I am so happy to have Dr Eppler as a contributor to my blog, he has helped me to change my life in so many ways. I know he will provide information and opinions that will be helpful to our readers.
Dr Eppler has an eclectic educational background, with his undergraduate degree firmly rooted in the hard sciences: Biology, Chemistry and Physics. His first masters degree was in Systematic Theology, while his second masters degree was in Education and Counseling. Finally his doctoral training was in Psychology with an emphasis in both Clinical as well as Industrial Organizational Psychology. He was awarded a Ph.D. in 1992 and received his California license as a Psychologist in 1994.
His work history has been equally diversified including teaching experience at the graduate, undergraduate and secondary levels. In his role as an Industrial Organizational Psychologist, Dr Eppler has specialized in difficult (underfunded) Start Up and Turnaround situations, frequently assuming the role of an interim CEO with full P&L responsibilities. He has guided companies from the brink of bankruptcy to profitability. Built businesses from concept to full operational viability and has experience with both international and multistate operations.
Dr Eppler’s clinical work as a Psychologist has always reflected his need for variety, preferring the more challenging and unconventional cases. He has worked with: dual-diagnosis patient populations, criminal patient populations, patients with personality disorders and other chronic mental health issues. In each instance Dr Eppler seeks to empower the patient to have greater control of his/her own thoughts, emotions and behaviors. Dr Eppler has also been designated as an expert by the Federal Court in five Southern California counties and has written hundreds of psychological reports for the court and has testified on numerous occasions.
His most interesting contribution to the field of Psychology however, has been his ability to ingergrate and pull together seemingly divergent clinical approaches into a new theoretical model that is not symptom driven and does not rely on lists of criteria to determine if someone is depressed or not, for example. In a paradigm shift, Dr Eppler has developed a working definition for “mental health” and has developed a new approach to treatment, called Self Reconstruction Therapy that does not negate established treatment modalities, but rather enhances them. The patient is provided all the tools necessary to change the direction of his/her life and is coached and encouraged how to use these tools to “reconstruct” a new version of him/herself. Interestingly, the principles of Self Reconstruction Therapy have proven to be equally effective when presented in a group setting or when used in an individual therapy setting.
I can personally attest that my life was enhanced when I participated in one of the first classes ( Dignity Threapy) that Dr. Eppler taught while I was incarcerated. He helped me and so many men change our lives with his teaching which was later renamed as Self-Reconstructive Therapy. I would personally like to thank him for his dedication and commitment in helping his fellow human being. Javier Martinez ex-life