University of Rhode Island: Special Contribution—Social Justice, Couple and Family Therapy

Jacqueline is an associate professor of family therapy in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Rhode Island. Her primary interests include teaching accountability via outcome management, researching feedback and change in couple and family therapy, transforming systems of care to privilege client goals and promote social justice, and critical analysis of child psychotropic medication. She is co-author of Heroic Client and Heroic Clients, Heroic Agencies: Partners for Change, and co-founder of the Heroicagencies Listserv, an international discussion forum for client-directed, outcome-informed implementation.

When you add Jackie to any project, Barry likes to say, the end result is always quantum leaps better. Although formerly behind the scenes, Jacqueline has been a key collaborator with Barry—central to the evolution of ideas as well as the publications most associated with CDOI (e.g., The Heroic Client, Heroic Clients, Heroic Agencies, the Norway Feedback Trilogy, and two chapters in the new Heart and Soul of Change). She is one of the first in the country to develop an outcome management protocol in a graduate program. And importantly, she brings an expertise in social justice that takes CDOI to a better place.

Southwest Behavioral Health: Special Contribution—Public Behavioral Health and Recovery

Bob is the Chief of Clinical Services and Clinical Training at Southwest Behavioral Health Services in Phoenix, Arizona where he supervises Post-Doctoral Fellows and Psychology Residents. He received his Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Psychology from the University of Arizona. Dr. Bohanske holds adjunct faculty positions at Arizona State University and Argosy University in Clinical Psychology and Ottawa University in Professional Counseling. He consults with the Arizona Department of Health Services – Division of Behavioral Health, as a member of the Best Practices Committee and Chair of the Clinical Supervision Committee.

Barry calls Bob “the energizer bunny with a beard.” Since he first was introduced to CDOI and subsequently attended the Heart and Soul of Change conference in Austin, he has implemented, researched, taught, trained, and in general been a prime mover and shaker for client “voice and choice.” He just about single-handedly put CDOI on the map in Arizona, successfully advocating for it to be an Arizona “Best Practice.” He was recently awarded the prestigious Health Care Hero Award for these efforts. Bob brings a lot to the table including a career of experience in public behavioral health (see his chapter with Mike Franczak in the 2nd edition of The Heart and Soul of Change) and an extensive knowledge of recovery and peer support.

Community Health and Counseling Services: Special Contribution—Community Mental Health, Recovery, “SPMI” Services

Mary Susan is the clinical director for Adult, Child and Family Services at Community Health and Counseling Services based in Bangor, Maine. She has 35 years of experience working with clients meeting ”SMI” criteria, and greatly enjoys helping staff promote client recovery through CDOI practice. She is also very interested in applying CDOI ideas and practices to non-traditional services for children such as treatment foster care and residential services.

Whenever Barry mentions Mary, he usually says the “incredible” Mary Haynes. Mary took the ideas of CDOI and applied them in ways that had never been done. Mary is a pioneer in implementing CDOI practices in non outpatient psychotherapy services, including case management and residential settings serving the so called “Severely and Persistently Mentally Ill.” Mary’s impact transcends her own agency and she has been instrumental in getting a consortium of a wide variety of agencies involved in CDOI, and influencing the state of Maine to consider CDOI. Mary brings a wealth of experience and knowledge in community mental health care and recovery. One of her latest contributions is the RCT currently being conducted in the schools.

University of Central Arkansas: Special Contribution—Children, Adolescents, and Schools

Read John’s bio at: http://www.drjohnmurphy.com/aboutjohn1.htm

John and Barry go way back to Barry’s Dayton Institute for Family Therapy days where they took an instant liking to each other. They collaborated on Brief Intervention in the Schools (2nd edition in 2007) and have always joked that it was the most fun either had writing a book. Both editions included a marathon editing session (over a weekend) interspersed with doses of raucous laughter and the Allman Brothers. John brings both practitioner and academic talents to his work in schools. John is a kindred spirit with Barry on many levels but one big one is that he doesn’t write about anything that he doesn’t do himself. He is widely published, enjoys an international reputation, and is a sought after speaker and trainer. John and Barry are currently collaborating on an RCT in the schools.

