TEAM-CBT is a framework for doing therapy developed by Dr. David Burns. It is not a school of therapy (like psychoanalysis, narrative therapy, or Acceptance Commitment Therapy), but it’s a tool.
A strong emphasis is put on collecting data on how therapy is progressing. Is the therapist getting an “A” on understanding the client and working with client’s motivation to change?
Also, different from other forms of therapy is the importance of using methods that are effective and not only the methods that are considered “narrative” or “psychoanalytic.”
Let’s take a brief look at each step of TEAM.
T is for testing.
Your therapist will ask you to fill out a Brief Mood Survey at the beginning and at the end of each therapy session which assesses your level of depression, anxiety, anger, positive emotions, and satisfaction with a relationship.
In addition, you will have the chance to evaluate the therapy session in terms of empathy of the therapist, helpfulness and satisfaction with the session, and your commitment to do the homework.
You will also list what you liked least and most about the session. All of this gives tremendous information to you and your therapist on how the therapy is progressing and what is (or is not) working.
E is for empathy.
Several studies have found positive correlations between therapeutic empathy and recovery (Orlinsky, Grawe, & Parks, 1995). Patients who perceive their therapists as warm and understanding recover more rapidly than patients who do not feel accepted or understood by their therapists.
Dr. Burns has also shown a direct causal effect of therapist empathy on recovery from depression (Burns & Nolen-Hoeksema, 1992). This is why TEAM therapists don’t move on to using methods until they are sure that client feels understood and have had enough time to share their story.
Also, the client has the power to choose when he/she is ready to “roll up the sleeves and start working” on the problem.
A is for assessing the resistance.
Until recently, resistance has been looked at as something negative; something that doesn’t let the therapy progress and stalls the efforts of the therapist.
In TEAM, we look at it differently. For example, think about feeling anxious before giving an important presentation. That anxiety will make us prepare well for the presentation and shows that we want to do the best work and that we care about what our colleagues think about us.
Aren’t these all great things that often make us excel?
Obviously, the same anxiety also keeps us up at night and doesn’t let us enjoy time with our family. And that is why clients often feel ambivalent about the change either consciously or unconsciously – there are both positive and negative aspects in their suffering.
Clients also need to do hard things before they start feeling better, like confronting difficult situations that make them anxious or start adding (pleasurable) activities in their life even when they feel tired or unmotivated.
It is important to address all this before trying to force methods on clients. Often, this whole process gives clients a sense of relief and hope, and they feel motivated to get to work.
M is for methods.
There are more than 100 concrete methods to use with our clients. There is no one-size-fits-all in therapy, so we need to have as many effective tools as possible.
If one method doesn’t work, we move on and try the next one and the next one. The motto is “fail as fast as you can to find the method that works.” Most of the TEAM-CBT methods are either cognitive or behavioural, but there are also tools from narrative, mindfulness, Gestalt, and many other therapy schools.
TEAM-CBT is all about bringing forth rapid change in the client. We do that by tracking the progress, listening and understanding the client’s story, assessing the resistance, and using effective techniques.
#TEAM-CBT
