About Bill

Current Position

William J. Doherty, Ph.D. is professor and director of the Marriage and Family Therapy Program in the department of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota. He is both a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a licensed Psychologist in the State of Minnesota, and has practiced as a marriage and family therapist for over 25 years.

Professional activities and interests

Dr. Doherty is past President of the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) and Co-Chair of the Collaborative Family Healthcare Coalition (CFHCC). His scholarly interests include: fatherhood; families and health; professional, family, and community partnerships; professional practice patterns of marriage and family therapists; and moral and community issues in therapy. Dr. Doherty´s work has recently been featured on ABC News, Good Morning America and The Today Show.

Selected publications

• Doherty, W. J., & Carlson, B. Z. (2002). Putting Family First. New York: Henry Holt.
• Doherty, W.J. (2001). Take Back Your Marriage: Sticking Together in a World that Pulls Us Apart. New York: Guilford.
• Doherty, W.J. (2000). Take Back Your Kids: Confident Parenting in Turbulent Times. South Bend, IN: Sorin Books.
• Doherty, W. J., Kouneski, E., & Erickson, M. F. (2000). We are all responsible for responsible fatherhood: A reply to Walker and McGraw. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 570-574.
• Doherty, W.J., Kouneski, E.F. & Erickson, M.F. (1998). Responsible fatherhood: A review and conceptual framework. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 277-292.
• Doherty, W.J. (1997). The Intentional Family. New York: Addison Wesley.
• Doherty, W. J. (1995). The vanishing American father. In W. J. O´Neill (Ed.), Family: The first imperative. Cleveland, OH: The William J. and Dorothy K. O´Neill Foundation.
• Allen, W. D., & Doherty, W. J. (1995). Being there: The perception of fatherhood among a group of African-American adolescent fathers.
• In H. I. McCubbin, E. A. Thompson, A. E. Thompson & J. A. Futrell (Eds.), Resiliency in ethnic minority families: African-American families, Vol. 2. Madison, WI: Universe of Wisconsin Press.
• Doherty, W. J. (1993, Sept./Oct.). I´m O.K., you´re O.K., but what about the kids? The Family Therapy Networker, 17, 46-53.