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What Works in the Treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? The Definitive Study
What works in the treatment of people with post-traumatic stress? The influential Cochrane Collaboration–an "independent network of people" whose self-professed mission is to help "healthcare providers, policy makers, patients, their advocates and carers, make well-informed decisions, concludes that, "non trauma-focused psychological treatments [do] not reduce PTSD symptoms as significantly…as individual trauma focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (TFCBT), eye… — read more
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Goodbye Freud, Hello Common Factors
Gary Greenberg certainly has a way with words. In his most recent article, The War on Unhappiness, published in the August issue of Harper’s magazine, Greenberg focuses on the "helping profession"–its colorful characters, constantly shifting theoretical landscape, and claims and counterclaims regarding "best practice." He also gives prominence to the most robust and replicated finding in psychotherapy outcome research: the "dodo bird verdict." Simply… — read more
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The Effects of Feedback on Medication Compliance and Outcome: Follow Up on The University of Pittsburgh Study
Late last year, I blogged about a study being conducted at the University of Pittsburgh by Dr. Jan Pringle, the director of the Program Evalutation Research Unit in the School of Pharmacology and her colleague, Dr. Michael Melczak. You’ll recall, there were two conditions in the study. In the first, pharmacists–the practitioner most likely to interact… — read more
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Connecting, Learning, and Sharing: The ICCE at One Year
September 7, 2010 Chicago, Illinois USA I can’t believe it. Summer is over. Kids are back in school. And the International Center for Clinical Excellence (ICCE) is celebrating its one year anniversary! Time passes so quickly. On August 24th, 2009, I blogged about the creation of a web-based community of clinicians using the latest Web2.0 technology where… — read more
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Ohio Update: Use of CDOI improves outcome, retention, and decreases "board-level" complaints
A few days ago, I received an email from Shirley Galdys, the Associate Director of the Crawford-Marion Alcohol and Drug/Mental Health Services Board in Marion, Ohio. Back in January, I blogged about the steps the group had taken to deal with the cutbacks, shortfalls, and all around tough economic circumstances facing agencies in Ohio. At… — read more
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Error-centric Practice: How Getting it Wrong can Help you Get it Right
It’s an idea that makes intuitive sense but is simultanesouly unappealing to most people. I, for one, don’t like it. What’s more, it flies in the face of the "self-esteem" orientation that has dominated much of educational theory and practice over the last several decades. And yet, research summarized in a recent issue of Scientific American… — read more
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The Impact of Mentors
Brendan Madden Scott D. Miller Jeffrey K. Zeig A little over month ago, I blogged about how the outcome and session rating scales were originally conceived of and developed. A few days prior to that, I wrote about where the whole idea of using measures to solicit feedback had started. In both instances, my teachers and supervisors played a… — read more
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So you want to be a better therapist? Take a hike!
How best to improve your performance as a clinician? Take the continuing education mutliple-choice quiz: a. Attend a two-day training; b. Have an hour of supervision from a recognized expert in a particular treatment approach; c. Read a professional book, article, or research study; d. Take a walk or nap. If you chose a, b,… — read more
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Feedback Informed Treatment (FIT): A Worldwide Trend in Behavioral Health
In my prior blogpost, I reviewed exciting developments taking place throughout Canada regarding "feedback-informed treatment" (FIT). For those following me on Twitter–and if you’re not, please do so by clicking on the link–you already know that last week I was in Tunbridge, England for a two day training sponsored by the Kent-Medway National Healthcare Trust on "Supershrinks: Learning from the Fields… — read more
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O Canada! Leading the Way to Improved Behavioral Health Services
Last month, I traveled back and forth between the United States and Canada several times. First, I was in Edmonton working with several hundred dedicated social workers, case managers, and therapists at The Family Centre. A week later I traveled to Saskatoon, spending two days talking about outcome-informed clinical work at the Addiction Professionals Associational of Saskatchewan… — read more
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Implementing Consumer-Driven, Outcome-Informed (CDOI) Behavioral Health Services: The ICCE and 2010 Training of Trainers Event
