Forty-five years helping families navigate estrangement, conflict, and reconciliation.
A clinical psychologist and Senior Fellow with the Council on Contemporary Families, widely recognized for his work on family estrangement.
On estrangement, and what makes repair possible
Decades of Clinical Practice
Dr. Coleman is a psychologist in private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area and a Senior Fellow at the Council on Contemporary Families. He has been in clinical practice for over 45 years and has specialized in helping parents cope with the pain and confusion of estrangement from an adult child, understand what may have contributed to the rupture, and find the best path toward reconciliation when possible for the past 2 decades.
His work refuses the easy story. Not toxic parents, not ungrateful children — but families caught in a genuine cultural shift in what we ask of each other, and unprepared for it.
Invited speaker at Harvard, Stanford, Weill Cornell Department of Psychiatry, UC Irvine, Ohio State, NYU Doctors Radio, and the American Psychological Association.
Frequent contributor to The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and The San Francisco Chronicle. His writing has also appeared in TIME, The Wall Street Journal, NBC Think, The Behavioral Scientist, Clinical Psychiatry News, CNN, MarketWatch, Greater Good Magazine, AEON, Huffington Post, and Psychology Today. See all writing & media →
A frequent guest on the Today Show, NPR, and the Oprah and Dr. Phil shows, he has also been featured on Sesame Street, 20/20, Good Morning America, PBS, America Online Coaches, and news programs on FOX, ABC, CNN, and NBC. His podcast conversations include appearances with Mel Robbins, Yasha Mounk, and CNN’s Audie Cornish.
Senior Fellow, Council on Contemporary Families. With historian Stephanie Coontz, he co-edited several online volumes of Unconventional Wisdom: News You Can Use, a compendium of noteworthy research on the contemporary family, gender, sexuality, poverty, and work-family issues.
Author of numerous peer-reviewed articles and chapters, and several books on family relationships — translated into Chinese, Korean, Russian, Polish, and Croatian. See all books →
Books
View all books →
Rules of Estrangement
The definitive guide to understanding family cutoffs
Breakthrough
Guided practices for healing with dignity and resilience
Estrangement Reconciliation Therapy
A new clinical model for healing family cutoff
When Parents Hurt
Compassionate strategies for difficult relationships
The Marriage Makeover
Finding harmony in imperfect relationships
A father of three adult children and a young adult grandson
Josh is the father of three adult children and has a young adult grandson, and lives with his wife in the San Francisco Bay Area. Outside the practice he composes music for television — credits include Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Shameless, Chicago Fire, and Chicago P.D., among many others — and has been studying classical piano.
“Dr. Josh, you were amazing! Thanks so much for everything!”
Christine Ferraro, writer, Sesame Street
Work with Josh
Weekly writing and live Q&A, a one-on-one consultation, or a talk for your organization.
This is just the beginning — an expanded membership experience is in the works for those who want even more.