Lisa Miller (psychologist)
Lisa Jane Miller is a professor, researcher and clinical psychologist, best known as a research scholar on spirituality in psychology.[1] Miller is author of the New York Times Bestseller, "The Spiritual Child," and has worked for two decades to integrate spirituality into mainstream research on mental health and wellness publishing over 100 peer reviewed article on spirituality and mental health in leading medical and psychology journals, including the American Journal of Psychiatry and Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Her work focuses on the spiritual awareness of children, adolescents and parents, and benefits to mental health and wellness of spiritual awareness. She founded the Spirituality Mind Body Institute at Teachers College, Columbia University, the first Ivy League graduate program in spirituality and psychology. Dr. Miller is best known outside of academia as the author of the New York Times Best Seller The Spiritual Child: The New Science of Parenting for Health and Lifelong Thriving (St. Martin's Press) which also hit #1 Family Nielsen Ratings, Psychology Best Seller USA Today and Non-Fiction Best Seller Publishers Weekly. Miller works with the US Army, schools and universities, non-profit and commercial organizations to build spiritually supportive culture.
Early life and early career
Miller obtained a bachelor's degree from Yale University and a doctorate under Martin Seligman, Ph.D., founder of the positive psychology movement, at the University of Pennsylvania.[2] In 1997 as a postdoc at Columbia University Medical School, she first authored the initial published article in a leading psychiatry journal on spirituality as protective against depression in youth. Based on this break through article, Miller was awarded a highly prestigious William T. Grant Scholars Award to develop her research on spirituality and resilience in youth.
Early experiences in her career led her to become interested in the spiritual strength as source of coping and resilience, and road to thriving and truth. Children and adolescents need support from parents and community with spiritual growth and development. Women, particularly mothers of young children, have profound spiritual experiences which are not commonly supported or understood by the mainstream field of psychology. She introduced in the mainstream scholarly press a Postmaterial Spiritual Psychology, based upon notions such as superposition and field theory, such that a new generation of psychology might keep pace with contemporary physics.
Children with spiritual experiences find themselves without support and guidance. "Admitting to profound spiritual experience is often ignored, and can be difficult for children, who might find themselves ostracized and discriminated against for embracing their natural awareness or gifts," she said. Miller said she once met an elementary school boy from Texas who felt the spirit of his deceased grandmother and shared the experience with his classmates, for which he was asked to leave class.
Later career
Miller is Founder of the Spirituality Mind Body Institute at Columbia University, Teachers College. Miller is Co-Editor-in-Chief of Spirituality in Clinical Practice published by the American Psychological Association, the first peer review academic journal dedicated to spirituality as a source of healing and growth in treatment and wellbeing work. She is solo editor of the "Oxford University Press Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality" in which she articulates a vision of spiritual psychology.
Miller is a frequent television commentator who has been on the Weekend Today Show, Larry King Live, ABC Nightline, Fox News, MSNBC and talk shows. Miller advocates for children and women who are not understood by the mainstream field of psychology, such as in her work with children in Psychic Kids and related appearance on Larry King Live. Miller explains the awareness and attunement of children through the lens of 21st century postmaterial spiritual psychology (Watching for Light: A Spiritual Psychology Beyond Materialism, Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 2010; Oxford University Press Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality, 2012). She is author of The Spiritual Child: The New Science of Parenting for Health and Lifelong Thriving (St. Martin's Press, 2015)
Miller co-hosted a season in 2009 of the show Psychic Kids on AE. Miller says she participated in the A&E series because "this is an opportunity to share more broadly with our culture the psychic experiences of children and to understand what their experience says about our own daily lived reality." Her goal is to make acceptance of spiritual and psychic influences more common in the United States as they are in other nations such as China and Mexico. Over the past decade, Miller has spoken for thousands of parents, educators and youth activists on spiritual growth and flourishing in children and adolescence.
For her work integrating spirituality into mainstream psychology, Miller has been cited for her "moral courage" by clinical scientists, religious leaders and youth activists. Spiritual psychology is now taught at the Spirituality Mind Body Institute at Columbia University, Teachers College.
Works
- Miller, L.; Kelley, B. S. (2005). "Relationships of religiosity and spirituality with mental health and psychopathology" (PDF). Handbook of the psychology of religion and spirituality. pp. 460–478.
- Miller, L.; Kelley, B. S. (2006). "Spiritually oriented psychotherapy with youth: A child-centered approach". In Roehlkepartain, E.C.; King, P.E.; Wagener, L.; Benson, P.L. (eds.). The handbook of spiritual development in childhood and adolescence. The SAGE Program on Applied Developmental Science. SAGE. pp. 421–434. ISBN 978-1-4833-8484-9.
- Athan, A.; Miller, L. (2005). "Spiritual awakening through the motherhood journey". Journal of the Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement. 7 (1).
- Lilleleht, Erica; Bumpus, Mary Rose; Hy, Le Xuan (2005). Wedding, Danny (ed.). "The Spirit Is Willing but the Foundation Is Weak: Spirituality and Psychotherapy". PsycCRITIQUES. Portico. 50 (35). doi:10.1037/05150032. ISSN 1554-0138.
- Miller, L. (2006, October). Spirituality, health and medical care of children and adolescents. Southern Medical Journal, 99(10), 1164ff.
- Desrosiers, Alethea; Miller, Lisa (2007). "Relational spirituality and depression in adolescent girls". Journal of Clinical Psychology. Wiley. 63 (10): 1021–1037. doi:10.1002/jclp.20409. ISSN 0021-9762.
- Miller, Lisa; Athan, Aurelie (2007). "Spiritual awareness pedagogy: the classroom as spiritual reality". International Journal of Children's Spirituality. Informa UK. 12 (1): 17–35. doi:10.1080/13644360701266085. ISSN 1364-436X.
- Kelley, Brien S.; Miller, Lisa (6 April 2007). "Life satisfaction and spirituality in adolescents". Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion. Brill. 18. doi:10.1163/ej.9789004158511.i-301.91. ISBN 978-90-04-15851-1. ISSN 1046-8064.
- Kelley, Brien S.; Athan, Aurelie M.; Miller, Lisa F. (6 April 2007). "Openness and spiritual development in adolescents". Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion. Brill. 18. doi:10.1163/ej.9789004158511.i-301.7. ISBN 978-90-04-15851-1. ISSN 1046-8064.
- Desrosiers, Alethea; Miller, Lisa (1 December 2007). "Substance Use Versus Anxiety In Adolescents: Are Some Disorders More Spiritual Than Others?". Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion. BRILL. 19. doi:10.1163/ej.9789004166462.i-299.89. ISBN 978-90-474-3335-4. ISSN 1046-8064.
- Miller, Lisa (2008). "Spirituality and Resilience in Adolescent Girls". Authoritative Communities: The Scientific Case for Nurturing the Whole Child. The Search Institute Series on Developmentally Attentive Community and Society. New York, NY: Springer New York. doi:10.1007/978-0-387-72721-9_14. ISBN 978-0-387-72720-2.
- Miller, Lisa (2008). "Spiritual awareness in life and psychotherapy". In Rayburn, C.A.; Comas-Díaz, L. (eds.). WomanSoul: The Inner Life of Women's Spirituality. Women's psychology. Praeger. pp. 221–236. ISBN 978-0-313-35109-9.CS1 maint: date and year (link)
- Cho, L. Y., Miller, L. J., Hrastar, M. G., Sutton, N. A., & Younes, J. P. (2009). Synchronicity awareness intervention: An open trial. Teachers College Record, 111(12), 2786. http://www.academia.edu/download/36465476/Synchronicity_Awareness_Intervention.pdf
- Miller, Lisa (2010). "Watching for light: Spiritual psychology beyond materialism". Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. American Psychological Association. 2 (1): 35–36. doi:10.1037/a0018554. ISSN 1943-1562.
- Miller, Lisa (2010). "Epilogue: Watching for light: Spiritual psychology beyond materialism". Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. American Psychological Association. 2 (2): 115–116. doi:10.1037/a0019524. ISSN 1943-1562.
- Desrosiers, Alethea; Kelley, Brien S.; Miller, Lisa (2011). "Parent and peer relationships and relational spirituality in adolescents and young adults". Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. American Psychological Association. 3 (1): 39–54. doi:10.1037/a0020037. ISSN 1943-1562.
- Miller, Lisa (2011). "An experiential approach for exploring spirituality". Spiritually oriented interventions for counseling and psychotherapy. Washington: American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/12313-013. ISBN 1-4338-0946-X.
- Aten, Jamie D.; McMinn, Mark R.; Worthington, Everett L. (2011). "An experiential approach for exploring spirituality". Spiritually oriented interventions for counseling and psychotherapy. Washington: American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/12313-000. ISBN 1-4338-0946-X.
- Miller, L.J. (2012). The Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality. Oxford Library of Psychology. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-997864-9.
- Jacobs, Martha; Miller, Lisa; Wickramaratne, Priya; Gameroff, Marc; Weissman, Myrna M. (2012). "Family religion and psychopathology in children of depressed mothers: Ten-year follow-up". Journal of Affective Disorders. Elsevier. 136 (3): 320–327. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2011.11.030. ISSN 0165-0327. PMC 3536443.
- Miller, Lisa (2013). "Spiritual awakening and depression in adolescents: A unified pathway or "two sides of the same coin"". Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic. Guilford Publications. 77 (4): 332–348. doi:10.1521/bumc.2013.77.4.332. ISSN 0025-9284.
- Athan, A. M.; Miller, L. (2013). "Motherhood as Opportunity to Learn Spiritual Values: Experiences and Insights of New Mothers" (PDF). Journal of Prenatal & Perinatal Psychology & Health. 27 (4).
- Miller, Lisa; Bansal, Ravi; Wickramaratne, Priya; Hao, Xuejun; Tenke, Craig E.; Weissman, Myrna M.; Peterson, Bradley S. (1 January 2014). "Neuroanatomical Correlates of Religiosity and Spirituality". JAMA Psychiatry. American Medical Association (AMA). 71 (2): 128. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.3067. ISSN 2168-622X.
- Sperry, Len; Miller, Lisa (2014). "Spirituality in clinical practice and you: Welcome from the editors". Spirituality in Clinical Practice. American Psychological Association. 1 (1): 1–2. doi:10.1037/scp0000011. ISSN 2326-4519.
- Beauregard, Mario; Schwartz, Gary E.; Miller, Lisa; Dossey, Larry; Moreira-Almeida, Alexander; Schlitz, Marilyn; Sheldrake, Rupert; Tart, Charles (2014). "Manifesto for a Post-Materialist Science" (PDF). Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing. Elsevier. 10 (5): 272–274. doi:10.1016/j.explore.2014.06.008. ISSN 1550-8307.
- Miller, Lisa (2014). "Spirituality in clinical practice: This issue and beyond". Spirituality in Clinical Practice. American Psychological Association. 1 (2): 77–79. doi:10.1037/scp0000023. ISSN 2326-4519.
- Miller, Lisa; Jordan, Alexandra (2014). "Spirituality in relationships: Loss and rupture". Spirituality in Clinical Practice. American Psychological Association. 1 (3): 165–166. doi:10.1037/scp0000033. ISSN 2326-4519.
- Barton, Yakov A.; Miller, Lisa (11 April 2015). "Spirituality and Positive Psychology Go Hand in Hand: An Investigation of Multiple Empirically Derived Profiles and Related Protective Benefits". Journal of Religion and Health. Springer. 54 (3): 829–843. doi:10.1007/s10943-015-0045-2. ISSN 0022-4197.
- Barton, Yakov A.; Miller, Lisa (11 April 2015). "Spirituality and Positive Psychology Go Hand in Hand: An Investigation of Multiple Empirically Derived Profiles and Related Protective Benefits". Journal of Religion and Health. Springer. 54 (3): 829–843. doi:10.1007/s10943-015-0045-2. ISSN 0022-4197.
- Cobb, Eleanor; Kor, Ariel; Miller, Lisa (11 April 2015). "Support for Adolescent Spirituality: Contributions of Religious Practice and Trait Mindfulness". Journal of Religion and Health. Springer. 54 (3): 862–870. doi:10.1007/s10943-015-0046-1. ISSN 0022-4197.
- Barkin, Samuel H.; Miller, Lisa; Luthar, Suniya S. (11 April 2015). "Filling the Void: Spiritual Development Among Adolescents of the Affluent". Journal of Religion and Health. Springer. 54 (3): 844–861. doi:10.1007/s10943-015-0048-z. ISSN 0022-4197.
- Miller, Lisa; Barton, Yakov A. (16 April 2015). "Developmental Depression in Adolescents: A Potential Sub-type Based on Neural Correlates and Comorbidity". Journal of Religion and Health. Springer. 54 (3): 817–828. doi:10.1007/s10943-015-0047-0. ISSN 0022-4197.
- Drapkin, Jennifer; McClintock, Clayton; Lau, Elsa; Miller, Lisa (1 December 2015). "Spiritual Development through the Chakra Progression". Open Theology. Walter de Gruyter GmbH. 2 (1). doi:10.1515/opth-2016-0048. ISSN 2300-6579.
- Cobb, E. F.; McClintock, C. H.; Miller, L. J. (2016). "Mindfulness and spirituality in positive youth development". In Ivtzan, I.; Lomas, T. (eds.). Mindfulness in positive psychology: The science of meditation and wellbeing. Taylor & Francis. pp. 245–264. ISBN 978-1-317-60066-4.CS1 maint: date and year (link)
- Miller, L. (2016). The Spiritual Child: The New Science on Parenting for Health and Lifelong Thriving. Picador. ISBN 978-1-250-03383-3.
- Miller, Lisa (2016). "Reflections on the special section "qualitative and mixed methods research on relational spirituality"". Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. American Psychological Association. 8 (2): 131–133. doi:10.1037/rel0000072. ISSN 1943-1562.
- McClintock, Clayton H.; Lau, Elsa; Miller, Lisa (27 October 2016). "Phenotypic Dimensions of Spirituality: Implications for Mental Health in China, India, and the United States". Frontiers in Psychology. Frontiers Media. 7. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01600. ISSN 1664-1078.
- Portnoff, Larissa; McClintock, Clayton; Lau, Elsa; Choi, Simon; Miller, Lisa (2017). "Spirituality cuts in half the relative risk for depression: Findings from the United States, China, and India". Spirituality in Clinical Practice. American Psychological Association. 4 (1): 22–31. doi:10.1037/scp0000127. ISSN 2326-4519.
- Tenke, Craig E.; Kayser, Jürgen; Svob, Connie; Miller, Lisa; Alvarenga, Jorge E.; Abraham, Karen; Warner, Virginia; Wickramaratne, Priya; Weissman, Myrna M.; Bruder, Gerard E. (2017). "Association of posterior EEG alpha with prioritization of religion or spirituality: A replication and extension at 20-year follow-up". Biological Psychology. Elsevier. 124: 79–86. doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2017.01.005. ISSN 0301-0511. PMC 5329132.
