There are three fundamental principles which have long steered the course to which I have steadfastly adhered in my professional life:
1. One should always strive to do the greatest good for the greater number.
2. One should always strive to serve to the best of one’s ability.
3. One should always make the best use of whatever resources are at one’s disposal.
At every juncture, in every setting, serving any population, in any capacity, those guiding principles have compelled me to write and write and write. As I have faced opportunities to participate in clinical program development, careful documentation of treatment protocols has served as the essential fulcrum, around which meaningful interventions have pivoted. Writing has been, in my experience, the most effective tool that can be harnessed in the pursuit of the following:
1. Distilling information and crystalizing thoughts.
2. Packaging information and thoughts in a way others can understand.
3. Generating a tool that can be used to disseminate information broadly.
Any time I have garnered useful information, encountered effective methods, formulated relevant insights, or experienced meaningful transactions, I feel inspired and compelled to share them with others, to the degree possible, in an effort to spread and magnify the impact. As we have fastidiously evolved a program for families with children and adolescents presenting with varied concerns, which has demonstrated robust and enduring positive outcomes, the knowledge, experience, and wisdom collectively amassed by our talented and diverse clinical teams, over 9 years, has been carefully recorded for the sake of optimizing the chances to do the greatest good for the greatest number. The explicit and comprehensive documentation of the aforementioned programs has culminated in the production of the two books, including the one that follows, which describes a program developed for teens and their families. The parallel program that was evolved for families with school-aged children was described previously in a book titled: Transforming Behavior: Training Parents & Kids Together (2012, Brookes Publishing).
If I had to choose one value, that I most passionately embrace, with respect to my work, it would be empowerment. My underlying goal in participating in clinical program development is to empower the providers and trainees serving on the interdisciplinary teams that deliver care to families. Likewise, my underlying goal in approaching any patient, together with their family and other key change agents around them in schools, communities, and other healthcare settings, is to empower. The end goal in everything I do professionally is to amass knowledge and skills and then disseminate them to others (providers, students, families, school staff), such that others can become increasingly empowered with tools to independently and effectively manage challenges they face. In my mind, the best way to serve patients and their families is to cultivate skills that enhance their capacity to maintain their own overall health and wellness. If there is a mechanism to realize this goal that is more effective and powerful than writing, I don’t know it. I hope this material is experienced as useful and interesting to readers and those who they serve. The process of writing it down has certainly enlightened and rejuvenated me.