Bryant L. Welch

Bryant L. Welch, J.D., Ph.D, (born April 20, 1946) is a prominent American psychologist, attorney and author. Dr. Welch graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School before receiving his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1976. He is also a Research Associate graduate of the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute.

Dr. Welch is a Distinguished Practitioner member of the National Academy of Practice and holds the Diplomate in Clinical Psychology. In August of 2005, Dr. Welch was awarded the American Psychological Association's Presidential Citation for his "seminal and unique contribution to professional psychological practice. 1

From 1986 to 1993 Dr. Welch initiated and ran the American Psychological Association Practice Directorate, leading organized psychology through one of its most successful advocacy eras. Under Dr. Welch's leadership psychologists gained access to practice in Medicare, hospitals, and psychoanalysis. He filed a successful class action anti-trust suit against the medically dominated American Psychoanalytic Association, opening the field of psychoanalysis to non-MD mental health professionals and helping to revitalize American psychoanalytic thought. Dr. Welch successfully secured passage of legislation to make psychological services available to seniors and to persons with disabilities through the Medicare program and he expanded access to psychological services into a number of new venues. He was also one of the first critics to warn of the dangers of the managed health care system. 2

Bryant Welch is a past president of the Harvard debate council and successful national debater. He has provided testimony on psychological matters to all levels of government including the White House, Congress, and the Federal Judiciary. He has been widely recognized as an effective advocate for mental health services and for civil rights. 3

Dr. Welch has appeared on all major networks and has been quoted in most major news sources on mental health related matters. He has received numerous awards from national and state mental health organizations and held academic appointments with several universities including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, George Washington University, and the University of South Carolina at Beaufort.

Dr. Welch has written regular monthly columns in the mental health trade press for twenty years and is currently blogger with Huffington Post. 4 He is also the author of State of Confusion: Political Manipulation And The American Mind (St. Martin’s Press, 2008).5

Bryant Welch currently resides on Hilton Head Island, SC, where he practices clinical psychology providing psychotherapy and marriage counseling, consults on mental health related matters, and writes on political and psychological issues. He has been married to his wife, Debbie, for over forty years. They have two adult sons.