Specialist in Clinical Psychology, Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health: Special Contribution–Child, Family, & Professional Training

Anne-Grethe has worked in mental health care for 35 years, most of the time with children, youth, and families, but also with substance abuse and adult psychiatry. After holding many leadership positions in direct care settings, she has spent the last 9 years at Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health as Head of Postgraduate Training, Head of Continual Professional Development, and now as Senior Consultant.

Anne-Grethe, like the other Project Leaders, embodies the values and mission of the Heart and Soul of Change Project. She is the Leader of the KOR (CDOI) network in Norway, a long time advocate of CDOI, and a steadfast voice for client privilege and user involvement. She first brought Barry to Norway ten years ago and has been a mover and shaker of the ideas ever since. She orchestrated the first book written about CDOI by others than the developers, was instrumental in translating Heroic Clients, Heroic Agencies into Norwegian, and has been a leader in training and disseminating the ideas. Anne-Grethe’s profound impact in Norway speaks not only to her professional expertise but also how highly she is regarded in general.

University of Kentucky: Special Contribution—Feedback Research, Supervision, and Graduate Education

Jeff is an associate professor in the Department of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology at the University of Kentucky. He is a licensed psychologist and a member of the American Psychological Association (APA), being recently elected to serve as the Secretary for the Promotion of Psychotherapy Science section within Division 17 of APA. His primary research interest areas are psychotherapy process/outcome, psychotherapy training and supervision, and the use of telehealth technologies to increase the availability of mental health services for underserved populations. Currently his research is focused on better understanding the benefits of using continuous client feedback in therapy and investigating if these benefits extend to counselor training and supervision.

Barry was quickly impressed with not only the quality of Jeff’s research and energy for the ideals of CDOI, but also with his genuine interpersonal style. His feedback research has really help put CDOI on the map. Because of Jeff and his two RCTs demonstrating significant advantages for using the ORS/SRS feedback system, together with the Norway Trial, we can pursue evidence based practice status. Jeff spearheaded the HSCP’s efforts to reach out to researchers and professors to investigate and teach CDOI ideas and practices. Jeff and Barry, along with Jesse Owen, are in the planning stages of an RCT designed to dismantle the effects of feedback.

Peak Vista Community Health Center: Special Contribution—Integrated health care

Brian is the Director of Behavioral Health Services at Peak Vista Community Health Centers in Colorado Springs, Colorado and currently oversees eight full-time behavioral health consultants embedded within ten of Peak Vista’s primary care health centers. Dr. DeSantis served in the U.S. Air Force as a clinical psychologist and was in various leadership positions during his 20 year career in the Air Force medical corp, which included a fellowship at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. It was during this fellowship and his training in a children’s hospital that Dr. DeSantis first became interested in integrated health care settings. In fact, the Air Force was a pioneer in integrating mental health services into its primary care clinics and began doing so in the early 1990s. Brian regularly collaborates with outside community agencies and graduate training programs, which provide additional behavioral health services and training opportunities for graduate students placed within Peak Vista Community Health.

Brian and Barry go way back too—in fact all the way back to graduate school. They were classmates at the Wright State University School of Professional Psychology. Brian has been a stalwart friend and supporter ever since, a person Barry relied on many times over the years to give honest feedback about writing projects, including On Becoming a Better Therapist. Brian, like many of the Project Leaders is a pioneer who has taken CDOI ideas and practices to places never imagined. Brian brought CDOI to primary care and uses the measures in his role as behavioral health consultant. Another recent accomplishment: Brian was instrumental in the decision of the University of the Rockies to adopt the use of the ORS/SRS in the training of graduate students.

Community Partnership Group: Special Contribution—Substance Abuse, Co-Occurring Problems.

