Pioneering treatments & saving lives | with clinical psychologist Dr. Alec Miller

Alec L. Miller, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist, teacher, researcher, author, and disseminator of evidence-based treatments. He is co-Founder and co-Director of Cognitive and Behavioral Consultants, a private group practice and training center based in White Plains and Manhattan. He is also a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Montefiore Medical Center.

Dr. Miller is an expert in the treatment of stress management, adolescent depression, suicide and self-injury, borderline personality disorder, as well as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). He received his B.A. from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and his doctorate in clinical psychology from the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology of Yeshiva University. Beginning in 1995, he headed clinical-research teams adapting DBT for outpatient suicidal multi-problem adolescents as well as contributing to the adaptation of DBT for other populations and settings including schools. He has authored and co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters and co-authored four books, including the three leading textbooks on DBT with adolescents. 

To watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/l-6pzl7-qqg

In this episode, we cover:

• How Alec’s interest in mental health emerged from a family tragedy
• How did you know you wanted to practice clinically?
• Gaining clinical experience before grad school
• Choosing the PsyD route and other important considerations about choosing a program - e.g., clinical training vs. research balance)
• Bolstering your grad application
• How to choose the right grad path
• Grad school life
• Theoretical orientation
• What settings did you enjoy working in the most in graduate school?
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
• Challenging stigma
• Becoming a leader of DBT
• From hospital to private practice
• Advice for people who want to open a private practice
• Internship opportunities at CBC for aspiring clinicians!
• What qualities do you look for in interns at CBC? And opportunities to get involved in Alec’s NEW nonprofit: Access Psychology Foundation
• Dealing with the emotional toll of clinical work & self care
• Why do you do this work, why with teens, and have your reasons changed since you began? 
• How did you become a leading expert in the field, such that people call upon you all over the world to come teach, lecture, and speak about your work?
• The future of the field
• What is one skill, quality, or general factor that has served you no matter where you went in life? 

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Music by: Adam Fine