Psychotherapists on the Frontline. Frontiers Friday #176 ⭕️

A showcase of two therapists who are pushing at their edge of development.

Thank you for reading Frontiers of Psychotherapist Development (FPD) and our weekly newsletter, Frontiers Friday (FF). If you are new here, learn about me, the About Page and our “Grand Plan” overview post.

These posts are meant to be what Lewis Hyde describes as a “Gift.” What this “Gift” concept means is that

1. Nothing is expected out of you.

2. I hope you receive it.

3. I hope this animates and transforms you.

4. I hope you spread the love to others.

Psychotherapists on the Frontline

This week, we take a pause from the usual Frontiers Friday (FF) format. (See Maps of Knowledge for where we are going).

Instead, I want to highlight two other therapists who are hard at work in their professional development journey.

1. Jimeoin Muecke’s blog, Deliberate Practice Psych: An Analysis of My Outcomes Stats.
   Back in 2005-06, one of the things I found out from systematically tracking my outcomes at the early stages was that, given I was trained in family systems thinking, I was confident that I would reasonably good with clients who presented with relational issues. It turned out to be a group that I had the poorest outcomes with. The other thing I discovered was that despite feeling that I struggled and sweat the most with working with youths, it was a group that I had the best outcomes with.¹
   

   I’ve since witnessed many therapists and teams embark on a similar process of figuring out “where they are at”. But I got really excited to hear Jimeoin’s efforts in trying to learn from his own evidence because he was willing to share this process of discovery publicly.

   
   I mentioned Jimeoin’s efforts in deliberate practice in FF47. Recently, he has published his outcome stats across 3 years. It's worth checking out for three reasons:
   - It’s not really about stats,
   - It's not straight-forward. The process is not linear as others might imagine it to be, and
   - It's highly revealing.

   

   Jimeoin’s outcome data.

   
   The story is not over. I bet my money that this is going to payoff for Jimeoin and the people he serves.

   
   Read Jimeoin’s other interesting blogpost, Letting the Paint Dry.
   
   

2. Vivian Baruch's new article in Skeptic magazine, Psychotherapy Redeemed.
   Vivian wrote a response to a Skeptic magazine article Psychotherapy Reconsidered, by the late Harriet Hall, a medical doctor, science communicator and skeptic.

   

   Vivian said,

   On reading her article in Skeptic magazine called “Psychotherapy Reconsidered”, I felt impelled to offer some contrasting considerations, backed by data, to balance her claims that no-one can provide an objective report about the psychotherapy field. She stated that there “…aren’t even any basic numbers,” that we don’t know whether psychotherapy works, that it is not based on solid science, and that there is “…no rational basis for choosing a therapy or therapist.

   
   …This (comparing treatment models) is a misguided point in Hall’s argument, as she was looking at the differences between treatments rather than between therapists.

   
   Note: Vivian has not only been one of the early adopters of tracking outcomes in her clinical practice, she has also continued to do so for about 2 decades.

   
   This article is made freely available in her blog.
   
   

3. From the Archive: Guest Posts
   Check out our past contributors, offering their perspectives in their professional development journey, as well as how they lead in their organisations:

   • FF137: Creating a Culture of Learning
     

     Frontiers Friday #137. Creating a Culture of Learning in an Organisation ⭕️

     By social psychologist and head of development at HelsinkiMissio, Heidi Nygård-Michelsson (Helsinki, Finland).
     

   • FF141: “Deliberate Practice is Boring. Gamification can Fix It,"
     

     Frontiers Friday #141. "Deliberate Practice is Boring. Gamification can Fix It." 🕹️ ⭕️

     By counsellor Jordan Harris (Arkansas, USA).
     

   • FF147:The Debate on Grief Work and Beyond Outcome Measurement
     

     Frontiers Friday #147. The Debate on Grief Work and Beyond Outcome Measurement ⭕️

     By grief counsellor Miguel Lopez (Melbourne, Australia).

Notice Board:

1. 2nd Fireside chat on 26th of Mar, Tues:

   

   
   Scott Miller and I held our first virtual fireside last tuesday. What a treat to have people bounce off the conversation, thinking aloud and exploring ideas. We talked about the possibilities and limitations of deliberate practice (DP), the role of the coach, the unintended consequences of incentivising DP, the role of motivation, and what it means to be a witness to each other.
   
   Our monthly fireside is a free, “no expectations, no agenda” monthly live zoom meeting. Just an opportunity to explore deliberate practice, feedback-informed treatment, and professional development together with other like-minded professionals.
   Cost: Free
   When: 8am Central Time on the last Tuesday of every month. Second meeting to be held on 26th of Mar, 2024.
   Space is limited (all 100 seats were taken up within a few days, so register early, and kindly make sure you block your calendar to attend this).
   Registration is required.
   

2. Waitlist for Structure and Impact course:

   

   Join the 4th cohort of S&I, aimed to help you structure the arch of the therapy hour, so that you create an impact for those you are trying to help. Drop an email to admin@darylchow.com with the title “Waitlist for S&I” and we will send you a special early bird promo code.
   

3. Contribution:

   

   
   If you like to contribute to Frontiers of Psychotherapist Development (FPD), please drop me an email (admin@darylchow.com). Your article can be about your journey, what you discovered, what your struggles were, etc. Said in another way, we would love to learn about your high-points, low-points, and turning-points.
   True gifts goes in a circle, and not a straight line. Others might benefit from your learnings. Or if you decide to start your own Substack, let me know. I’d love to support your efforts.
   
   

Daryl Chow Ph.D. is the author of The First Kiss, co-author of Better Results, The Write to Recovery, Creating Impact, and the latest book The Field Guide to Better Results.

1. More recently, I talked about what I realised from my data from a process called “Solving for Patterns.”