Born into a troubled family on June 29, 1933 in Houston, Texas and abandoned by his alcoholic father at a young age, John became both an academic overachiever and an out-of-control teenager.  He later studied for the Roman Catholic priesthood at a Basilian seminary where he remained for nine and one-half years, leaving just a few days prior to being ordained.  During that time he earned his Bachelor of Arts and Master degrees in psychology, philosophy, and theology from St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto and graduated Magna Cum Laude.  John is the recipient of many merit awards.  He continued his post graduate studies at Rice University and earned a Masters of Spiritual Psychology at the University of Santa Monica.

 

On December 11, 1965, John took a drastic step—he committed himself to Austin State Hospital for the treatment of his dependency to alcohol.  He continues to celebrate that day, because that was the day he took his last drink.  John signed himself out of the hospital after six days and entered an alcohol recovery program.  Soon afterward he began to lecture at a local church, and before long, was in high demand as a counselor, teacher, public speaker, and corporate consultant.

 

In the late 1960’s and 1970’s, John hosted Spotlight, a weekly one-hour variety television show.  In the early 1980’s, he produced The Eight Stages of Man, an eight-part series for PBS.    With the 1985 airing of Bradshaw On: The Family, a ten-part PBS series, John became a television phenomenon.  Since the 1980’s, John garnered huge international audiences through his television productions, workshops and audio and video series, including Where Are You Father?, Healing The Shame That Binds You, Adult Children Of Dysfunctional Families, Surviving Divorce, Bradshaw On: Homecoming (Reclaiming and Championing Your Inner Child), Creating Love, Eating Disorders, and Bradshaw On: Family Secrets. Through his television production ventures, he has helped raise over $12,000,000 for the Public Broadcasting System. 

 

From 1969 to 1988, John maintained a thriving counseling practice, counseling over 800 couples and hundreds of individuals. