Why Blue Train?
The Blue Train Name
Blue Train is inspired by the jazz legend John Coltrane and the name of his timeless 1957 album—and title track. Coltrane was a musician with precise technical skill combined with a boundless capacity for improvisation.
Expert Psychotherapy at the Blue Train Clinic aspires to the Coltrane ethic: grounded in the structure of validated treatments while being open to improvisation and discovery of treatment interventions that will be most effective for you.
When we meet, you will see John Coltrane over my shoulder on the office wall behind me. He’s ever-present with his inspiration.
Blue Train Clinic
The origins of Dr. Ed’s Expert Psychotherapy
The basic principle is adapting treatment to patients to maximize their functional improvement and quality of life. To do that effectively, and for many different individuals with diverse backgrounds and life circumstances, required years of refining evidence-based behavioral treatments with diligence, data, quality improvement, and humility.
Creating Opportunity Out of Adversity
Three decades ago, I stepped into my first major leadership position at McLean Hospital, the signature psychiatric hospital in the Harvard Medical School system and US News top-rated psychiatric hospital. I assumed leadership of the adult partial hospital program and the Psychology Internship. The goal was to integrate the clinical service and the training program. The challenge was that both were failing programs within the rapidly changing healthcare landscape of the 1990’s. That required a major revamping of the treatment model and mindset about how to deliver effective treatment.
We created a culture of growth and accountability with our talented and dedicated clinical staff. We served over 10,000 patients under my leadership in what would become the nationally recognized Behavioral Health Partial Hospital / Intensive Outpatient Program (for Mood & Anxiety Disorders and Bipolar & Psychotic Disorders) at McLean Hospital. The Clinical Psychology Internship became one of the most sought-after training programs in the US, earning the American Psychological Association national award as #1 Psychology Internship Program in 2006.
Fixed Values and Flexible Treatment
Our specialty was treating patients with complex, hard-to-treat conditions who needed something different than what they were getting in conventional psychotherapy. I led the effort to develop Flexible CBT, which adapts evidence-based behavioral treatments to match the needs of individuals in their unique life circumstances. It requires being true to the Values of evidence-based behavioral treatment approaches, AND being Flexible, with empathy, to meet patients where they are—this jump-starts their journey toward a more meaningful and productive life.
The Fixed Values and Flexible Treatment approach evolved through the painstaking efforts of our McLean Hospital Team: clinical psychologists, social workers, mental health counseling staff, psychology interns, and post-doctoral fellows. We tested the approach through research, and used treatment outcome data to refine interventions for maximum effectiveness. All of these efforts resulted in improving the lives of thousands of patients who came to us in crisis.