Clinical Psychologist and Author: Dr. Stephan B. Poulter || About Stephan Poulter || "Dr. Stephan B. Poulter is a licensed clinical psychologist with a private practice in West Los Angeles, California. He has worked in various settings with more than 2,200 fathers and sons in the last twenty-three years..... "

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Dr. Stephan B. Poulter, PhD, is a licensed clinical family psychologist with a private practice in West Los Angeles. He has worked in a variety of settings with hundreds of families, including individual parents and children, for nearly 30 years. He is also an acclaimed author and frequent talk show guest.

Among his books that deal specifically with family issues, "The Father Factor," follows as a natural companion piece to his ground-breaking previous work, "Father Your Son," which explores the five most common fathering styles (superachiever, time bomb, passive, absent, and compassionate/mentor) and the impact fathers have on their child's future relationships and career development.

In "The Mother Factor," Dr. Poulter identifies five very distinct mothering styles (perfectionist, unpredictable, me first, best friend and complete) and the emotional legacy that is created by the particular type of mothering we receive in childhood.

Unlike his previous family-specific books, Dr. Poulter's most recent book, "Your Ex Factor", deals with the often heart-rending results of divorce or the dissolution of love affairs.

By his own account, Dr. Poulter is the son of a 'best friend' mother and an emotionally distant father, both of whom continue to influence his life even now. He has been concentrating on the relationships between children and parents for nearly 30 years

"It was after I started working in private practice that I realized what I really needed to write about was something that hits much closer to home, and which has so crucially shaped my own life and the people with whom I work."

Before becoming a full-time psychologist, Dr. Poulter served as a police officer with the city of Glendale, California where he worked with at-risk juveniles, primarily 12- to 21-year-old male criminal offenders, in programs designed to redirect their anger and salvage their futures. At the same time, he attended a theological seminary, with

thoughts of possibly becoming a minister. He decided that there were more far-reaching ways for him to accomplish his goals of helping individuals restore peace in their lives, so he instead pursued his doctorate in clinical psychology. While in college, he also worked as a youth counselor and a camp director during the summers.

This work sparked his realization that America is facing an epidemic of fatherless boys and that rage, pain and oftentimes violence are the result. This realization motivated Dr. Poulter to place an emphasis within his doctorate on dealing with adolescent male development.

After completing his doctoral dissertation, which was entitled "Misdiagnosis of Acting-Out Adolescents," he ran a United Way counseling agency and oversaw school interventions for at-risk students within the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Throughout his practice, Dr. Poulter has worked with a wide range of fathers and sons, and mothers and daughters, as well as entire families from all socioeconomic levels, from welfare recipients to Hollywood celebrities. The issues are all the same: parent and child relationships.

Through his extensive work, Dr. Poulter has come to recognize a universal truth: that our fathers and mothers are the major factors in our lives on every level and in all contexts. He believes that these primary relationships must be better understood in order for all of us to create the secure, safe and supportive relationships that we crave.

In addition to his private practice, Dr. Poulter appears regularly on radio talk shows and news programs. He presents public and private speaking engagements, as well as workshops that creatively address various aspects of a parent's relationship with his or her children.

The father of a boy and a girl, Dr. Poulter is passionate about the need for fathers and mothers to be active, present, and involved with their children — and that passion is reflected in every aspect of his career.