John C. Rhead, Ph.D.

I am a psychotherapist and I love my work. I believe very strongly in the power of good psychotherapy to alleviate a wide range of the kinds of difficulties and suffering we all encounter from time to time and also to go beyond that to enhance the quality of our lives. I believe that such positive outcomes are only possible when both the therapist and client(s) put their hearts into doing the work they came together to do. This is true regardless of the format of the therapy--individual, couple (marriage counseling), group, or family.

Therapy is hard work. It is perhaps the hardest work you will ever do, and perhaps the most important as well. However, it is not only work. It can also be quite a shared adventure for all those involved, including the therapist. In group therapy this sense of shared adventure can also include include the other members of the group.

My beliefs about therapy are based on two things: (1) the extensive scientific research on the effectiveness of psychotherapy and (2) my own many years as a therapist and as a client in psychotherapy.

In addition to being a psychotherapist, I am also a father, grandfather, stepfather, uncle, friend, writer, mystic, inventor, auto mechanic, lumberjack, psychologist, citizen of the world, theologian, engineer, electrician, plumber, scientist and adventure-seeker. All of these identities have just emerged as I have lived my life as fully as I can. The only one I can prove with credentials is psychologist, for which I have a BA (Dartmouth), a PhD (Stanford), and a license (Maryland). These credentials were acquired long after I already regarded myself as a psychologist.

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