Bill Doherty, PhD is a Professor in the Department of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota where he directs the Minnesota Couples on the Brink Project, which developed “discernment counseling” for couples on the brink of divorce, and The Citizen Professional Center, which does community engagement projects on health care and on divisive public issues. Following the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, he co-founded Braver Angels, a citizen initiative which uses couples therapy principles to bring conservatives and liberals together to counteract political polarization and restore the fraying social fabric in American society. Among Bill’s awards is the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Family Therapy Academy. His latest book is The Ethical Lives of Clients: Transcending Self-Interest in Psychotherapy, published by the American Psychological Association. Learn more at dohertyrelationshipinstitute.com.

Marjorie Nightingale, PhD, JD, LMFT is in private practice in Washington, D.C. where she specializes in couple and sex therapy. She received her master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy from LaSalle University. She received her doctorate in Couple and Family Therapy at Drexel University where her research focused on racially sensitive interventions for African American couples. Additionally, she teaches in Marriage and Family Therapy programs at University of Maryland, College Park. She has extensive clinical experience working with diverse couples. In addition, Ms. Nightingale spent several years as a family law and child welfare attorney in Baltimore where she worked with marginalized populations. As a scholar-practitioner, she has a special interest in addressing the intersection of sex and race in therapy for people of color. She recently received the 2020 AAMFT Foundation’s Outstanding Research Publication Award for her first academic article: Emotionally Focused Therapy: A culturally Sensitive Approach for African American Heterosexual Couples.

Paul Guillory, PhD is an Associate Professor at the University of California, Berkeley in the Clinical Science Program, Psychology Department. He has taught courses on Emotionally Focused Therapies at U.C. Berkeley. He is certified trainer, supervisor, and therapist of Emotionally Focused Therapy. He is the author of “Emotionally Focused Therapy with African American Couples: Love Heals” Routledge, August 2021. Dr. Guillory has presented at a number of recent workshops including “Emotionally Focused Therapy in a time of Racial Reckoning” with the Couple & Family Institute of New England; “Race and Couples Therapy Conference” with the Eikenberg Academy For Social Justice; and “Deep Roots: Attachment & Culture” with the LA Center of EFT. He has recently produced two EFT training videos that dynamically integrate Emotionally Focused Therapy with a cultural lens for working with race-matters in couple’s therapy. He is the former chairperson of the Northern California Community of Emotionally Focused Therapy. Dr. Guillory was the psychological consultant to the Oakland Raiders professional football team and the National Football League for 14 years. He has also been a consultant to the Sacramento Kings professional basketball team, and is a selected provider for the National Basketball Players Association. He served as Director of the Center for Family Counseling in Oakland California for ten years. He is a life-time member of the Association of Black Psychologist. And he is a life-time member of the USA Masters Track & Field Association. He has been in private practice in Oakland California for over 30 years. For more info about Paul, visit www.paultguilloryphd.com.

Acey A. Mercer, LMSW is a graduate of the University at Albany School of Social Welfare where he obtained his Master’s in Social Work. Prior to graduate school Acey studied at Radboud Universiteit in the Netherlands where his academic focus was in Gender and Sexuality Studies. These foci ignited Acey’s passion to further explore and examine human behavior, relationships and the dynamics of class, race, ability, gender and sexuality. These motivating factors drew Acey to pursue social work and ultimately to become a licensed psychotherapist and educator. Acey is currently Practice Manager at Choices Counseling & Consulting in Albany, NY where he oversees clinical referrals and is responsible for the overall daily operations. He is also a Clinician at Choices and counsels clients exploring gender identity and expression. He works with adults, youth, and their families as they navigate questions and challenges related to the social, legal and medical aspects of gender transition. Acey’s clinical lens gives a strong compliment to the professional education services he delivers as Senior Consultant of the Training Institute for Gender, Relationships, Identity, and Sexuality (TIGRIS). Acey specializes in providing clinical training and policy development as it relates to best serving transgender and nonbinary populations in medical, mental health and educational institutions. Visit his website at www.choicesconsulting.com/choices-associates/acey-a-mercer.

Joseph Winn LICSW, CST-S received his MSW from The Boston University School of Social Work in 1995. Joe has completed extensive post-graduate training in domestic violence, and family and couples therapy with a particular interest in structural, strategic, Bowenian, collaborative language systems and post-modern models of intervention. Joe is also an AASECT certified sex therapist, and AASECT certified supervisor of sex therapy. Joe has been self-employed in private practice since 2006 has a thriving supervisory practice and maintains an office in West Concord, Massachusetts. Joe works primarily with mixed gender, LGBTQQIA + individuals, couples in open and consensual non-monogamy, polyamory and kink and has a particular interest in high conflict couples, and couples looking to regain pleasure and trust-based sexuality after sexual assault and abuse. While drawing from a variety of couples therapy models including EFT, experiential, and object relations, Joe resonates most strongly with Bader and Pearson’s Development Model of couples therapy. Joe is also a member of the training faculty with The South Shore Sexual Health Center, in Quincy, Massachusetts. SSSHC is an AASECT approved training program for clinicians looking to become AASECT Certified Sex Therapists. Visit his website at www.josephwinnlicsw.net.

Sidney M. Trantham, PhD is an Associate Professor & Division Director for the Division of Counseling & Psychology at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He received his Ph.D. in 1999 from the University of Florida (Gainesville). His doctoral work focused on exploring the impact of early childhood sexual experiences on the psychological functioning of adult males. He was a Harvard Clinical Fellow (1996-2000) at the Cambridge Health Alliance in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he completed his clinical psychology internship and neuropsychological post-doctoral fellowships, as well as engaged in research identifying early cognitive markers of HIV-related dementia. His work at Fenway Health (1999-2006) in Boston, Massachusetts included working with adults to address a variety of issues related to sexual identity development. Dr. Trantham maintains a private practice where he provides integrative psychological, neuropsychological, and gender assessment as well as mental health counseling with children, adolescents, adults, and families. Areas of clinical interest and expertise include working with transgender and non-binary children and adolescents, sexual and racial identity development, and mood disorders. Learn more about Sidney at sidneytrantham.com.

I. Scott Cohen, LICSW, LMFT is both a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker. Since 1978, he has provided couples, family, individual and group therapy. He specializes in working with victims of violent crime and post-traumatic stress disorder, adolescents and their families, and substance abuse and addictions. He received his Masters Degree in Social Work from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He is the current Treasurer of The Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards, a national association which serves the MFT regulatory board of every state in the US. He served as the President of the Massachusetts Association of Marriage and Family Therapy in 1994/1995. He served at total of fourteen years as one of the two marriage and family therapy representatives to the Massachusetts Board of Registration for Allied Mental Health. He is an AAMFT Approved Supervisor and a Board Certified Diplomat in Clinical Social Work. He has taught marriage and family therapy at several training institutes and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Divorce Center, Inc. for eight years. He is also a founding member of the Greater Marlboro Sexual Abuse Hotline.

Mr. Cohen has held membership in The International Society For Traumatic Stress Studies and in the National Association of Social Workers and maintains membership in the American Association For Marriage and Family Therapy. Twice, he was awarded the Significant Contribution to the Association Award by the Massachusetts Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, and in 2000, he was given a Divisional Contribution Award by the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. Mr. Cohen serves as a Red Cross volunteer as a Disaster Mental Health Specialist. Prior to his retirement from practice last year, he maintained and managed a private practice of four clinicians in Framingham, MA. A nationally known trainer and presenter, he has given presentations at international, national and state conferences as well as conducted numerous trainings on both a local and national level. Contact Mr. Cohen here.