I was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, graduated from Westminster College, in Fulton, Missouri, and served in the U. S. Navy as a Hospital Corpsman and Neuropsychiatric Technician. I received my Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln after completing an internship at the Palo Alto, California, Veteran’s Administration Hospital.
Before coming to Oregon, I served as Director of Counseling and Associate Professor of Psychology at Lewis–Clark State College, Lewiston, Idaho. During that time, I also served as President of the Idaho Psychological Association and Chair of Idaho’s psychology licensing board.
For over twenty years, I have maintained a private practice in Lake Oswego, Oregon, and also have served as adjunct faculty and a clinical supervisor at Pacific University.
I am certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology in both Counseling Psychology and Behavioral & Cognitive Psychology. In 2000-2001 I served as President of the American Board of Counseling Psychology, completing ten years of board service in 2004.
I am certified as a Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Supervisor by the Albert Ellis Institute, New York. I am also among those who practice and supervise Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Additionally, I have held a Certificate of Proficiency in the Treatment of Alcohol and Other Psychoactive Substance Use Disorders from the American Psychological Association’s College of Professional Psychology since the inception of that credential.
I was a founding board member of SMART Recovery® (Self-Management And Recovery Training), and I continue as a Professional Advisor to local SMART Recovery® groups and as a columnist for the SMART Recovery’s quarterly publication, News & Views. Though I do not myself believe in the supernatural, I served eight years, ending in 2008, as Chair of the Religious & Spiritual Issues Special Interest Group of the Association for Behavioral & Cognitive Therapy.
I have authored, or co-authored, over three dozen articles and book chapters on a wide variety of psychological issues, and serve on the editorial board of the Journal of Rational-Emotive and Cognitive Behavior Therapy. I am licensed as a Psychologist in Oregon and have written a popular self-help pamphlet titled, How to Stop Driving Yourself Crazy® with Help from Christian Scriptures, available as a free download at http://www.rebt.org/help_bible.pdf.
My wife and I are the parents of two adult daughters.