Psychology
Inmate - 2010
I was halfway through college…
at Marquette University, without a declared major. It was the last summer I would spend at home, and the last year that my voice wasn’t strong enough to say “No.” I entertained myself with the Moody Blues, and picked up a copy of Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams. That book was a game changer. I became fascinated with the complex workings of the mind, and found a vehicle to understand myself and grow. I began my major in psychology as a junior, and never looked back.
I obtained my master’s degree at Marquette as well, and began my research into anthropocentrism. My religious questions had multiplied, and I began to see God as an outgrowth of our desire to establish our importance at the center of the universe. Racial and sexual preference issues were prominent in our culture. I studied ingroup and outgroup conflicts at the core of prejudice, and began to understand how “otherness” and dehumanization of others set the stage for persecution. My research on anthropocentrism explored how humans, as the ingroup, justify our exploitation of other species (the outgroup). My curiosity was driving me, both in my research, and my study of clinical psychology. But I didn’t understand psychology enough to sufficiently help clients. It would be a few years before I developed my therapeutic skills enough to find joy guiding others’ growth.
Louisiana was an intriguing alternative to Wisconsin and my earlier roots near Niagara Falls. In addition to my Ph.D. at LSU, I met my wife, D’Lane, thereby setting up our three future daughters to be double-teamed by two psychologists. We did our internships at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, and settled in the Panhandle of Florida. After a lengthy stint working with four accomplished psychiatrists in their private practice, we formed our own group in 2002. Two decades later, we continue to ply our trade at Turning Point Center for Psychological and Family Growth. Along the way, I’ve developed an arsenal of ideas and techniques to understand the human mind and guide others toward personal change. And I’ve found I can explain such concepts well, during therapy, and in writing. Psychomechanics is a compilation of these writings, originally offered to clients on our website, and soon to be published, both as a separate book, and as a section of a larger exploration of secular spiritual, moral, and psychological practices: Beyond Atheism.
Psychology has been very good to me. It has provided me with a career, a 41-year marriage and partnership, an avenue of personal growth, and a fascinating territory to pursue my curiosity. Interested parties can find us at www.turningpoint4u.com.
Read More about Psychology in Ed Chandler’s Blogs
Blog#7 - Managing Anger, Frustration and Vulnerability
Blog#11 - Anxiety and Avoidance
Turning Point Center for Psychological and Family Growth, LLC
404 Barataria Lane
Fort Walton Beach, Florida 32547
Phone: (850) 243-8086 FAX: ((850) 243-2702
Email: here@turningpoint4u.com
Our Providers
Dr. D’Lane Miller - Licensed Psychologist
Ed Chandler, Ph.D. - Licensed Psychologist
Dr. Miller is a native of Lake Charles, Louisiana. She received her PhD in Clincial Psychology from Louisiana State University, and completed a dual internship in Adult Therapy, and Child and Family Evaluation and Treatment, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. As an administrator, Dr. Miller was the Program Director of the Crisis Stabilization Unit in Santa Rosa County, and the Clinical Program Director at the Psychiatric Treatment Center at Fort Walton Beach Medical Center. She now functions as President of Turning Point, supervising staff and attending to myriad administrative duties. Clinically, Dr. Miller works with all ages, conducting psychological evaluations, as well as psychotherapy with children, teenagers, and adults, including couples and families. She is known as a very supportive and empathic therapist, and formed Turning Point with the help of her husband (merely the Vice President, Dr. Chandler.
Dr. Chandler hails from Grand Island, New York, in the midst of the Niagara River, a few miles upstream from Niagara Falls. He obtained his BA and MS degrees from Marquette University in Milwaukee, and his PhD in Clinical Psychology from LSU following an internship at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Prior to forming Turning Point with Dr. Miller, he worked with four talented psychiatrists at Psychiatric Associates in Fort Walton Beach for 18 years. He works with adolescents and adults, treating everything from depression and anxiety, to couples issues, adolescent angst, and anger management. He has extensive experience working with trauma survivors and dissociation, and frequently provides personality evaluations. Dr. Chandler enjoys explaining the workings of the mind and the mechanics of personality change, and has been known to display dark humor.