The Dissertation Coach

Juile Barton, PhD

Alison — Mon, 20 May 2013 02:23:32 +0000

“I honestly don’t think I would have received my Ph.D. if it wasn’t for Stephanie’s support. Being an American at a UK PhD program, I was surprised by the “hands-free” nature of the degree- there was no support, just a meeting every few months with my supervisor to go over what I had written since the last meeting. I wasn’t succeeding, and no one was able to tell me what I was doing wrong. So I kept chugging ahead, but I was miserable and worried.

Stephanie was able to give me the weekly contact/support that I craved. She even went out and read some of my primary (fiction) texts so she would know what I was talking about. It was amazing. She was able to help me with general drafting/planning, with writing and crafting an argument, and ways to research. But she also provided emotional support, letting me know there was someone on my side who believed in me and my work.

Again, without her, I just don’t know how it all would have worked out. But today I can say I have a PhD!”

Constance Cramer, PhD, Literature and Religion

Alison — Fri, 03 May 2013 17:37:05 +0000

I had the good fortune to work closely with Dr. Stephanie Latkovski during the dissertation stage of my doctoral program at Boston University. It was an extraordinary and deeply gratifying experience that, without a doubt, made possible a strong final paper and successful defense. Stephanie’s academic background, intellectual bandwidth and seasoned grasp of the dissertation process were evident at every turn. From the outset, I knew I was in the hands of a coach and guide I could trust, and someone with integrity and a genuine commitment to my success. Her technical feedback on my writing and the structural aspects of my argument were on target and yet always respectful of my voice and vantage point on the material. When we booked a session, I knew that Stephanie would be online on-time and fully prepared to discuss whatever obstacles or challenges I was facing. She held me accountable and kept me solidly on track with good advice and good cheer, always urging me to my best work. Stephanie ”gets” the art and science of dissertation writing and is surely one of the top coaches in the business.

DJW, Ph.D., Classical Studies, University of Florida

Alison — Fri, 03 May 2013 00:34:26 +0000

I entered a Ph.D. program over 15 years after failing to complete another one in the same field, in which I had reached the dissertation stage but hit a wall I couldn’t get through. I needed to make another attempt because I was teaching full time at the college level, and my department made it clear that if I wanted to keep my job I needed to finish the Ph.D. In addition to the usual difficulties and frustrations of finishing a dissertation while working full time, I was also carrying the burden of my previous failure and was beginning to repeat my previous pattern of counterproductive habits and spinning my wheels. I was reaching the point where I really needed to get cracking if I was going to finish the degree, or be close enough to completion, by the time of my job review. This was compounded by the fact that I was working at a great distance from my adviser and committee, so I had little active supervision. My wife, seeing how frustrated and defeated I felt, found The Dissertation Coach online and suggested that I contact Alison Miller. Alison matched me with Kathryn Paterson, with whom I worked for two months. This was exactly what I needed to kick-start my work and set me on a path to completion. Kathryn helped me organize my daily work schedule and find ways to break a large, overwhelming task into smaller, more manageable chunks. In particular, she taught me the importance of scheduling regular breaks into my daily workplan, so as not to get exhausted and frustrated. She also taught me how to use smaller chunks of time in productive ways, and to approach thesis-writing as a job rather than as a measure of self-worth. Kathryn and I kept in touch daily through Google Docs, where we monitored and tweaked my daily workplan, and through weekly phone calls. My work with Kathryn helped me set a pattern of working productively which enabled me to finish a draft in time, get the promotion at work, and complete the degree. I highly recommend The Dissertation Coach to anyone working on any kind of long-term writing project. One of the hardest parts about writing a dissertation is that one feels very alone and not understood. You are not alone, and there are people who understand and can help. Please don’t hesitate to contact The Dissertation Coach and ask for the help you need.

Anonymous, PhD

Alison — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 16:32:09 +0000

When I began working with Michal Lemberger more than a year ago, I lacked the confidence in my ability as a writer to turn the ideas I had in my head into a written product. But Michal helped me see past the dread of looking at a blank screen and provided essential (almost daily) consulting which resulted in a magnificent doctoral dissertation. One of the committee members at my defense—a very accomplished writer himself—went on and on about the quality of my prose. I could not believe it!

