Philip H. Friedman

Philip H. Friedman is a licensed clinical psychologist, psychotherapist, trainer and researcher in Pennsylvania known for his work on integrative therapy and healing, well-being, spirituality, gratitude, forgiveness and the Friedman assessment scales, that can be used to track changes over time, especially the Friedman Well-Being Scale (FWBS). Friedman is the Director of the Foundation for Well-Being in Plymouth Meeting, Pa (a suburb of Philadelphia) and on the adjunct faculty of the Institute for Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, California. He is also a Diplomate in Comprehensive Energy Psychology and the author of two books: Creating Well-Being: the Healing Path to Love, Peace, Self-Esteem and Happiness (R and E Publishers, 1989) and The Forgiveness Solution: The Whole Body Rx for Finding True Happiness, Abundant Love and Inner Peace (Conari Press, 2010) as well as the Integrative Healing Manual (2000). He has published over 25 articles in professional journals or books.

Friedman is one of the founders of Integrative Psychotherapy (1980) and Integrative Healing and the author of the Friedman Assessment Scales on Well-Being (1992), Beliefs (1993); Quality of Life (1996); Affect (1998), Personal/Spiritual Growth (2001) and Forgiveness (2009).

Education and contributions
Friedman obtained his B.A. from Columbia College (1963) and his Ph.D from the University of Wisconsin (1968). His dissertation was on on the Effects of Modeling and Roleplaying on Assertive Behavior. He then moved to Philadelphia to study behavior therapy, cognitive-behavior therapy and multi-modal therapy with Arnold Lazarus and Joe Wolpe on a NIMH post-doctoral fellowship. His first job from 1969-1973 was on the Family Psychiatry Unit of the Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute (Ivan Bozormenyi-Nagy and Geraldine Sparks were co-directors) where he also studied and taught marital and family therapy. His second job was as Director of Training in Marital and Family Therapy at Jefferson Medical School and CMHC (1973–1977). He became an assistant professor on the Jefferson Medical School faculty and later became an adjunct assistant professor on the Hahnemahn Medical School faculty while a supervisor in the marital and family therapy department.

Friedman, developed an early interest in well-being, happiness, gratitude and forgiveness in the 1980s (now referred to as Positive Psychology) and spirituality (Transpersonal and Spiritual Psychology) while he was learning the teachings of SYDA yoga, A Course in Miracles and Attitudinal Healing (1977–present). His long term interest in tracking change and assessment over time, however, goes back to his early learning in behavioral psychology at Columbia College (1959–1963) and the University of Wisconsin (1963–1968).

Friedman developed an interest in energy psychology in 1993 when he studied with Fred Gallo. In recent years he has developed the Positive Pressure Point Techniques or PPPT (2006, 2009) which integrate energy psychology with cognitive and certain aspects of spiritual psychology. His most recent book The Forgiveness Solution: The Whole Body Rx for Finding True Happiness, Abundant Love and Inner Peace (Conari Press, 2010) integrates, cognitive, behavioral, somatic, energetic and transformational approaches to forgiveness and well-being. It is presented in a workbook format. He has also developed and published eight CDs on well-being and three CDs with 14 guided forgiveness imagery exercises on them (2001).

Some published books and articles
Friedman, Philip. “Integrative psychotherapy.” In Richie Herink, ed. The Psychotherapy Handbook. New York: New American Library, 1980.

a. Creating Well-Being: The Healing Path to Love, Peace, Self-Esteem, and Happiness. Saratoga, CA: R&E Publishers, 1989.

b. The Forgiveness Solution: The Whole Body Rx for Finding True Happiness, Abundant Love and Inner Peace. Conari Press, 2010.

c. Friedman Well-Being Scale and Professional Manual. Plymouth Meeting,PA:Foundation for Well-Being and Menlo Park, CA: Mind Garden, 1992.

d. Friedman Belief Scale and Research Manual. Plymouth Meeting, PA:Foundation for Well-Being, 1993.

e. Friedman Affect Scale. Plymouth Meeting, PA: Foundation for Well-Being,1998.

f. Friedman Quality of Life Scale. Plymouth Meeting, PA: Foundation for Well-Being, 1996.

g. Integrative Healing Manual. Plymouth Meeting, PA: Foundation for Well-Being, 2001.

h. Integrative healing; an energy and spiritual approach” In W. Lammers, ed. Energy Odyssey. Version. 1. 51-65. 2001

i. “Integrative energy and spiritual therapy.” In Fred Gallo, ed. Energy Psychology in Psychotherapy: A Comprehensive Sourcebook. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2002.

j. “Pressure Point Therapy.” In Mountrose, Phillip, and J. Mountrose. The Heart & Soul of EFT and Beyond. Sacramento, CA: Holistic Communications, 2006.

k. Friedman, Philip, and Loren Toussaint. “The Relationship between Forgiveness, Gratitude, Distress, and Well-Being: An Integrative Review of the Literature.” International Journal of Healing and Caring 6, no. 2 (2006): 1-10.

l. Friedman, Philip, and Loren Toussaint. “Changes in Forgiveness, Gratitude, Stress, and Well-Being during Psychotherapy: An Integrative, Evidence-Based Approach.” International Journal of Healing and Caring 6, no. 2 (2006): 11-28.

m. Piedmont, Ralph, and Friedman, Philip. “Spirituality, Religiosity, and Quality of Life.” In Handbook of Social Indicators and Quality of Life Research. Springer, in press, 2011.

n. Toussaint, Loren, and Philip Friedman, “Forgiveness, Gratitude, and Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Affect and Beliefs.” Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer Online (2008): DOI 10.1007/s10902-008-9111-8.