Dave is Chief Operating Officer for New Options of RPB, Inc. and Wellington Counseling and Associates. Both are for-profit counseling centers for adults and adolescents with substance use and mental health issues. Dave signed on with these companies knowing they were not familiar with CDOI. However, he is planning to bring them on board with the ideas, infuse research into both organizations, and gradually shift the culture to a more client-directed outcome-informed framework. Earlier in 2011, Dave also started his own company called Alliance for Change, LLC to provide training and consulting to promote CDOI and PCOMS.

Barry first met Dave back in 2001 and recognized immediately that he was someone who got things done. Dave directed the first large agency to use the Heroic Clients, Heroic Agencies “manual” to implement CDOI. He conducted the first study of CDOI that examined efficiency variables, a widely cited look at the economic gains that come from privileging clients and partnering with them to monitor outcomes. The results are published in Bob Bohanske’s chapter in The Heart and Soul of Change. Dave also brings an extraordinary expertise in music as well as unswerving appreciation of classic rock. Dave has profoundly impacted mental health and substance abuse services in Florida, and he is not done yet.

Korzybski International: Special Contribution—Training Effective Therapists

Luc is the Director of Korzybski International and head of the teaching staff of the Korzybski Institutes of Bruges, of Paris and of the Netherlands. He received his M.D. from University of Leuven, with a specialization in neuropsychiatry. He is the former Chief of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychosomatics, St. John’s Hospital, Bruges, Belgium.

I was quickly taken with Luc while doing training at his Korzybski Institute and the amazing influence he and Korzyski have across Europe. I don’t know if you have seen the Dos Equis commercials about the “most interesting man in the world” but since meeting Luc, I beg to differ. Luc is truly a renaissance man, and a walking encyclopedia of art, music, wine, beer (his family ran a brewery and if you know anything about Belgium, you know that beer is a national treasure), history, and of course psychotherapy. Luc is also a gourmet chef. Luc and I share a common heritage in Ericksonian and systemic thinking (hence the Korzybski Institute) as well as many perspectives of therapy and training therapists.

University of Louisville: Special Contribution—Couple Research, Statistical Analyses and General Research Expertise.

Jesse is an assistant professor in the Counseling Psychology Program at the University of Louisville. He is a licensed psychologist and conducts research on romantic relationships and couples therapy interventions as well as psychotherapy process and outcome. Dr. Owen is a Project Leader for the Heart and Soul Project and is currently the Associate Editor for two APA journals: Psychotherapy and Journal of Counseling Psychology. He has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles and currently has a small private practice.

Jesse was an amazing find. Barry and Morten were struggling about who could do the hierarchical linear modeling analysis of the second study arising from the Norway Feedback Project. We bombed out a couple of times and finally saw this guy on the heroicagencies list who occasionally posted about stats. What serendipity! Jesse joined our team and the rest, as they say is history. He not only is a extremely knowledgeable and a hard worker, he handles challenge very well and possesses the amazing ability to say, “I don’t know,” both very important to collaboration. He co-authored three of the four Norway Feedback Project articles and is a collaborator with Barry on other current projects as well.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: Special Contribution-Critical Psychiatry and Applying PCOMS in Child and Adolescent Services in the UK.

Sami is a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and Director of Medical Education in the National Health Service in Lincolnshire and a Visiting Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Lincoln, UK. He writes from a critical psychiatry perspective and is the founder of the International Critical Psychiatry Network (see http://www.criticalpsychiatry.net/). He has published over 100 articles and chapters and has authored, co-authored or co-edited 8 books including Naughty Boys: Anti-Social Behaviour, ADHD, and the Role of Culture (2005), A Straight Talking Introduction to Children’s Mental Health Problems (2009) and The Myth of Autism: Medicalising Men’s and Boys’ Social and Emotional Competence (2010). He recently launched the ‘No More Psychiatric Labels’ campaign (see http://www.criticalpsychiatry.net/?p=527) to abolish formal psychiatric diagnostic systems. He has developed (with Dianne Tetley and Wayne Burgoine) a UK Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) based implementation of PCOMS called Outcome Orientated CAMHS (OOCAMHS – see http://oocamhs.com).

