Excellence in Amsterdam: The 2013 ACE Conference

June 6, 2013 By scottdm Leave a Comment

My how time flies! Nearly three weeks have passed since hundreds of clinicians, researchers, and educators met in Amsterdam, Holland for the 2013 “Achieving Clinical Excellence.” Participants came from around the globe–Holland, the US, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand, Romania, Australia, France–for three days of presentations on improving the quality and outcome of behavioral healthcare. Suffice it to say, we had a blast!

The conference organizers, Dr. Liz Pluut and Danish psychologist Susanne Bargmann did a fantastic job planning the event, organizing a beautiful venue (the same building where the plans for New York City were drafted back in the 17th century), coordinating speakers (36 from around the globe), arranging meals, hotel rooms, and handouts.

Dr. Pluut opened the conference and introduced the opening plenary speaker, Dr. K. Anders Ericsson, the world’s leading researcher and “expert on expertise.” Virtually all of the work being done by me and my colleagues at the ICCE on the study of excellence and expertise among therapists is based on the three decades of pioneering work done by Dr. Ericsson. You can read about our work, of course, in several recent articles: Supershrinks, The Road to Mastery, or the latest The Outcome of Psychotherapy: Past, Present and Future (which appeared in the 50th anniversary edition of the journal, Psychotherapy).

Over the next several weeks, I’ll be posting summaries and videos of many of the presentations, including Dr. Ericsson. One key aspect of his work is the idea of “Deliberate Practice.” Each of the afternoon sessions on the first day focused on this important topic, describing how clinicians, agency managers, and systems of care can apply it to improve their skills and outcome.

The first of these presentations was by psychologist Birgit Valla–the leader of Family Help, a mental health agency in Stange, Norway–entitled, “Unreflectingly Bad or Deliberately Good: Deciding the Future of Mental Health Services.” Grab a cup of coffee and listen in…

Oh, yeah…while on the subject of excellence, here’s an interview that just appeared in the latest issue of the UK’s Therapy Today magazine:

Excellence in therapy: An Interview with Scott D. Miller, Ph.D. by Colin Feltham.

It starts on page 32.

Magical Moments in Kansas

January 2, 2010 By scottdm Leave a Comment

Registrations are already coming in for the first International Conference on “Achieving Clinical Excellence.”

Not too long ago, I announced that internationally known researcher K. Anders Erickson, Ph.D.–the “expert on experts”–had agreed to present at the event. At that time, I also indicated that a number of internationally accomplished performers from a variety of professions (including psychology, business, medicine, science, music, entertainment, and sports) would be with us in Kansas City to teach and inspire. Attendees will learn the science and skills for achieving their personal best as a behavioral health practitioner by literally learning from the best.

Practice, as anyone who has been reading my recent blogosts and publications knows, is key for achieving excellence–and not just any old kind will do. To be effective, it must be deliberate, reflective, and ongoing. What’s more, it must be accompanied with high levels of support and detailed instruction from exceptional teachers.

No performer embodies these two principles–dedicated practice and exceptional teaching–better than FISM gold-medial winning magician, Michael Ammar. Magic magazine named him one of the 100 most influential magicians of the century.

Michael will open the second day of the the conference. First, he’ll perform. What can I say? You’ll be astonished and amazed. After that, Michael will talk about the role of practice in achieving excellence. He’s a master teacher who has spent years studying the elements of successful practice. He’ll not only inspire you, he will provide you with the means to excel.

Join us for three action packed days of fun, science and skill building. In the meantime, if you have a spare moment, watch Michael Ammar perform one of the classics of magic: the cups and balls.

International "Achieving Clinical Excellence" Conference

September 12, 2009 By scottdm 3 Comments

Mark your calendars! The International Center for Clinical Excellence is pleased to announce the “Achieving Clinical Excellence” (ACE) conference to be held at the Westin Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri on October 20-22nd, 2010.

K. Anders Erickson, Ph.D., the editor of The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance and recognized “expert on experts,” will keynote the event. Through a combination of plenary presentations and intensive workshops, an internationally renowned faculty of researchers and educators, including Scott D. Miller, Ph.D. and John Norcross, Ph.D., will help participants discover the means to achieve excellence in clinical practice, leadership, ethics, and personal care.

Attendees will also meet and learn directly from internationally ranked performers from a variety of professions, including medicine, science, music, entertainment, and sports. As just one example, the Head Coach of the Olympic, Gold-Medal-winning Women’s volleyball team, Hugh McCutcheon, will present at the conference. In addition to a pre-conference day on ethics and law, internationally renowned concert pianist David Helfgott, whose heart-warming story was featured in the award winning film Shine, will perform on Thursday evening, October 21st. Join us in Kansas City for three days of science, skill building, and inspiration.

Practice-Based Evidence Goes Mainstream

September 5, 2009 By scottdm 4 Comments

For years, my colleagues and I have been using the phrase “practice-based evidence” to refer to clinicians’ use of real-time feedback to develop, guide, and evaluate behavioral health services. Against a tidal wave of support from professional and regulatory bodies, we argued that the “evidence-based practice”–the notion that certain treatments work best for certain diagnosis–was not supported by the evidence.

Along the way, I published, along with my colleagues, several meta-analytic studies, showing that all therapies worked about equally well (click here to access recent studies children, alcohol abuse and dependence, and post-traumatic stress disorder). The challenge, it seemed to me, was not finding what worked for a particular disorder or diagnosis, but rather what worked for a particular individual–and that required ongoing monitoring and feedback. In 2006, following years of controversy and wrangling, the American Psychological Association, finally revised the official definition to be consistent with “practice-based evidence.” You can read the definition in the May-June issue of the American Psychologist, volume 61, pages 271-285.

Now, a recent report on the Medscape journal of medicine channel provides further evidence that practice-based evidence is going mainstream. I think you’ll find the commentary interesting as it provides compelling evidence that an alternative to the dominent paradigm currently guiding professional discourse is taking hold. Watch it here.