ABOUT ME

I qualify as a Midwesterner, having been born in a small farming community in Iowa. Very early, my family moved to Hammond, Indiana, part of the Chicago metropolitan region. Until graduation from high school, I was a city boy during the school year and a country boy in the summer.

My parents, having come from Iowa farming communities, always emphasized the importance of helping others. With their continuous involvement in community service and religious life, I learned the importance of serving those with less opportunity. No doubt, that influenced my eventual decision to enter the medical profession. In addition, both parents were educators, so obviously I learned the importance of education. My parents were also greatly interested in nature and travel, so I followed with those interests also.

I attended medical school at the University of Pittsburgh after completing premedical studies at the Pennsylvania State University. Upon graduation, I entered the US Air Force as a medical officer. That afforded me the first opportunity to live in another part or the world, Great Britain, where I served 3 years.

My curiosity about mental functioning began in childhood as my parents were helping veterans in Veterans Administration mental hospitals. Later, as a medical student, I had my first direct contact with hospitalized mentally ill. Frankly, at that time I thought of many of the treatment methods as close to torture. Things have come a long way.

After leaving military service, I chose to enter a study program to learn psychiatry. For 3 years, I studied at the Ypsilanti State Hospital and the Neuropsychiatric Institute of the University of Michigan. At that time the hospital housed 4100 patients, more than ample to understand serious human suffering. I had the good fortune to be in training during the introduction of psychotropic medications - learning both the benefits and problems.

After completing my psychiatric training, I moved to Akron, Ohio, where I remained for the next 20 years. Briefly, I was the medical director of a community mental health center. Also, soon after moving to Akron, I began my private practice. Two years after completing training, I was certified in psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

Those were busy years. I cared for some patients in hospital, but more in my private office. I was also very active as a consultant to several community service agencies and the courts. I was instrumental in the establishment of an interfaith pastoral counseling center.

I had an opportunity to learn the "laboratory method," which furthered my understanding of group dynamics. That also led to my participation in a leadership training program conducted by the Episcopal Church and also continuing dialogue regarding cross-currents between religion and psychology.

Because of interest in group psychotherapy, for two years I studied at the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health in New York and almost accepted a faculty position there. My love of teaching resulted in becoming an adjunct professor of psychiatry at both the Case-Western Reserve University and the Ohio State University schools of medicine.

While in psychiatric training, I had the good fortune to learn from James G. Miller, famous for his application of General Systems Theory to create Living Systems Theory. That was a most impressive learning and gave me an in-depth understanding of the dynamics of family and social relationships.

During my years in Akron, I was active in the local medical society, serving as chairman of the ethics committee and as an officer. I was also active in psychiatric specialty societies and became president of the Ohio Psychiatric Association. Shortly after, I was honored with fellowship in the American Psychiatric Association, and later as Life Fellow.

My professional activities turned more and more toward teaching and away from hospital practice. After learning Transactional Analysis, I was certified as a Clinical Teaching Member, and also a Teaching Member in education and organizational behavior - the latter was the result of involvement in consulting to business and industry teaching effective communication. I had also been certified as an Internal Organizational Consultant by the International Association of Applied Social Scientists.

Transactional Analysis (TA) is undoubtedly the most effective and practical approach to understanding human relationships and conflict. My enthusiasm for teaching TA resulted in my founding of the Midwest Institute for Human Understanding - a multidisciplinary educational facility with students from fields of pastoral counseling and education as well as mental health professionals. During those years, I traveled extensively, not only in the US but also in Europe and Central and South America. Eventually, I served for two years as president of the International Transactional Analysis Association, at a time when the membership was 10,000.

In 1976, I began regular teaching and supervision of mental health professionals at the Brazilian Institute for Transactional Analysis, making more than 25 visits over a ten-year period. It was the teaching at this institute that led to my acquaintance with my wife, Maria de Lourdes Alves Vidal, a clinical pschologist. Along the way, during those same years I learned Neurolinguistic Programming and Gestalt Therapy. As I said, those were busy years.

Eventually, the frequently less than desirable climate of Ohio stimulated me to move to southern California, where I lived in the small desert community of Hemet. Traveling and teaching continued, but I no longer had to shovel snow.

While in California, I became a faculty member and field coordinator for the Fielding Institute of Santa Barbara. The Fielding Institute was the first fully recognized doctoral program in psychology that was not a part of a large university.

One of the reasons for choosing Hemet for living was the opportunity to work closely with Dr. Everts Loomis, often described as the "father" of holistic medicine. Dr. Loomis used both allopathic and homeopathic treatment methods and had founded a world-famous residential facility, Meadowlark.

As the years continued in California, like others of my age, I pondered the question, "What about the future?" As a result, I decided to close my medical practice in 1988 and to move to Brazil. That was especially appreciated by my wife because she could return to her clinical psychology practice, speaking in her native language.

Since living in Brazil, I have enjoyed being able to invest my time in whatever interested me. Since I began using computers in 1978, I was able to continue my learning of evermore sophisticated technology. I have also continued to provide help, mostly to American ex-patriots living here and a few other persons fluent in English.

While on a practical basis I am bilingual, speaking Portuguese, the mysteries of grammar still confuse me at time.

I elected to not seek medical licensure in Brazil, but have continued some consulting and teaching. I discovered that universities in Brazil have not the structure to incorporate volunteer faculty, as is the more common practice in US medical schools. However, I have been very involved with an alcohol and chemical dependency residential facility founded by another American.

Most recently I have been learning more about online education and consulting. That has opened up a "new world" and permits me to continue to do what I love, teach and provide help to persons in need.

Well, by now you may have had enough, if not too much reading about my life. I hope you have found it interesting.