David D. Burns is a psychiatrist working in the field of cognitive behavioral therapy. He served as Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He is known for his publications clinical research and psychotherapy models.

Burns completed his undergraduate education at Amherst College with honors. He received his medical education at the Stanford University School of Medicine and continued his psychiatric residency at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He worked as Chief of Psychiatry at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and served as a Visiting Scholar at Harvard Medical School.

Burns’s work has focused on improving assessment processes in the treatment of depression and anxiety. He developed methods to enable more accurate and rapid evaluation of patient feedback in clinical practice. The T.E.A.M. therapy model he developed consists of four components—Testing Empathy Agenda Setting and Methods—and provides a framework for structuring the therapeutic process.

Burns developed a measurement tool called the Burns Depression Checklist for assessing depression. This scale is used to monitor the severity of depression and evaluate therapeutic progress.

In the early stages of his career Burns focused on the chemical imbalance theory of depression but later questioned the scientific basis of this approach. He contributed to studies challenging the direct link between serotonin levels and depression. In evaluating the effects of antidepressants he emphasized the importance of the placebo effect.

Within the framework of his T.E.A.M. cognitive behavioral therapy approach he examined change processes using data-driven analyses. For many years he conducted online psychotherapy classes and made significant contributions to the training of numerous mental health professionals.

Burns has produced works aimed at both professional and general audiences in the field of mental health. His major books include:

• Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy – 1980.
• The Feeling Good Handbook – 1989.
• Intimate Connections – 1985.
• Ten Days to Self-Esteem – 1993.
• When Panic Attacks – 2006.
• Feeling Good Together – 2008.
• Tools Not Schools of Therapy – 2020.
• Feeling Great – 2020.

• National Association of Cognitive Behavioral Therapists Outstanding Contributions Award 2002.
• American Association of Applied and Preventive Psychology Distinguished Contribution to Psychology Award 1995.
• American Psychological Association Distinguished Contribution to Psychology Through the Media Award.
• American Psychiatric Association Irma Bland Award for Teaching 2019.
• University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine Teacher of the Year award three times.