This week I’m in Calgary, Canada. Last week, I was in Charleston, South Carolina. Next week, I’ll be in Marion, Ohio and Bay city, Michigan. In each instance, I’m working with the management and staff of public behavioral health agencies that are busy implementing consumer-driven, outcome-informed clinical work. Some of the groups are just beginning… — read more
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The Road to Clinical Excellence is Paved with Practice, Mistakes, & Hard Work
Last week, I received an email from friend and ICCE member David Claud. I’ve known Dave for the better part of a decade, having met–I believe–at a Ericksonian conference in Florida where he lives and works. He and the crew at the Center for Family Service in Palm Beach County figure prominently in the history… — read more
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After the Thrill is Gone: Sustaining a Commitment to Routinely Seeking Feedback
Helsingor Castle (the setting for Shakespeare’s Hamlet) Dateline: May 8th, 2010, Helsingor, Denmark This weekend I’m in Denmark doing a two-day workshop on "Supershrinks" sponsored by Danish psychologist and ICCE Senior Associate and Trainer Susanne Bargmann. Just finished the first day with a group of 30 talented clinicians working diligently to achieve their personal best. The… — read more
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Feedback, Friends, and Outcome in Behavioral Health
My first year in college, my declared major was accounting. What can I say? My family didn’t have much money and my mother–who chose my major for me–thought that the next best thing to wealth was being close to money. Much to her disappointment I switched from accounting to psychology in my softmore year. That’s when I first met Dr. Michael Lambert.… — read more
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ICCE Membership Hits 1000!
Just yesterday, the membership of the International Center for Clinical Excellence burst through the 1000 mark, making it the largest community of behavioral health professionals dedicated to excellence and consumer-driven, outcome-informed clinical practice (CDOI). And there’s more news…click on the video below. — read more
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Learning, Mastery, and Achieving One’s Personal Best
Dateline: Sunday, April 25th, 2010 Chicago, IL There’s a feeling I get whenever I’m learning something new. It’s a combination of wonder and possibility. Even though I’ve been traveling and teaching full time for over 18 years, I still feel that get that feeling of excitement whenever I step on a plane: What will I see? Who will… — read more
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Eruptions in Europe and in Research
Dateline: 11:20 am, April 18th, 2010 Today I was supposed to fly from Stockholm, Sweden to the far northern town of Skelleftea–a flight that takes a little over an hour. Instead, I’m sitting on a train headed for Sundsvall, the first leg of a 12 hour trip that will include a 6 hour bus ride… — read more
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Problems in Evidence-Based Land: Questioning the Wisdom of "Preferred Treatments"
This last week, Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor for the U.K. Independent published an article entitled, “The big question: Does cognitive therapy work? And should the NHS (National Health Service) provide more of it?” Usually such questions are limited to professional journals and trade magazines. Instead, it ran in the “Life and Style” section of one of Britain’s… — read more
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"What Works" in Holland: The Cenzo Experience
When it comes to healthcare, it can be said without risk of exaggeration that "revolution is in the air." The most sweeping legislation in history has just been passed in the United States. Elsewhere, as I’ve been documenting in my blogs, countries, states, provinces, and municipalities are struggling to maintain quality while containing costs of… — read more
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Outcomes in New Zealand
Made it back to Chicago after a week in New Zealand providing training and consultation. As I blogged about last Thursday, the last two days of my trip were spent in Christchurch providing a two-day training on "What Works" for Te Pou–New Zealand’s National Centre of Mental Health Research, Information, and Workforce Development. Last year… — read more
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Is Professional Training a Waste of Time?
Every year, thousands of students graduate from professional programs with degrees enabling them to work in the field of behavioral health. Many more who have already graduated and are working as a social worker, psychologist, counselor, or marriage and family therapist attend—often by legal mandate—continuing education events. The costs of such training in terms of time and… — read more
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Excellence on a Shoestring: The “Home for Good” Program
Today I’m teaching in Christchurch, New Zealand. For the last two days, I’ve been in Nelson, a picturesque coastal town opposite Abel Tasman, working with the local DHB (District Health Board). If you’ve never visited, make a point of adding the country to your list of top travel destinations. The landscape and the people are second to none. (In… — read more