Lecture series to Highlight Distinguished Professors
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.
From there it spread into health care more generally, including health promotion, probation and corrections, and the treatment of psychological problems. The fundamental problem that this method addresses is a common one: a person needs to make a change in behavior or lifestyle, but has not done so because of ambivalence or procrastination. What is it about this simple (but not easy) counseling method that prompted such widespread diffusion with virtually no marketing?
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.
In recognition of his research contributions, Miller is a recipient of the international Jellinek Memorial Award, two career achievement awards from the American Psychological Association, and a 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.
Media Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu