More Eruptions (in Europe and in Research)
Dateline: Tuesday, 8:21pm, April 20th, 2010, Skellefteå, Sweden What an incredible week. Spent the day today working with 250 social workers, case managers, psychologists, psychiatrists, and agency directors in the far nothern town of Skellefteå, Sweden. Many practitioners here are already measuring outcomes on an ongoing basis and using the information to improve ...
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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 ...
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Where Necessity is the Mother of Invention: Forming Alliances with Consumers on the Margins
Spring of last year, I traveled to Gothenburg, Sweden to provide training GCK--an top notch organization led by Ulla Hansson and Ulla Westling-Missios providing cutting-edge training on "what works" in psychotherapy. I'll be back this week again doing an open workshop and an advanced training for the group. While I'm always excited to ...
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Improving Outcomes in the Treatment of Obesity via Practice-Based Evidence: Weight Loss, Nutrition, and Work Productivity
Obesity is a large and growing problem in the United States and elsewhere. Data gathered by the National Center for Health Statistics indicate that 33% Americans are obese. When overweight people are added to the mix, the figure climbs to a staggering 66%! The problem is not likely to go away soon or on its own ...
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Neurobabble Redux: Comments from Dr. Mark Hubble on the Latest Fad in the World of Therapy Spark Comment and Controversy
Last week, my long time colleague and friend, Dr. Mark Hubble blogged about the current interest of non-medically trained therapists in the so-called "neurobiology of human behavior." In my intro to his post, I "worried" out loud about the field's tendency to search for legitimacy by aligning with the ...
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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” ...
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Neurobabble: Comments from Dr. Mark Hubble on the Latest Fad in the World of Therapy
Rarely does a day go by without hearing about another "advance" in the neurobiology of human behavior. Suddenly, it seems, the world of psychotherapy has discovered that people have brains! And now where the unconscious, childhood, emotions, behaviors, and cognitions once where...neurons, plasticity, and magnetic resonance imagining now is. Alas, ...
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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 ...
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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, ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Leading for a Change: The Training of Trainer’s (TOT) Chicago
I'm writing tonight from my hotel room at the River Rock Inn in Rockland, Ontario, Canada. For those of you who are not familiar with the area, it is a bilingual (French & English) community of around 9,000 located about 25 km west of Ottawa. Today through Thursday, I'm working with the ...
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Addressing the Financial Crisis in Public Behavioral Healthcare Head On in Chesterfield, Virginia
If you are following me on Twitter (and I hope you are), you know the last month has been extremely busy. This week I worked with clinicians in Peterborough, Ontario Canada. Last week, I was in Nashville, Tennessee and Richmond Virginia. Prior to that, I spent nearly two weeks in Europe, providing ...
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Deliberate Practice, Expertise, & Excellence
Later today, I board United flight 908 on my way to workshops scheduled in Holland and Belgium. My routine in the days leading up to an international trip is always the same. I slowly gather together the items I'll need while away: computer (check); european electric adapter (check); presentation materials (check); clothes (check). And, oh yeah, ...
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The Future of Behavioral Health: Integrated Care & Entrepreneurship
Nicholas Cummings, Ph.D. Sometime in late 1986 I wrote a letter to Dr. Nicholas Cummings. As a then student-member of the American Psychological Association (APA), I was automatically subscribed to and receiving the American Psychologist. In the April issue, Dr. Cummings published an article, provocatively titled, "The Dismantling of Our Health System: Strategies for ...
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The Turn to Outcomes: A Revolution in Behavioral Health Practice
Get ready. The revolution is coming (if not already here). Whether you are a direct service provider (psychologist, counselor, marriage and family therapist), agency, broker, or funder, you will be required to measure and likely report the outcomes of your clinical work. Jay Lebow, Ph.D. Just this month, Dr. Jay Lebow, ...
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