First time visitor? Check out “My Top 10 Most Popular Blog Posts” or a categorical index of all my posts.
My Biography
I grew up in Tazewell, a small town in the beautiful Appalachian region of southwestern Virginia.
I received a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Virginia, a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Marshall University and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Kentucky.
My training and employment as a clinical psychologist has included work in psychiatric hospitals, mental health centers, colleges and universities, state government, a Federal prison, and a VA (veterans) medical center. I’m licensed to practice psychology by the Kentucky Board of Examiners of Psychology.
Over more than thirty years, I and my work teams have been fortunate to help provide care to over 50,000 people with mental health and substance use concerns.
For over 24 years, I worked at Eastern State Hospital, a public psychiatric hospital in Lexington, KY. I was the founding director of the hospital’s Recovery Mall, an award-winning recovery and rehabilitation program for adults with serious mental illness and substance misuse. As the hospital’s Psychology Services director, I facilitated the provision of psychological assessment and psychotherapy and supervised psychology graduate students in their training placements.
I also worked for over 26 years in part-time and full-time academic roles in the Department of Psychology at the University of Kentucky. I served as director of the Jesse G. Harris, Jr. Psychological Services Center, an outpatient clinic where doctoral students in clinical psychology are trained in providing psychological testing and therapy. I oversaw the operations of the center and provided administrative and clinical supervision to the graduate student staff and therapists. I was also the training director of a doctoral health service psychology internship program accredited by the American Psychological Association.
Currently I serve as Executive Advisor for Clinical Services in the Kentucky Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities, part of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, in Frankfort, KY. In this role, I work on projects to remove barriers and improve access to behavioral health care for citizens throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
I believe strongly in contributing to the larger community. I served as President (2006-2007) of the Kentucky Psychological Association (KPA) and am a member of the American Psychological Association (APA) and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). I received the NAMI-Lexington (KY) Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015 and was inducted into the KPA Hall of Fame in 2024.
I have been active in mental health advocacy initiatives at the state and Federal levels. I served as the Kentucky representative (2014-19) to the American Psychological Association (APA) Council of Representatives, the legislative body for the association, and served as Chair of the Council Leadership Team (2023) and as a member of the APA Board of Directors (2022-23).
I have been married to my wife and best friend, Kathy for thirty-six years. We have one daughter, Allison and a sweet but feisty West Highland White Terrier named Bella. We live in the beautiful Bluegrass region of Kentucky. In my free time, I enjoy reading, travel, walking, movies, music, and thinking about exercising.
Let’s Connect!
Please feel free to contact me here. Also, please subscribe to my blog, and connect with me on social media:
Finally, if you’re interested in mental health advocacy, please join the “Mental Health Advocates International” Facebook group.
Thanks for stopping by,