problem with the spot healing brush

I just updated my photoshop.  Now whenever I use my Spot Healiong brush it just makes a black circle and doesn't "heal" like it used to.  I ha de tried resetting it and that doesn't help.  The other tools one would use for removal of things are working suchs and healing brush, patch tool, content aware fill.  What can I do to help the spot healing brush to work correctly?  Well maybe it is sort of working but it takes about a minute for each tiny spot.  Why would it be so slow and previously it never showed a black circle.  Thanks