John M. Grohol, Psy.D. is a pioneer in online mental health, publishing the first commercial mental health portal in 1995. Recognizing the educational and social potential of the Internet, Dr. Grohol transformed mental health educational, informational and online support group resources. Pre-dating the NIMH, NAMI and other mental health organizations, Dr. Grohol was the first to publish the diagnostic criteria for common mental disorders, such as depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. His leadership broke down the online barriers of stigma often associated with mental health concerns, bringing trusted resources and support communities to the Internet.
After receiving his graduate training in clinical psychology from Nova Southeastern University in 1995, Dr. Grohol co-founded and oversaw Mental Health Net, one of the largest mental health portals and online health support communities at the time. He has worked tirelessly as a patient advocate to improve the quality of information available for mental health patients, highlighting quality mental health information, and building safe, private support communities and social networks in numerous health topics.
Dr. Grohol was the first to publish a self-help book online, Psychological Self-Help (authored by Clay Tucker-Ladd, Ph.D.), as well as the first to publish the official diagnostic symptom lists for mental disorders. Recognizing the connective social power of the Internet, he started the first large-scale online mental health self-help support community and social network in 1996 and helped bring one of the first and largest online therapy clinics to popularity in 2000, HelpHorizons.com. During his career, Dr. Grohol has designed and successfully implemented the mental health center for drkoop.com, the website of the former Surgeon General of the United States, C. Everett Koop, M.D. He was the industry's youngest Chief Operating Officer while at HelpHorizons.com, Inc. and led the firm to its successful sale in January 2006 to Workplace Benefits. In 2001, he created the world's first mental health social networking community at Psych Central.
Dr. Grohol is the author of The Insider's Guide to Mental Health Resources Online (Guilford, 1996-2003), a published researcher, and sits on the editorial boards for the CyberPsychology & Behavior and the Journal of Online Behavior. He has also sat on the editorial board of the Journal of Medical Internet Research. He is also a founding member, fellow and the first president of the International Society for Mental Health Online. He is a founding member and Treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine. Dr. Grohol has chaired and presented at over three dozen symposia about online mental health and psychology at American Psychological Association conventions and for others.
Dr. Grohol currently publishes the 16-year-old Psych Central, one of the leading mental health social networks online offering consumers professionally-reviewed mental health information, resources, news, research briefs, the popular World of Psychology blog, social networking tools, and dozens of safe, secure support communities.
Dr. Grohol regularly writes and blogs on Psych Central, reporting on the latest science in mental health psychology, dissecting bad research, and adding his personal thoughts on the world of psychology.
