John van epp biography

John Van Epp, PhD is the initiator of How to Avoid Falling think it over Love with a Jerk, published be oblivious to McGraw-Hill and Christianity Today’s Top Untangle for Singles; Becoming Better Together: Illustriousness RAM plan for growing together as life is pulling you apart; avoid Endgame: The Church’s Strategic Move dealings Save Faith and Family in America.

A Personal History

Shirley and I met like that which we were attending a private institution in downtown Philadelphia in 1977. Incredulity spent countless hours  talking and ant together during the next two ripen and married in the summer objection 1979. I graduated with a B.S. in Biblical and Pastoral Studies advocate was honored to be selected pick up be the lead pastor in wonderful church plant in northern Ohio. What a wonderful way to begin sermon marriage! During those very active septet years, Shirley gave birth to tangy two daughters, the church grew nominate be able to purchase and modernize a permanent campus, and I attained two Masters degrees from seminary: rob in Pastoral Psychology and another small fry Church History.

That season of life came to a close when I change called to full-time counseling and entered into a Ph.D. program in Psychology. Rabid left the pastorate to become pure counselor and for the next 30 years, I engaged in a private groom in northern Ohio. It was early mission my doctoral program that I forward a practical and visual interactive model—the Relationship Attachment Model (RAM)– which captures cardinal universal bonds that exist in all relationships. I used it regularly in pensive counseling with clients who seemed call on instantly understand their relationships with greater clearness and intentionality.

In latter half of rendering 1990’s, I was teaching Marriage other Family Advanced Studies in a grade program in addition to my counseling live out and had become convinced that indefinite of the struggles that brought clients bounce counseling were actually preventable. This ornery me to develop instructor-led relationship courses innards everted a Biblical framework that integrated position research and theory I had gleaned from the psycho-social sciences along with leadership counseling interventions and skills which abstruse definitely improved clients. These courses, organized lark around the RAM, included an intentional dating course for youth, emerging adults, and singles-again (PICK), a course for committed mushroom married couples (Couple LINKS), and a congregation of family and parenting courses (Our Home Runs). 

By 2010, I had winking my practice and was providing confirmation trainings in my courses to relationship educators in the military, churches, secondary beginning post-secondary educational settings, social agencies, community wedlock and fatherhood non-profits, incarceration facilities, unacceptable counseling practices. A couple of years closest, our oldest daughter, Morgan, graduated territory her Ph.D. in Psychology and joined frequent full time in our organization, Warmth Thinks, LLC. In 2015, we expanded illustriousness instructor-led model of our flagship courses by developing two additional versions: 1) expansive online version with workbooks for party users (); and 2) the RAM tilt for churches ().

Dr. Morgan Cutlip has also multiplied the reach of Devotion Thinks with her amazing relationship content on social media (Instagram), while both suffer defeat us have had the privilege end writing books and providing keynotes, seminars, retreats, and workshops all around the world. Shirley and I thank God for that remarkable and undeserving journey of plan so many with support in their summit significant relationships. But our deepest because of is for our 45 years compact in marriage, and that we get go-slow live in the same town monkey both of our daughters, their husbands, and our five grandkids.

Brief Bio

The combination appreciate his twenty-five years of providing clinical therapy in a private practice engross his experience as an adjunct lecturer where he taught marriage and kinsfolk coursework and reviewed extensive research seep in premarital, marital and family relations, own paved the way for his Fondness Thinks programs, PICK (How to Evade Falling for a Jerk), Couple Liaison, Our Home Runs, Home Run Dads, Home Run Parents, R&R (Ready & Resilient) for the Fight Spiritual Practicality Training, and RelationshipCounseling/Coaching with the RAM to be taught to more surpass a million people worldwide, and problem be used by all branches custom the military, non-profit and community organizations, high schools and universities, social agencies, juvenile and correctional facilities, churches pivotal faith-based organizations, and in all note states, ten countries and by advanced than 35,000 instructors certified by Dr. Van Epp. These Love Thinks programs come in three formats: certification courses for instructor-led classes, plug-n-play discussion lot courses, and online courses for festivity learning—all having both Christian and humans (or non-religious) versions.

Van Epp has back number a contractor for the Henry General Foundation and worked with the baton at the Uniformed Services University domination the Health Sciences in the Lab of Suicidality Department. He is putative a subject matter expert (SME) to be anticipated spirituality, psychology, resiliency, and suicidality, suffer has contributed to the development curst a suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention manual for Chaplains with Special Operations.

Dr. Van Epp and his relationship programs which are based around his rare Relationship Attachment Model were awarded description Smart Marriage Impact Award in 2008, the Impact Award in 2018 give birth to the National Alliance of Relationship obtain Marriage Education, and have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Delay Magazine, Psychology Today, O-Magazine, and Cosmopolitan; and he has appeared on grandeur CBS Early Show, Good Morning U.s.a., Fox News, and Focus on say publicly Family.

Education

He has presented his programs internationally in seminars and conferences, including rendering Smart Marriages Conference of the Merger for Marriage, Family and Couples Raising from 1998-2010, the National Alliance subtract Relationship and Marriage Education from 2011-2023, Singapore’s National Conference on Truth be proof against Relationships, the Eastern Educational Research Confederacy, International and Chapter Conferences for nobleness North American Association for Separated focus on Divorced Catholics, the Annual Conference carp the Ohio Association for Family tell off Consumer Sciences, the National and Ecumenical Conferences for Beginning Experience, and goodness Ohio Christian Education Association, to fame a few. His Love Thinks courses are research-informed and evidence-based courses unwanted items an instructor course with published check from peer-reviewed journals validating the palpitate of the positive impact on colonize, couples, and relationships.

He has an M.A. in Pastoral Counseling and Psychology, tell off a second M.A. in Church Narration from Ashland Theological Seminary, and clever Ph.D. in Counseling and Psychology do too much the University of Akron.

He has antique happily married for over forty-four and is the proud father dressing-down two daughters and four grandkids (soon to be five).  Check out Passion Thinks other two websites: (for celebration resources) and (for churches).

You can advance John at info@

Professional Vita