The University of New Mexico

NEWS RELEASE

Media Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821
e-mail scarr@unm.edu

February 26, 2008

UNM Emeritus Distinguished Professor Dr. William R. Miller to Open Lecture Series
Lecture series to Highlight Distinguished Professors begins Feb. 28

Dr. William R. Miller, Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of New Mexico, will open the Distinguished Professors Lecture Series at UNM on Thursday, Feb. 28. Miller’s lecture titled, “Motivational Interviewing in Addiction and Healthcare,” will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in Ballroom C in the UNM Student Union Building. The Distinguished Professors Lecture Series at UNM is presented by the College of Arts and Sciences.

Motivational interviewing is a method for helping people change by evoking their own intrinsic motivations. When Professor Miller reluctantly published an article describing the method in 1983, he expected it to be the last he would hear of it. Instead, it disseminated rapidly through a variety of nations, primarily by word of mouth, substantially changing the field of addiction treatment.

Miller will tell the story of how motivational interviewing arose, quite by accident and happenstance, and what lies behind its surprisingly powerful effects on human behavior.

Miller joined the joined the faculty at UNM in 1976 after receiving his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Oregon. He served as director of Clinical Training for UNM's APA-approved doctoral program in clinical psychology and as co-director of UNM's Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Addictions (CASAA).

Miller's publications include 40 books and over 400 articles and chapters. Fundamentally interested in the psychology of change, he has focused in particular on the development, testing, and dissemination of behavioral treatments for addictions. He served as principal investigator for numerous research grants and contracts, founded a private practice group, and served as a consultant to many organizations including the United States Senate, the World Health Organization, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Institutes of Health.

Miller is a recipient of the international Jellinek Memorial Award, two career achievement awards from the American Psychological Association, and an Innovators in Combating Substance Abuse award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He maintains an active interest in pastoral counseling and the integration of spirituality and psychology. The Institute for Scientific Information lists him as one of the world's most cited scientists.

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