i copy/pasted this review from my review of mark miller, the instructor and added in a bit more.
top notch therapist and overall awesome person. friendly, warm, caring, open, honest. he listens and pays attention. if it gets better than this, i cannot imagine how.
attended both court-ordered anger management classes and did some individual counseling with him as well over many years.
in group sessions, he sometimes will share personal experiences where he experienced anger. this serves to bridge that 'therapist-client' gap as he lets you know that, just like you- he is a person with fallibility. anger happens. it is how we deal with it that matters! this also serves to point out his ability to differentiate between an event and how he experienced it- he will identify and state why he experienced any event a particular way. not only does this reveal that he is more than qualified to teach anger management, this helps one realise that achieving this same state is entirely possible for them as well.
he is an open, honest and caring individual. as mentioned, he pays attention- in a group session he will ask each person about their specific situations- he remembers details about each person and their life. this is no easy task and is indicative that he genuinely cares.
in group sessions, he offers multiple approaches for dealing with anger. he is well studied and highly knowledgeable; offering suggestions from many other psychologists. one of the advantages of this is that if one approach does not work for you, the next one might.
on a very specific and individual basis- he conveyed to me a very important message. i was dealing with a problematic (borderline personality disorder and probably full cluster B spectrum) girlfriend. he told me that if i understood that she is as she is and was going to beheve as she does- and that i accept this, rather than clinging to some beliefm hope or expectation that things might be (or "should be") otherwise- that this is indicative of sound mental state.
out of all the things i learned from time spent with him, this in particular stands out. continually clinging to what he would like to be is unrealistic. we have to accept things as they are.
at the same time he raised questions about why it might be that i was around such an individual. all of this, i have to be clear- is without, at any time- any sort of judgment. you can really open up to mark without fear.
in short, i highly recommend mark miller. having had to do some court-ordered stuff with him, i ended up enjoying and looking forward to his classes. this says a lot. add in that whenever i am presented with some particularly challenging situations, i will readily return for a session- having no obligation to do so. this says even more.
to top if all off, he keeps jolly ranchers and peanuts on hand, all of which are offered to clients. that's just totally cool.
if you are court ordered to take anger management or domestic violence classes- this is your best bet. if you simply want to help improve your life by changing how you respond to anger, this is also your best bet. you cannot go wrong here! read more