When I was around 11 years old, a gag quickly circulated through my school. Cornering an unsuspecting chum, you'd ask, "Hey, have you seen my hammerfor?" "What's a hammerfor?" they'd invariably ask, a quizzical look glued to their face. "Pounding nails!" you'd then scream, followed by paroxysms of laughter. Funny ...
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I hope this post finds you, your loved ones, and colleagues, safe and healthy. What an amazing few weeks this has been.  Daily life, as most of us know it, has been turned upside down.  The clinicians I've spoken with are working frantically to adjust to the new reality, including ...
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You've been busy!  Stocking up on food.  Telecommuting.  Home schooling your kids.  And figuring out how you are going to pay bills while not drawing a paycheck or being able to meet with clients face to face. Many clinicians I know are rapidly transitioning to providing services online.  As you ...
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In 2007, my colleagues and I published an article entitled, Supershrinks: What's the Secret of their Success?  In it, we reported on the status of our then decade long effort to understand why some psychotherapists were consistently more effective than others.  Although the phenomenon had first been reported in the ...
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"Everyone understands how a toilet works, don't you?" ask cognitive scientists Sloman and Fernbach. The answer, according to their research, is likely no.  Turns out, peoples' confidence in their knowledge far outstrips their ability to explain how any number of simple, every day items work -- a coffeemaker, zipper, bicycle and ...
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Is it just me or has public discourse gone mad? A brief perusal of social media largely finds accusation, name calling, and outrage instead of exploration, dialogue and debate.  Not that any of the latter options were ever simple, straightforward, or successful, but somehow, somewhere, taking a stand has replaced ...
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A ship's captain who successfully sails through a strait at night learns nothing, and adds nothing, to their knowledge of the world. (Please hang with me.  I promise this post will not be a long, metaphysical rant). Returning to the example.  As paradoxical as it may strike one at first blush, ...
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Therapists value supervision.  How do we know?  Research. In their massive, long-term international study of therapist development, for example, Orlinsky and Rønnestad (2005) found, “practitioners at all experience levels, theoretical orientations, professions, and nationalities report that supervised client experience is highly important for their current and career development” (p. 188). Regulatory boards deem ...
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As a mental health professional, how are you approaching the New Year?  Are you filled with hope for our field?  Suffering a twinge (or more) of despair?  Maybe you're in reflective mood, longing for the 'good ole days'?  Or is the difference between December 31st and January 1st just like ...
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"I heard Scott Miller say it," the man sitting next to me said. "Really?" I responded, somewhat incredulous.  After all, I didn't recall ever saying such a thing.  More to the point, it's just not something I would say.  Its wrong.  Then again, it was clear he didn't know that I ...
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Or, at least that's what I said in response to his question.  The look on his face made clear my words caused more confusion than clarity. "But then, how will I found out which of the therapists at my agency are effective?" he asked. "The purpose of FIT," I replied, "is ...
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Remember these? Did you ever own or try one? Remember Beanie Babies?  According to one news story, interest was such, "People neglected other areas of their lives to spend all day trading, and some even invested their children’s college funds in toys that they believed would bring an astronomical return ...
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A couple of weeks ago I received an email from the leader of a group asking me to send them copies of the ORS and SRS. "We are to start using these straight away," the person wrote. I replied, of course, providing a link to my website where the scales ...
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Mr. Gomm was my sixth grade teacher.  Tall and angular, with a booming voice and stern demeanor, he remains a forbidding figure from my childhood. I'll never forget the day he slammed his open hand on my desk, bellowing "That, Mr. Miller, is an assumption!"  Turning abruptly, he walked to the chalkboard, ...
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I'm sure you've heard it repeated many times: The term, "evidence-based practice" refers to specific treatment approaches which have been tested in research and found to be effective; CBT is the most effective form of psychotherapy for anxiety and depression; Neuroscience has added valuable insights to the practice of psychotherapy ...
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Imagine a power so great that those who possess it are able to heal the sick, and those without it, cause death. By definition, it would qualify as a superpower -- and, in fact, one Marvel comic character has claimed this one for their own. More than seven dozen studies ...
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