DBT Metaphors and Stories gives therapists and DBT skills trainers the skills they need to make effective use of dialectical behavior therapy and to help clients more deeply understand complex realities. Each page is devoted to explaining a specific DBT skill. The book is structured so that it can be used in several ways, including as a reference tool to look up specific skills the reader is struggling to understand or (for skills trainers) to teach. The book can also be read cover to cover, both for understanding the broad array of skills and as a source of motivation to devote one’s self to regular practice of skills. It’s a vital guide for trainers, therapists, and their clients interested in fully harnessing DBT’s power to change lives.

Metaphors and exercises play an incredibly important part in the successful delivery of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). These powerful tools go far in helping clients connect with their values and give them the motivation needed to make a real, conscious commitment to change. Unfortunately, many of the metaphors that clinicians use have become stale and ineffective. That’s why you need fresh, new resources for your professional library. In this breakthrough book, two ACT researchers provide an essential A-Z resource guide that includes tons of new metaphors and experiential exercises to help promote client acceptance, defusion from troubling thoughts, and values-based action. The book also includes scripts tailored to different client populations, and special metaphors and exercises that address unique problems that may sometimes arise in your therapy sessions. Several ACT texts and workbooks have been published for the treatment of a variety of psychological problems. However, no one resource exists where you can find an exhaustive list of metaphors and experiential exercises geared toward the six core elements of ACT. Whether you are treating a client with anxiety, depression, trauma, or an eating disorder, this book will provide you with the skills needed to improve lives, one exercise at a time. With a special foreword by ACT cofounder Steven C. Hayes, PhD, this book is a must-have for any ACT Practitioner.

"George W. Burns examines the healing value of using metaphors in therapy and provides 101 inspirational story ideas that therapists can adapt to share with clients for effecting change. He explains how to tell stories that engage the client, how to make them metaphoric, and where to find sources for such tales. Burns also shows readers how to build stories from personal experiences or their own imagination to use in session, making this thoughtful book an especially creative therapeutic tool."--BOOK JACKET.

By a distinguished team of authors, this workbook offers readers unprecedented access to the core skills of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), formerly available only through complicated professional books and a small handful of topical workbooks. These straightforward, step-by-step exercises will bring DBT core skills to thousands who need it.

If you eat to help manage your emotions, you may have discovered that it doesn’t work. Once you’re done eating, you might even feel worse. Eating can all too easily become a strategy for coping with depression, anxiety, boredom, stress, and anger, and a reliable reward when it’s time to celebrate. If you are ready to experience emotions without consuming them or being consumed by them, the mindfulness, acceptance, and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills in End Emotional Eating can help. This book does not focus on what or how to eat—rather, these scientifically supported skills will teach you how to manage emotions and urges gracefully, live in the present moment, learn from your feelings, and cope with distress skillfully. This book has been awarded The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Self-Help Seal of Merit — an award bestowed on outstanding self-help books that are consistent with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) principles and that incorporate scientifically tested strategies for overcoming mental health difficulties. Used alone or in conjunction with therapy, our books offer powerful tools readers can use to jump-start changes in their lives.

"Oxford Guide to Metaphors in CBT, Building Cognitive Bridges is a remarkable, memorable, and continually fascinating book, one that will be on my repeated reference list for years to come." Robert Leahy, Clinical Professor of Pscyhology in Psychiatry at Well-Comell University Medical College --

A comprehensive guide to understanding and using storytelling in therapy with kids and teens "George Burns is a highly experienced clinician with the remarkable ability to create, discover, and tell engaging stories that can teach us all the most important lessons in life. With 101 Healing Stories for Kids and Teens, he strives especially to help kids and teens learn these life lessons early on, providing them opportunities for getting help and even learning to think preventively." -Michael D. Yapko, PhD | Author of Breaking the Patterns of Depression and Hand-Me-Down Blues "George Burns takes the reader on a wonderful journey, balancing metaphor, good therapeutic technique, and empirical foundations during the trip. Given that Burns utilizes all three aspects of the Confucian story referred to in the book-teaching, showing, and involving-readers should increase their understanding of how stories can be used therapeutically." -Richard G. Whiteside, MSW | Author of The Art of Using and Losing Control and Working with Difficult Clients: A Practical Guide to Better Therapy "A treasure trove for parents and for professionals in the child-development fields." -Jeffrey K. Zeig, PhD | Director, The Milton H. Erickson Foundation Stories can play an important and potent role in therapy with children and adolescents-helping them develop the skills to cope with and survive a myriad of life situations. In many cases, stories provide the most effective means of communicating what kids and teens might not want to discuss directly. 101 Healing Stories for Kids and Teens provides straightforward advice on using storytelling and metaphors in a variety of therapeutic settings. Ideal for all who work with young people, this unique resource can be combined with other inventive and evidence-based techniques such as play, art, music, and drama therapies as well as solution focused, hypnotic, and cognitive-behavioral approaches. Offering guidance for new clinicians and seasoned professionals, George Burns's latest work delivers a unique combination-information on incorporating storytelling in therapy, dozens of ready-made stories, and tips for creating original therapeutic stories. Innovative chapters include: * Guidance for effective storytelling * Using metaphors effectively * Where to get ideas for healing stories * Planning and presenting healing stories * Teaching parents to use healing stories In addition, 101 Healing Stories for Kids and Teens includes dozens of story ideas designed to address a variety of issues, such as: * Enriching learning * Teaching self-care * Changing patterns of behavior * Managing relationships, emotions, and life challenges * Creating helpful thoughts * Developing life skills and problem-solving techniques