Michal was so much more than a copy-editor for me, although she does that task extremely well. She had the uncanny ability to suggest developmental and analytical routes I could not see because of stress and anxiety. Once I explained the arguments I wanted to make she helped me turn them into written text quite quickly. She is an amazing intellectual and a very accomplished writer, so she knew exactly how to help me refine my prose into an appropriate style. As the project progressed she was able to coordinate the earlier chapters with the later ones so that the constituent parts of the thesis spoke to each other. She was also very prompt in her feedback. Rarely a day went by when she did not get something done.

I learned so much about writing from Michal. Working with her has been one of the smartest decisions I have made. I had worked with another consultant outside of Alison’s group in the past, and Michal provided a lot more bang for her buck. The money I spent would have gone to continuing enrollment fees at my university regardless of whether I hired a consultant. I now have my degree and can move on with my life. Thanks Alison and Michal!

L.S., University of Colorado.

Alison — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 22:26:42 +0000

I was a little skeptical the first time I visited the dissertation coach website: sure, they helped all these people, but I don’t think they can help me. I had tried everything else and was running out of time, so I decided to give it a shot. I had just started a teaching job in a new city and was still trying to finish up my PhD remotely. I had a hard deadline, so in ten weeks I had to finish my research (which consisted of simulations that were not working at the time), and, of course, write my entire dissertation. It sounded completely impossible.

Alison Miller,PhD put me in contact with Kathryn Paterson, PhD and immediately things started to move forward. I had a lot of trouble sticking with the plan, but just the fact that I was talking to Kathryn and telling her what were the next steps made me have a really clear idea of what I had to do. When I was getting anxious about not having enough time to finish everything, she would always make me realize that I could do what I needed to do if I just worked on it for a few hours. She was very encouraging and made me feel I could do it, even when it really sounded impossible.

I ended up writing over 100 pages of my dissertation in the last 10 days and, surprisingly, except for the last three days, I was still living a normal life: fulfilling my teaching obligations, watching TV, having dinner with my friends, sleeping enough. This is what surprised me the most, because I always thought that the only way I was ever going to finish was to stop doing anything else! Kathryn taught me that it is better to take time off and work when I’m more productive than trying to work when I’m too tired. She also made me realize that I could get a lot of things done in 15-20 minutes. I still can’t believe all the stuff that got done with Kathryn’s help! And now my PhD is DONE!

Anonymous, PhD Candidate, Counseling Psychology

Alison — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 21:44:30 +0000

Completing my dissertation was a daunting task, and I struggled from the very beginning. I had very little assistance from most of my
committee members, so I felt alone in the process. I completed as much of the manuscript as I could and submitted to my committee chair, who continued to offer little support. He even said he was “overwhelmed” by my product and suggested I hire a writing consultant to improve the organization of my manuscript. I felt so defeated and honestly almost gave up after receiving such inflammatory feedback. I trudged ahead, however, and came upon the dissertation coach website through an internet search. I was hesitant to pursue the services but I contacted Alison, who offered to speak with me personally via telephone to explain the process and quell my fears. She was able to put me at ease immediately and selected a writing coach who was familiar with my area of study. I worked with Ani Moughamian. Working with Ani was a great experience. Communicating with her was easy and comfortable. She provided quick and comprehensive feedback and was positive with her critiques. Ani took the time necessary to assist me throughout the process of finishing my dissertation and did so in a manner consistent with my tight deadline. I recently submitted my final draft. My chair provided me with some positive feedback and said the draft was in good shape to move forward. I now have my defense date set, and I couldn’t be happier! I’m not sure I would’ve gotten to this point without help from Ani and Alison. I only wish I’d begun working with them earlier in the process. Please do not hesitate to work with Alison and her team. You will not regret it! Thank you, Alison and Ani!