CDOI Specialization Areas: Implementing SRS/ORS in clinical practice and agency settings particularly with couples therapy, benchmarking CDOI in couples therapy, therapist differences in outcomes, CDOI supervision.

Morten is a psychologist and a specialist in clinical and family psychology. He works at the family counseling office in Tønsberg, Vestfold, Norway. He also has a private practice.

Barry met Morten on an early trip to Norway and discovered him to be an early adopter extraordinaire. He was the principal investigator of the first RCT about CDOI, a study that brought the ORS, SRS, and the power of feedback to academia and national attention. That study and its finding that feedback not only improved outcomes but also decreased divorce rates at follow up led to the national implementation of CDOI in the family counseling offices. The collaboration between Barry and Morten generated two more publications that argue for routine monitoring of the outcome and fit of services as well as a life-long friendship. Morten continues to inspire others in his role in the national implementation.

CDOI Specialization Areas: Assisting administrators, managers, and direct service providers with transforming policies and practices into CDOI services. Training providers who serve mandated, mental health, substance abuse, crisis, and non-clinical persons. Developing CDOI continua of care including peer-based, outpatient, residential and institutional programs. Building CDOI public policy, funding, advocacy, and service alliances among professional, faith, peer and other indigenous recovery resources.

George applies a scientific, client-directed and outcome-informed approach to services for personal and community well-being. His engaging style and practical approach, combined with delivering rich content, have garnered excellent ratings in academic and applied settings, e.g., Franklin University; Kennesaw State University; DeVry Institute of Technology; and crisis, mental health, substance abuse, employee assistance, and criminal justice programs. So far, his three-decade career includes direct service, clinical supervision, program development, research, training, and teaching experience. He enjoys working with professional, para-professional, faith-based, and volunteer service providers. Mr. Braucht currently manages the residential facility review and development process for the Georgia (USA) Parole Board’s Transitional Housing for Offender Reentry Directory, and he assists with program development and clinical supervision in the Board’s Personal Recovery and Offender Discharge Services program. He is the Principal Collaborator with Brauchtworks Consultation and Training. In addition, George serves on the Editorial Board of Corrections Compendium, the American Correctional Association’s peer-reviewed research journal, and has authored numerous professional publications.

Barry met George at a workshop and he left quite an impression on many levels. Besides being an upfront and extremely likeable person as well as very experienced trainer, George is another early adopter and bold innovator of CDOI ideas and practices. He has taken on an area perhaps thought to be devoid of collaboration and CDOI possibilities—Criminal Justice. George combines criminal justice and substance abuse with CDOI to produce amazing results. His data, presented at the Heart and Soul Conference in New Orleans and soon to published, shows a remarkable improvement after implementation of CDOI.

CDOI Specialization Areas: CDOI in family therapy, child and adolescent mental health, child protection and social services, the connection between CDOI work and therapists’ professional development.

Tor lives in Voss, near Bergen in Western Norway. He is a Master of Social Work, with clinical training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and in Family Therapy. He works at Voss Hospital, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Outpatient Clinic and is teacher in family therapy at the Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, University of Bergen. Tor is the beginning phase of pilot project that will not only implement CDOI but will also examine the therapist development during the implementation process.

Barry also met Tor on a very early visit to Norway—in fact, Barry first met Tor and Morten at the same time at a dinner on the waterfront in Oslo (all arranged by Anne-Grethe), a fortuitous event to be sure. Tor is a “what you see is what you get” kind of person (Barry’s favorite kind) who challenges conventional thinking, even about CDOI, and a staunch supporter of KOR in Norway. Tor contributed to the Norwegian book about CDOI, is directing a child and adolescent center’s implementation of CDOI, and is a leader in the KOR training program, a post graduate course that enjoys high enrollment. Tor is a key figure in disseminating the ideas in Norway, and yet another person there I love to visit.

