDR stands for “Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.” Created by psychologist Francine Shapiro in 1989, EMDR was first used for posttraumatic stress symptoms associated with military combat and sexual assault, and the treatment has a strong base of support.

TF-CBT has strong evidence of improving a wide variety of problems, including PTSD, depression, anxiety and fear, behavior
problems, and trauma-related shame, as well as improving parental functioning.

If you treat patients with bipolar disorder, then you have reached what I call the moment of truth. Your patient has been doing so well, she’s not even sure she still has a psychiatric problem. This is one of the many opportunities for psychotherapy in bipolar disorder—in this case, helping your patient to come to terms with her illness.