David McMillan, PhD

Dr. David McMillan has been a practicing clinical and community psychologist for more than 40 years, is the author of several books in his field, as well as many articles. He’s the founder of the Nashville Psychotherapy Institute and co-director of Compose, a program that treats family violence. He has served as an adjunct faculty member of George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt Nursing School and Fisk University.

He received his PhD in clinical psychology from George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University where he was a Kennedy Center Scientist. He completed his clinical internship at Palo Alto Veterans Administration, a Stanford Psychiatric teaching hospital.

If he were a child today, Dr. McMillan believes he would have been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD: he was full of energy and loved sports, but he hated school and had significant reading problems. But he believes these challenges have helped him understand the struggles of families and their children as a practitioner.

His family relationships have also been instrumental in making him the psychologist he his today. His grandfather suffered from psychosis and depression, and his father had serious anger problems. Through them, Dr. McMillan learned compassion for people who struggle with their emotions, which inspired him to write Emotion Rituals. His 36-year marriage to Judge Marietta Shipley was what led him to write Create Your Own Love Story. His six-year younger sister, Betsy, was born with Downs Syndrome, and Dr. McMillan was her primary caregiver for thirty-years until she died at fifty years old.

Dr. McMillan wants you to know that, like you, he continues to work to transform his pain into personal wisdom. He looks forward to participating in this process with you.

“I’m proud that through the work I do, I get to make a real and positive impact in the lives of my clients.”