Donald Meichenbaum PhD is Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, from which he took early retirement.  He is currently Research Director of the Melissa Institute for Violence Prevention and Treatment in Miami, Florida.

He is one of the founders of Cognitive Behavior Therapy and in a survey of clinicians was voted ‘one of the ten most influential psychotherapists of the twentieth century’ (APA, 1982).

He has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Clinical Division of the American Psychological Association, was Honorary President of the Canadian Psychological Association and Distinguished Visiting Professor at the School of Education, University of Miami. He has presented in all 50 United States and internationally. 

Amongst his contributions to the field, he pioneered Stress Inoculation Training (SIT) and Self-instructional Training which are regarded as two of seven foundational branches of cognitive behavior therapy (Dobson, 2019).  In 2018, his and his colleague, the late Scott Lilienfeld’s article, ‘How to spot hype in the field of psychotherapy: A 19-item checklist’, was awarded Most Valuable Contribution to the General Field of Psychotherapy in the Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy.

Donald received his BA from City College of New York in 1962 and his PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Illinois, Champaign in 1966.  In 1977 he authored his first book, Cognitive Behavioural Modification: An Integrative Approach.  

He has published extensively throughout his career, including more than 70 journal articles and 15 books relating to cognitive behavior therapy and related subjects.  He has also provided more than 50 scientific/clinical guidance articles on the freely accessible Resources section of the Melissa Institute website.  A full list of Donald’s books can be found here.

His 2012 book Roadmap to Resilience:  A Guide for Military, Trauma Victims and Their Families, was released in full on the internet in 2020 to help the public through the Covid pandemic and beyond.  This book can be accessed here.  Roadmap to Resilience has been accessed from more than 138 countries and Don is always eager to hear from colleagues from the remaining 57 countries, that they too have also enjoyed his book.

He has consulted to a host of psychiatric and education settings and trained clinicians who work across varied populations including victims of natural disasters, interpersonal violence, returning service members, accidents and marginalized communities.  He has consulted for centres for the deaf, developmentally delayed, traumatic brain injury, juvenile offenders and schools systems.  

In addition to his role with the Melissa Institute, he still acts as a consultant and sits on the Technical Advisory Board to several psychotherapy training organisations including the UK College of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy.

To his students and colleagues, Don is well known for his humor, compassion and generosity in sharing his experiences and expertise, providing guidance and answering questions, as well as his extremely detailed handouts provided at the training events, conferences and workshops he’s provided around the world.