Placebo

My full time gig is as a professor of social work. I tend to teach a lot of the helping skills/practice courses, and have done so for 18 years now (gulp). When teaching helping oriented courses, it is easy to become overwhelmed with the vast amounts of theory, practice skills, and research you want students to absorb. I also have the added issue of the quarter system; ten weeks does not feel like a lot of time when teaching theory and skills in the same course.

So, I try to keep it simple, and really rely on my practice wisdom (to the degree that I posses any!) and the research to help guide my teaching.

One of the principles that I focus on is the power of placebo. Placebo, as you know, is what is used in intervention research instead of the actual intervention, and insures that the receipt of both the intervention and the "fake" treatment are not sure who is getting what.

Sometimes, I hear a student suggest that since an intervention is only somewhat more effective than placebo in the treatment of a psychosocial disorder, it must not be effective.

Yet, this assessment neglects to account for the important confluence of research on placebo, the "waiting room effect" and positive psychology.

Placebo, or the belief that you are getting treatment, can often be highly effective. Why? The belief that one can do something, or that something is going to change, activates something within us that leads to our growth and healing.

Hope? The expectancy for change? An activation of our internal resources that are released in service of growth?

Whatever it is, it is powerful. It is also why I write to former, prospective and clients frequently, even if they don't get back to me. It is not only a letter from "Rich", but "Rich the coach," and a reminder of the possibility of productive writing,  and a desire to grow and change. What I am suggesting is that hope, a focus on our strengths and capacities, and a sincere desire to transcend can go a long, long way.

It Does Not Always Have to Feel Good

Last night I wrote for a bit before I crashed, after my 6:30pm to 9:00pm class. It felt really annoying, but I wanted to stay connect to an article I am about to make my primary article (one just went out the door!), and had a few things I could say. In about 15 minutes, I actually wrote over 100 words- a pretty good "bonus writing" session!

Writing does not always have be like a campy pop song and "Feel good" . There are times when I know that the meaning I will experience from having written trumps a wee bit of momentary annoyance. Today, I am happy I wrote yesterday, and slogged through it!

Wednesdays: Now for You, Attorneys!

Starting now and until the end of summer, and perhaps behind, Wednesdays will be dedicated to writing tips for attorneys. While many of the ideas that I have explored in this blog about writing productivity and the psychosocial barriers to writing certainly apply to lawyers, you have unique needs and concerns. Wednesdays is now for you!

Exercise: Write Out Summer Goals

But don't focus on outcomes goals. Write process goals. Know what I mean? If not, consider. Or ask :). 

And I Have Even Been Sampled!!

Yesterday I  randomly discovered an old poem of mine was sampled (preformed as a whole toward the middle) in a house song, "Jazz and Some Sorry". How many social work profs can say that! :). That is my voice, not even sure where they got this recording from!

Writing Productivity for Attorneys

While I have sometimes taken non-academic clients, I have not systematically or intentionally reached out to members of other professions. Over the last few months, however, I have worked with a couple of attorneys as clients, and have done a great deal of thinking about how best meet their needs. Our work together has gone really well; they are writing more efficiently, more quickly, and they believe with less stress, anxiety and self downing!

After a great deal of thinking and planning, I am now offering writing productivity packages for attorneys. The basic package includes four sessions in which I will provide you with individual coaching designed to help you write more quickly and efficiently, and to help you learn how to identify and manage some of your individual writing blocks. During our time together, I will also provide you with email check ins and feedback to help you internalize our work. 

At this point, I can only take on up to five attorneys at a time; my commitment to helping scholars remains my primary focus.  Given how valuable your billable time is, this is a small investment in yourself. Please email me if you would like more information or to discussion how I might help you and/or your practice.

"March" toward full professor

Perhaps not the best metaphor, but lets roll with it and see what I can do. If writing is a method of inquiry, which I believe it is, and if the purpose of writing as a process is to penetrate the phenomena under consideration, than starting with a prompt such as one word is one means in.

March,  verb, Merriam-Webster: To move along steadily usually with a rhythmic stride and in step with others. To move in a direct purposeful manner. To make steady progress.

The march toward full profession. Yes, it demands a steady movement, movement over time, and most certainly, a steady rhythm if it is to work well. In step with others? In some ways, yes. Showing empowering leadership with others (not over others), service befitting of a senior scholar and a good citizen. But perhaps that is where in step with others can stop. It is your career, and the essence of academic freedom is that once you are tenured YOU get to make choices for your own career. If you are productive over time, in areas of your choosing, than you get to move toward full.

Steady, measured, consistent. These are often difficult for some new assistant professors who frantically pushed toward tenure during their last few years on the tenure track. Many got off to slow starts during their first couple (or few), and so their final push toward promotion was a painful, anxiety ridden path. Once tenured, there is a tendency to crash and burn. They let it all go, and then? Hard to get back into the writing and research groove.

Some, also, never really learned good method of writing productivity, and while they have published a fair amount, they really have not mastered methods of producing articles or books. It is all effort, and little efficiency.

And then, the long stalled associate professor. Ridden with shame for not being productive, they have long since given up on the possibility of their final promotion.  They push their shame under the carpets of defensiveness, self deprecation, and other strategies of blame. Who needs it anyhow, right? So little extra money, so much work to get there.

Right?

Ok, perhaps I am deviating from my initial metaphor, but it really was only a writing prompt anyhow. I have been a bit stalled on my blog of late, and so, I gave myself a writing prompt this morning, and all of you get to (sic are forced?) to be witness to my process.

That said, I am going to be writing more blog posts about moving toward full professor over the next few weeks. Not the only posts I hope to make, but I will make a few on the topic, so stay tuned Associate Profs (and those about to be!)