Reframing in Therapy: 20 Scripts for Common Presenting Problems

A reframe changes what a behavior, symptom, or situation means without requiring the client to change first. Haley identified the strategic reframe as one of the most powerful tools in the therapist’s kit — precisely because it operates on meaning rather than behavior, and because changed meaning often produces behavioral change more reliably than direct instruction.

Reframing in Therapy: 20 Scripts for Common Presenting Problems is a clinical reference covering twenty specific reframes for the most common presenting problems: anxiety, depression, procrastination, anger, social anxiety, perfectionism, grief, relationship conflict, low self-esteem, fear of failure, chronic indecision, avoidance of intimacy, self-sabotage, impostor syndrome, compulsive behavior, people-pleasing, difficulty setting limits, chronic worry, emotional shutdown, and shame.

For each presenting problem, the book provides the original client frame, the strategic reframe, the clinical rationale for why the new frame is as valid as the original, and the full delivery script. Chapter 1 distinguishes a genuine strategic reframe from CBT cognitive restructuring and from validation. Chapter 2 gives the four-component construction template for building any reframe from the client’s own language. The final chapter shows how to construct a custom reframe for any presenting problem not covered in the twenty scripts.

Worksheets included with this book — free for registered members:

• Reframe Delivery Planner — Plan the timing, framing, and exact language for a reframe before the session, and document what to do if the client rejects it.
• Reframe Script Builder — Build a custom reframe for a presenting problem not covered in the book’s scripts, using the client’s specific words and frame.
• Client Language Capture Log — Record the specific words, metaphors, and phrases a client uses most consistently — the raw material for building reframes that land.
• Reframe Effectiveness Tracker — Track how specific reframes landed across sessions, what worked, what didn’t, and what adjustments improved them.

Published by Strategic Therapy Institute.