Curriculum Vitae

Bob Coyle, Ph.D.

Phone: (404) 325-8512 Ext: 728
E-Mail:
bobcoyle@pineriverpsychotherapy.com

I have had the privilege of working with individuals, couples, families, and groups for over 25 years as a licensed Clinical Psychologist. My model for psychotherapy is integrative, drawing from many sources. My work expresses my strong belief in every human being’s natural drive towards growth, individuation, and integration. I value our ability to live in the present with all of the aliveness that this allows. As a psychotherapist, my mission is to be present with my clients, providing a safe space to explore what emerges.

CLINICAL SERVICES:

Areas of particular interest include: men’s issues from young adulthood through later life; recovery from addiction; healing from loss; and fostering connection for couples as well as other intimate systems. I provide ongoing consultation for psychologists and other psychotherapists.

Addiction and Recovery:

We have many ways of altering our mood. Substances such as alcohol and activities such as sex and gambling can be misused. It can be hard for a person to know when they have moved from normal use of a mood altering substance or activity into problematic use or outright addiction.

My psychotherapy practice includes work with people who find themselves questioning their use of mood altering substances or activities. For example, they notice that they seem to be relying more and more on a drink, a drug, or a potentially addictive activity to help them get through a difficult night. They may come to me for help in determining if they do have an actual problem with alcohol, mood-altering drugs, or overuse of mood-altering activities.

Together we can look at the nature of the problem and its degree of severity. Depending on our assessment, we can formulate a plan that can move them and their life in a more positive direction. I also see people who are already in recovery from addiction and now are beginning a journey of self-discovery that becomes possible once they are free of the obsessive craving of the addiction.

Counseling and psychotherapy can be useful at many points along the path of recovery, including helping a person to gain the clarity and motivation necessary to continue the process of recovery. Often, the newly sober person now finds they are dealing head-on with memories, feelings, and dysfunctional relationships that they had previously numbed themselves to.

Without external support and guidance the likelihood of relapse increases. I form a therapeutic alliance with my clients to help them as they move along their new path.

PRESENTATIONS

Attachment, Boundaries, and Addiction 2006
Talbott Recovery Campus; Atlanta, Georgia

Renewal and Rejuvenation Through the Use of Symbols, Imagery, and Music 2008
Annual Spring Meeting of the Georgia Association of Disability Examiners; Atlanta, Georgia

Personal and Professional Renewal and Rejuvenation: What We Can Learn From the Myth of the Phoenix 2008
Annual Meeting: Georgia Disability Adjudication Section; Stone Mountain, Georgia

Psychotherapy and Addiction 2009
Continuing education workshop; Pine River
Psychotherapy Training Institute

Sex Addiction in the Internet Age: What
Patients Don't Say and Therapists Don't Ask
2009
Continuing education workshop; Pine River
Psychotherapy Training Institute

Sexcess: Understanding the Excess of Sex
Addiction 2012
American Academy of Psychotherapists 2012
Summer Workshop, Virginia Beach, VA

EDUCATION:

Ph.D. 1981
Clinical Psychology
Georgia State University

M.A. 1976
Psychology
Georgia State University

B.A. 1971
Cultural Anthropology
University of Kansas

PROFESSIONAL CREDENTIALS:

Licensed Psychologist
Georgia Board of Psychology Examiners
License No. 755

Certified Sex Addiction Therapist