Bill Doherty

William J. Doherty is an educator, researcher, therapist, speaker, author, consultant, and community organizer. He is Professor and Director of the Marriage and Family Therapy Program in the Department of Family Social Science, College of Education and Human Development, at the University of Minnesota, where he is also an adjunct Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health.

Bill is past president of the National Council on Family Relations, the nation’s oldest interdisciplinary family studies organization. His awards include the Significant Contribution to the Field of Marriage and Family Therapy Award, the Margaret E. Arcus Award for Outstanding Contribution to Family Life Education, and the Outstanding Community Service Award from the University of Minnesota.

Bill Doherty has authored or edited nine books for professionals, numerous articles in professional journals, and five books for lay audiences on the topics of family rituals, confident parenting, marriage, overscheduled kids, and the family dynamics of wedding planning.

A popular speaker to lay and professional audiences, Bill has won several teaching awards in his career and is frequently interviewed by print, radio, and TV media on family issues.

Since 1999, Bill has been developing and leading the Families and Democracy Project and the Citizen Health Care Project, a community organizing approach to working with families and promoting cultural change.

Bill is a licensed marriage and family therapist, psychologist, and Clinical Member, Fellow and Approved Supervisor for the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. He received his Ph.D. in family studies from the University of Connecticut in 1978 and has served on the faculty of the Department of