Are Therapists “Looking for Change in All the Wrong Places”
Riffing off Johnny Lee’s classic country song, “Looking For Love in All the Wrong Places,” perhaps therapists are looking for change in all the wrong places. That’s certainly been my experience as therapists throughout my career have been enamored of model and technique and the false promises of expert-driven miracle cures. If this sounds interesting to you, the good people at Mental Care Network (see below) are hosting a conversation. And it’s free!
Here is the description:
Join internationally recognized psychologist, author, researcher, and psychotherapy innovator Dr. Barry L. Duncan for a captivating conversation with host Dr. Frederick S. Wechsler on June 27 at 11am: Episode 5 of The Experience: What Really Works
For decades, mental health professionals have been taught to focus on diagnosis, pathology, treatment models, and techniques. But what if some of the most powerful drivers of change lie elsewhere? What if our clients possess more wisdom, resilience, and capacity for change than our profession sometimes acknowledges? And what if the most effective therapists are not necessarily those with the most expertise—but those who listen most effectively?
Drawing from his groundbreaking work on measurement based care (i.e., the Partners for Change Outcome Management System or PCOMS) client feedback, therapeutic alliance, and the ideas explored throughout his career—including The Heart and Soul of Change, On Becoming a Better Therapist, and What’s Right With You—Barry Duncan has spent decades challenging conventional assumptions about what truly creates successful outcomes in psychotherapy.
This conversation will explore questions that strike at the heart of clinical practice:
• What actually makes a therapist effective?
• Why do some clients improve while others disengage?
• Are we paying enough attention to the client’s perspective?
• What can routine outcome feedback teach us about our blind spots?
• Have we become too focused on what’s wrong with people and overlooked what’s right with them?
• How can therapists continue growing long after graduate school and licensure?
Dr. Barry Duncan’s work has influenced clinicians around the world by emphasizing client feedback, therapeutic alliance, common factors, and the importance of measuring outcomes rather than relying solely on assumptions about effectiveness.
This isn’t a webinar. It’s The Experience. An unscripted conversation between two seasoned psychologists exploring the ideas, questions, and challenges that continue to shape the future of psychotherapy.
Register now for this unique opportunity! A one hour conversation between two seasoned clinicians on June 27th at 11am MST or 2pm EDT.
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The Mental Care Network is a new mental health community created for licensed and associate providers to connect with new clients and grow a successful practice. Far more than a referral network, the platform equips providers with advanced marketing tools designed to grow a hands-free, successful practice as well as significant discounts on services designed to improve outcomes and retention (including Better Outcomes Now). Check out all the benefits here.