Becoming a Citizen Therapist: Integrating Community Problem-Solving Into Your Work as a Healer

• diabetes education
• anti-smoking campaigns
• political depolarization
• police interactions

William J. Doherty, PhD, is a professor in the department of family social science at the University of Minnesota (UMN), where he directs the Citizen Professional Center and the Minnesota Couples on the Brink Project. In his career he has combined clinical innovations, including the specialties of medical family therapy and discernment counseling for couples on the brink of divorce, with a wide range of community engagement projects. In 2016 he cofounded Braver Angels, a national initiative to counteract polarization and restore the fraying social fabric of the nation. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Family Therapy Association. 
 
Tai J. Mendenhall, PhD, is a medical family therapist and professor in the couple and family therapy program at the University of Minnesota (UMN) in the department of family social science. He is an adjunct professor in UMN's department of family medicine and community health. Dr. Mendenhall is also the director of UMN’s Medical Reserve Corps’ Mental Health Disaster-Response Teams, and the associate director of UMN’s Citizen Professional Center. He works actively in the conduct of integrated, and collaborative, family health care, training, and outreach. His efforts in community-based participatory research and citizen health care initiatives address public health issues.