Skills Class 2 - Building Motivation: Using Positive Reframing to Reduce Resistance in CBT

Agenda setting is a foundational clinical skill in TEAM-CBT, yet many clinicians struggle to move sessions forward when clients feel stuck, overwhelmed, ambivalent, or strongly attached to their distress. Premature problem-solving can intensify resistance, while bypassing emotion can weaken alliance and stall progress. This workshop presents agenda setting as a precision clinical process rather than a procedural step.

Participants learn how positive reframing functions as a motivational and empathic intervention that reduces resistance and increases readiness for change. Reframing is taught not as reassurance or “positive thinking,” but as a structured method for identifying the protective function of symptoms and the values embedded in painful emotions, prior to negotiating an agenda.

Through live demonstrations, guided practice, and clinical case examples, participants learn to clarify client goals for the session, recognize when resistance reflects unmet emotional needs, and use positive reframing to align with the client’s emotional logic. The workshop emphasizes therapist stance, timing, and common errors that undermine agenda setting, including subtle therapist-driven agendas and premature intervention.

Cultural and contextual considerations are integrated throughout, including how misaligned agenda setting can be misinterpreted as client “lack of motivation.” Participants practice specific language for validating emotions while maintaining therapeutic direction. By the end of the workshop, clinicians will be able to use agenda setting and positive reframing as integrated clinical skills that strengthen alliance, reduce resistance, and create momentum for effective CBT interventions.