John Townsend (author)

Dr. John Townsend was born in 1952 in Smithfield, North Carolina and grew up in Wilson, North Carolina. Townsend holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from North Carolina State University, a Master of Theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary, and a PhD in clinical psychology from Rosemead School of Psychology at Biola University.

Townsend has authored over 30 books in the leadership and self- help areas, selling 10 million copies, including the New York Times bestselling Boundaries book series, Leading from Your Gut, People Fuel and Handling Difficult People. He speaks extensively on leadership, success and self-improvement. He consults with businesses and leaders on a national level. He also works personally with a select portfolio of coaching clients and their families. Dr. Townsend and Dr. Henry Cloud co-founded the Minirth-Meier Clinic West, a psychiatric health system, and served as its clinical co-director for 10 years. The clinic operated treatment centers in 35 cities in the western United States.

In 2008, Townsend founded the Townsend Leadership Program, a team-based entity based on his model of Competence and Character, with groups around the US and Canada. In 2015, he founded the Townsend Institute for Leadership and Counseling, providing accredited online graduate degrees in Organizational Leadership, Executive Coaching and Counseling. The Institute is based at Concordia University Irvine in California and offers Masters degrees, Certificates, Bachelors degrees, and will launch a Ph.D. program in early 2021.

Townsend hosts “Dr. Townsend Live”, a live video-based call-in program.[1] He also co-hosts a nationally syndicated Christian counseling talk show "New Life Live". [2]

Townsend has authored 34 Christian self-help books,[3] including Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life in 1992, which sold two million copies and evolved into a five-part series.[4] It landed on the New York Times bestseller list in 2015. [5][6]

• Boundaries. Zondervan. 1992. ISBN 9780310585909. with Henry Cloud
• 12 Christian Beliefs That Can Drive You Crazy. Zondervan. 1995. ISBN 9780310494911. with Henry Cloud
• Hiding From Love. Zondervan. 1995. ISBN 9780310201076.
• Raising Great Kids. Zondervan. 1999. ISBN 9780310235491. with Henry Cloud
• Boundaries In Dating. Zondervan. 2000. ISBN 9780310200345. with Henry Cloud
• Boundaries With Kids. Zondervan. 2001. ISBN 9780310243151. with Henry Cloud
• Boundaries In Marriage. Zondervan. 2002. ISBN 9780310243144. with Henry Cloud
• Making Small Groups Work. Zondervan. 2003. ISBN 9780310250289. with Henry Cloud
• How People Grow. Zondervan. 2004. ISBN 9780310257370. with Henry Cloud
• Who's Pushing Your Buttons. Thomas Nelson. 2004. ISBN 9781591450108.
• The Mom Factor. Zondervan. 2005. ISBN 978-0310225591. with Henry Cloud
• Boundaries With Teens. Zondervan. 2006. ISBN 9780310270454.
• 21 Days To A Great Marriage. Thomas Nelson. 2006. ISBN 9781418560140. with Henry Cloud
• God Will Make A Way. Thomas Nelson. 2006. ISBN 9781591454298. with Henry Cloud
• Simple Secrets Of A Great Marriage. Thomas Nelson. 2008. ISBN 9781418561338. with Henry Cloud
• Handling Difficult People. Thomas Nelson. 2009. ISBN 9781404175679.
• Rescue Your Love Life. Thomas Nelson. 2009. ISBN 9780785289159. with Henry Cloud
• What To Do When You Don't Know What To Do. Thomas Nelson. 2009. ISBN 9781418584054. with Henry Cloud
• Loving People. Thomas Nelson. 2010. ISBN 9780785297802.
• It's Not My Fault. Thomas Nelson. 2010. ISBN 9780785289395. with Henry Cloud
• Leadership Beyond Reason. Thomas Nelson. 2011. ISBN 9781418576196.
• How To Be A Best Friend Forever. Worthy Publisher. 2012. ISBN 9781617950292.
• Where Is God?. Thomas Nelson. 2012. ISBN 9780849964619.
• Niv, Life Journey Bible. Zondervan. 2012. ISBN 9780310599937. with Henry Cloud
• Beyond Boundaries. Zondervan. 2012. ISBN 9780310330769.
• You Can Do This!. Worthy Publisher. 2013. ISBN 9781617953064.
• How To Have That Difficult Conversation. Zondervan. 2015. ISBN 9780310342564. with Henry Cloud
• Our Mothers, Ourselves. Zondervan. 2015. ISBN 9780310342533. with Henry Cloud
• The Entitlement Cure. Zondervan. 2015. ISBN 9780310330523.
• Safe People. Zondervan. 2016. ISBN 9780310345794. with Henry Cloud
• Boundaries - Updated and Expanded. Zondervan. 2018. ISBN 9780310350231. with Henry Cloud
• Leading From Your Gut. Zondervan. 2018. ISBN 9780310350118.
• People Fuel. Zondervan. 2019. ISBN 9780310346593.
• Growth Has No Boundaries. Zondervan. 2019. ISBN 9780785230663. with Henry Cloud

He is involved with a number of service boards and organizations, such as Mustard Seed Ranch, an equine program for disenfranchised youth. He and his family live in Southern California and Texas. He has two adult sons, Ricky and Benny. One of his passions is playing in "The Bandits", a band composed of himself and his sons, at parties and other venues.

Tisdale, T.C., Key, T.L., Edwards, K.J., Brokaw, B.F., Kemperman, S.R., Cloud, W.H., Townsend, J.S., and Okamoto, T. (1997). Impact of Treatment on God Image and Personal Adjustment, and Correlations of God Image to Personal Adjustment and Object Relations Development. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 25, 227-239.

Townsend, J. S., & Martin, J. A. (1983). Whatever happened to neurosis? An overview. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 14(3), 323–329. 

Townsend, J.S., and Wichern, F.B. The Spiritual Leadership Quality Inventory. Journal of Psychology and Theology. 1984, 12(4), 305-313.

• Henry Cloud
• Personal boundaries

• Quotations related to John Townsend at Wikiquote
• Official website