CDOI Specialization Areas: Across agency and cross cultural implementation – implementation of the ORS and SRS in a wide variety of settings including residential youth services - group homes and foster care, community work with isolated older people, older people transitioning into residential care, counselling, youth and family community services.

Robyn is the Practice Manager at Wesley Community Action in Wellington New Zealand. She is an accredited trainer in the Strengths Based Framework and has been responsible for the implementation of this framework throughout Wesley Community Actions services. Robyn is committed to social justice and places the Treaty of Waitangi- the founding document between first nations people of New Zealand (Maori) and the Crown as a key framework for her work and interactions – including the implementation of CDOI.

Beyond cliché, Robyn is one of a kind—and the person Barry most enjoys getting insulted by! She is another innovator applying CDOI to nontraditional settings—drop in social services, assisted living facilities, foster care, and residential youth homes. If that is not enough, Robyn has taken the implementation of CDOI in New Zealand to task. She recently pulled together an influential national group of agencies (representing outpatient psychotherapy, counseling, substance abuse, education, and other social services) interested in CDOI to discuss a strategic plan for widespread dissemination—the first step was a briefing conducted by Barry of government officials and policy makers.

CDOI Specialization Areas: Couple therapy; Family therapy; Community settings; Implementation; Supervision

Geir is a clinical psychologist specialized in family psychology. He has given services to children and families for more than 20 years, and has also been a manager of different services. For 10 years he has been using the common factors model and client feedback in his clinical work, and he is a long time user of both ORS/SRS and CORS/CSRS. Geir was head of a project for the Norwegian Directorate of children, youth and families that, together with the brilliant Norwegian feedback study of Morten Anker, led to a government-backed nationwide implementation of CDOI in the family counseling agencies. He contributed to the Norwegian book about client-directed mental health work (The Client -the Forgotten Therapist) and a Norwegian training-DVD. He is now working in a family center in Larvik county, Norway, giving low-threshold services to children and families with a wide variety of problems.

During an early trip to Norway, Barry first met Geir when he was a leader of a family counseling office that offered a day of CDOI training. A challenging hike (perhaps a test of the strange American) at the end of the day sealed the deal, for both CDOI and a tradition of long walks, warm talks, and plans to take over the mental health world. And Geir succeeded, at least in Norway: He became head of a project for the Norwegian Directorate of children, youth and families that, together with the Norway Feedback Study, led to a government-backed nationwide implementation of CDOI in the family counseling agencies. He also contributed to the Norwegian book about CDOI (The Client: The Forgotten Therapist) and a Norwegian training-DVD.

I hope you check out my partners in crime here at the Heart and Soul of Change Project. The Project Leaders and Certified Trainers are exemplary individuals who have either been instrumental to the research/scholarly dissemination of CDOI or to implementation in large or novel settings, or both. Their experience covers the waterfront, from CMHCs to substance abuse programs, from the SMI population to family preservation services. Moreover, they are my friends and folks that I trust. The thing I want you to know about me is that I wouldn’t ask you to do, nor would I promote anything, that I haven’t done myself and found to be helpful. The other thing is that the entire journey about client directed outcome informed ideas and practice has been mainly about client privilege, about bringing the client into the inner circle about decisions about their care. If that appeals to you, then you are in the right place.

Bill is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker practicing in Maine. Before migrating to social work, Bill's background was in engineering and software development. He has returned to his roots and he is excited to be working with Barry on the Heart and Soul of Change Project website.

Bill Wiggin is the best thing to happen to the Heart and Soul of Change Project this year. Before he came on the scene, http://www.heartandsoulofchange.com was a constant source of worry. With kindness and patience as well as the kind of long-hours determination that will forever endear him to Barry, Bill has moved the website into the 21st Century. It functions very well now at many levels, thanks to Bill. If there ever was an Answer Man about all things computer or internet, and maybe everything else, it’s Bill Wiggin.