John M. Grohol, Psy.D
Founder
PsychCentral.com
is a pioneer in online mental health and psychology. Recognizing the educational and social potential of the Internet in 1995, Dr. Grohol has transformed the way people could access mental health and psychology resources online. Pre-dating the NIMH, NAMI and many other mental health organizations, Dr. Grohol was the first to publish the diagnostic criteria for common mental disorders, such as depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. His leadership has helped to break down the barriers of stigma often associated with mental health concerns, bringing trusted resources and support communities to the Internet.
He has worked tirelessly as a patient advocate to improve the quality of information available for mental health patients, highlighting quality mental health information, and building safe, private support communities and social networks in numerous health topics.
After receiving his graduate training in clinical psychology from Nova Southeastern University in 1995, Dr. Grohol co-founded and oversaw Mental Health Net, one of the largest mental health portals and online health support communities at the time. While there, he published the first self-help book online, Psychological Self-Help (authored by the late psychologist Clay Tucker-Ladd, Ph.D.).
Recognizing the connective social power of the Internet from his time spent on BBSs in the 1980s and Usenet in the early 1990s, he started the first large-scale online mental health self-help support community and social network in 1996. In 2001, he created the world’s first mental health social networking community at Psych Central.
During his career, Dr. Grohol has designed and successfully implemented the mental health centers for drkoop.com (headed by the former Surgeon General of the United States, C. Everett Koop, M.D.) and Steve Case’s Revolution Health in 2005. He helped bring one of the first and largest online therapy clinics to popularity in 2000, HelpHorizons.com, and led the firm to its successful sale in 2006.
Dr. Grohol is a mental health and human behavior/technology expert, the author of The Insider’s Guide to Mental Health Resources Online (Guilford, 1996-2003), a published researcher, a sometime developer and designer, and sits on the editorial board for the CyberPsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. He is a founding board member and Treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine, and sits on the board of iFred, the International Foundation for Research and Education on Depression. Dr. Grohol has chaired and presented at dozens of symposia about online mental health and psychology at SXSW, the American Psychological Association conventions, Psychotherapy Networker conventions, and for others.
In his career, he has sat on the editorial board of the Journal of Medical Internet Research and was also a founding member, fellow and the first president of the International Society for Mental Health Online.
Dr. Grohol currently publishes the 17-year-old Psych Central (http://psychcentral.com/), one of the leading mental health networks online offering consumers professionally-reviewed mental health information, resources, news, research briefs, the popular World of Psychology blog and dozens of other blogs, social networking tools, and dozens of safe, secure support communities.
Dr. Grohol regularly writes for and blogs on Psych Central, reporting on the latest science in mental health psychology, dissecting bad research, and adding his personal thoughts on the world of psychology and its intersection with technology. He is a member of Association of Health Care Journalists.