- Anderson, Micheline R.; Miller, Lisa; Wickramaratne, Priya; Svob, Connie; Odgerel, Zagaa; Zhao, Ruixin; Weissman, Myrna M. (2017). "Genetic correlates of spirituality/religion and depression: A study in offspring and grandchildren at high and low familial risk for depression". Spirituality in Clinical Practice. American Psychological Association. 4 (1): 43–63. doi:10.1037/scp0000125. ISSN 2326-4519. PMC 5646707.
- Barton, Yakov A.; Barkin, Samuel H.; Miller, Lisa (2017). "Deconstructing depression: A latent profile analysis of potential depressive subtypes in emerging adults". Spirituality in Clinical Practice. American Psychological Association. 4 (1): 1–21. doi:10.1037/scp0000126. ISSN 2326-4519.
- Sperry, Len; Miller, Lisa (2018). "Spirituality in Clinical Practice: Endings and beginnings". Spirituality in Clinical Practice. American Psychological Association. 5 (4): 225–226. doi:10.1037/scp0000191. ISSN 2326-4519.
- McClintock, Clayton H.; Anderson, Micheline; Svob, Connie; Wickramaratne, Priya; Neugebauer, Richard; Miller, Lisa; Weissman, Myrna M. (13 November 2018). "Multidimensional understanding of religiosity/spirituality: relationship to major depression and familial risk". Psychological Medicine. Cambridge University Press (CUP). 49 (14): 2379–2388. doi:10.1017/s0033291718003276. ISSN 0033-2917.
- Miller, Lisa (2019). "The Pervasive Orienting Power of Religiousness and Spirituality: Reflections on the Special Section". Journal of Research on Adolescence. Wiley. 29 (2): 429–431. doi:10.1111/jora.12519. ISSN 1050-8392.
- Kor, Ariel; Pirutinsky, Steven; Mikulincer, Mario; Shoshani, Anat; Miller, Lisa (27 February 2019). "A Longitudinal Study of Spirituality, Character Strengths, Subjective Well-Being, and Prosociality in Middle School Adolescents". Frontiers in Psychology. Frontiers Media. 10. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00377. ISSN 1664-1078.
- Miller, Lisa; Balodis, Iris M; McClintock, Clayton H; Xu, Jiansong; Lacadie, Cheryl M; Sinha, Rajita; Potenza, Marc N (14 May 2019). "Neural Correlates of Personalized Spiritual Experiences". Cerebral Cortex. Oxford University Press (OUP). 29 (6): 2331–2338. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhy102. ISSN 1047-3211. PMC 6519691.
- McClintock, Clayton H.; Worhunsky, Patrick D.; Balodis, Iris M.; Sinha, Rajita; Miller, Lisa; Potenza, Marc N. (7 November 2019). "How Spirituality May Mitigate Against Stress and Related Mental Disorders: a Review and Preliminary Neurobiological Evidence". Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports. Springer. 6 (4): 253–262. doi:10.1007/s40473-019-00195-0. ISSN 2196-2979.
- Kayser, Jürgen; Tenke, Craig E.; Svob, Connie; Gameroff, Marc J.; Miller, Lisa; Skipper, Jamie; Warner, Virginia; Wickramaratne, Priya; Weissman, Myrna M. (17 December 2019). "Family Risk for Depression and Prioritization of Religion or Spirituality: Early Neurophysiological Modulations of Motivated Attention". Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. Frontiers Media. 13. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2019.00436. ISSN 1662-5161.
- Neugebauer, Richard; Wickramaratne, Priya; Svob, Connie; McClintock, Clayton H.; Gameroff, Marc J.; Miller, Lisa; Conway, Anne (2020). "Contribution of religion/spirituality and major depressive disorder to altruism". Journal of Affective Disorders. Elsevier. 262: 16–22. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2019.10.031. ISSN 0165-0327.
See also
References
- "Faculty Information, Teachers College - Columbia University". Retrieved 18 January 2013.
- "Teachers College - Columbia University". Teachers College - Columbia University. Retrieved 15 October 2018.