PhD Candidate, Australia

Alison — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 19:34:45 +0000

My PhD journey was the delight of my life until about nine months ago. I was about halfway through writing my first draft when suddenly I found that each time I sat down to work on it I had a mild panic attack and would get up and walk away. After about three weeks of this pattern, I decided I needed some help. I wasn’t winning on my own. My university supervisor was excellent in the content of my study but I needed a different kind of help – someone to help me with the everyday psychological battle. I was fortunate enough to secure Alison Miller’s help for 6 months. It was exactly what I needed to break-through that tough spot and get me back on track. With Alison’s guidance, I was able to identify how the stress of my home situation was infiltrating my study. I learned how to separate the issues, and allow myself grace when I needed time to cope with things at home and not feel like my PhD was losing. Alison taught me to replace the guilt and panic about the PhD, with peace, acceptance and success. It was about making my whole life work, so that my PhD could work. Then on top of that, I learnt how to deal with those specific feelings of panic, and how to keep moving forward instead feeling like I was trapped and helpless. The best thing was being held accountable every single day. It meant every single day I had to look consciously at how I coped or didn’t cope and what to do next time. I couldn’t hide in denial any longer. Thank you, Alison. Your wisdom and insight was exactly what I needed. You made a difference in my life.

Anonymous, Ph.D., School Psychology

Alison — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 22:40:11 +0000

After struggling with my dissertation for many years with little help from my committee, I felt frustrated and overwhelmed. I was ready to throw in the towel. I then turned to The Dissertation Coach and was introduced to Dr. Laura Plybon. Despite being on a short timeline, due to several extensions, Dr. Plybon took me on and was never judgmental. She was professional, meticulous and articulate. She was also very empathetic and warm. After the initial phone conference, I felt as though I was speaking with an old friend. Dr. Plybon helped me develop a manageable plan, assisted me with multiple edits, explained difficult statistics to me in an understandable manner, and coached me prior to defense. She spoke with me on the phone as needed and answered all of my emails promptly. Dr. Plybon made the entire process more feasible and helped me work through severe anxiety issues associated with the process. In just a few short months Dr. Plybon helped me successfully defended my dissertation. For this I am eternally grateful. I would not have been able to tackle such a feat without her support and guidance. I highly recommend Dr. Plybon and cannot say enough positive things about her. Even after defense, she continued to support me and helped me with corrections until my final submission. Thank you Dr. Plybon!

Carmen Ochoa-Galindo, Ed.D, LCPC, Chicago

Alison — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 21:45:02 +0000

I knew that I had to hire someone to help me analyze my data for my dissertation, since there was no way I would be able to do that myself. I sought out a couple of different dissertation service companies online, and was shocked by what they were charging me to help me with my data analysis. Then I found Dr. Alison Miller at The Dissertation Coach and she connected me with Dr. Laura Plybon, who was everything I needed and more. Not only was her work incredibe, she was also very professional, organized, easy to work with, and did my data analysis in a timely manner. She did a fantastic job analyzing my stats. Also, I was pleased with the reasonable rates that The Dissertation Coach charged me; they are affordable and worth every penny! My experience with the Dissertation Coach was very positive., I like how Dr. Alison took the time to match me with who she felt would be a good fit based on my project and time zone. I would definitely recommend The Dissertation Coach to anyone who is in need of assistance with their dissertation. My brother is currently writing his for his doctorate and I told him I already found who can help him with his stats! Thanks Dr. Alison and Dr. Laura so much!

Susan S., PhD Candidate

Alison — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 05:46:30 +0000

Working with Dr. Jeff White has been a great learning experience, going above and beyond my expectations. Dr. White provided many points of consideration for my study, during pre-analysis consultation and discussion, working to make my study even better than originally planned. His work product is clear, understandable, and with timely delivery. He walked me through each step of the process and analysis, remaining available post-analysis for questions via phone and email. In our phone discussions he never made me feel inferior in my knowledge or as if I did not know what I was trying to accomplish. He always focused on the my strengths and challenged me to look deeper. An excellent experience that cut my timeline down considerably. Would recommend him and the dissertation consultants to anyone who needs help in the dissertation struggle.