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Client-directed, outcome-informed therapy: a workshop with Scott Miller

Originally added on 14th September 2011
Last updated on 28th May 2013

"The only man I know who behaves sensibly is my tailor; he takes my measurements anew each time he sees me. The rest go on with their old measurements and expect me to fit them."   George Bernard Shaw 

Wednesday morning - half way through this two day workshop with Scott Miller on client-directed, outcome-informed (CDOI) therapy.  I flew into Copenhagen on Monday evening, the plane blown fast from Edinburgh on the last gasps of Hurricane Katia as she slowly expired in her long journey across the Atlantic.  I like Copenhagen.  Bizarrely, having never been here before, I have now visited three times in the last 18 months - the European Positive Psychology Conference in June last year, a long weekend with my wife in December, and now this two day workshop.

Six recent research papers on mindfulness: outcome reviews, brain changes, self-compassion, current depression, and overview

Originally added on 12th September 2011
Last updated on 30th October 2011

Here are half a dozen interesting recent papers on mindfulness that have caught my eye.  Mindfulness research is roaring ahead a bit like a runaway train (probably not an ideal analogy for this subject matter), so it's good to get regular reviews of where we're getting to.  The first two papers I mention are "a synthesis of the empirically supported advantages of mindfulness" by Davis & Haye, including "research on therapists who meditate and client outcomes of therapists who meditate", and a review of "the empirical literature on the effects of mindfulness on psychological health" by Keng & colleagues (full details and links to all articles mentioned are given further down this blog post). 

Health crisis for Britain's middle-aged

Originally added on 10th September 2011
Last updated on 4th February 2017

Ouch, a very interesting international health survey, that has just been released, reports:

"Middle-aged Britons are experiencing a mid-life health crisis, according to new research from Bupa, which shows that those aged 45-54 are more likely to be obese, more likely to smoke and more likely to suffer from depression than their peers around the world.

The international Bupa Health Pulse study, which asked more than 13,000 people in 12 different countries questions about their health and lifestyles has shown that late-middle age is the toughest time health-wise for Britons. No other country in the survey - which included Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Asia and Australasia showed such a consistent range of unhealthy results for this age group.

The study, which questioned more than 2,000 people in the UK, found:

The Norway feedback project: a clear and sensible way to make psychotherapy more helpful

Originally added on 25th August 2011
Last updated on 22nd July 2018

I wrote a few days ago about Barry Duncan's interesting book "On becoming a better therapist".  Duncan cited three major influences that had helped to form the book.  The first was his involvement as an editor of the recently published, multi-authored "The heart and soul of change: delivering what works in therapy" - for further details about this more academic publication, see my blog post "The heart and soul of change."   The second major influence has been findings from the fascinating Norway Feedback Project.  As I've already written, the main research paper here is

    • 15 minutes of exercise daily reduces mortality by 14% - and each additional 15 minutes gives 4% additional mortality benefit

    Originally added on 21st August 2011
    Last updated on 28th October 2017

    There has been a ripple of media interest - and rightly so - in the recent Lancet article  "Minimum amount of physical activity for reduced mortality and extended life expectancy: a prospective cohort study."  The article's abstract reads "The health benefits of leisure-time physical activity are well known, but whether less exercise than the recommended 150 min a week can have life expectancy benefits is unclear.  We assessed the health benefits of a range of volumes of physical activity in a Taiwanese population.  In this prospective cohort study, 416,175 individuals (199,265 men and 216,910 women) participated in a standard medical screening programme in Taiwan between 1996 and 2008, with an average follow-up of 8·05 years (SD 4·21).  On the basis of the amount of weekly exercise indicated in a self-administered questio

    Andrew Christensen's "Unified protocol for couple therapy" - the five principles (four & five) and guiding functional analysis

    Originally added on 20th August 2011
    Last updated on 11th September 2011

    In yesterday's post I discussed the first three of Andrew Christensen's "five principles" of a "Unified protocol for couple therapy". Today I'd like to talk about his fourth and fifth principles - foster productive communication (develop more adaptive communication skills) and emphasize strengths and encourage positive behavior. The five principles are illustrated in the following diagram (downloadable both as a PDF file and as a Powerpoint slide): 
    Five Principles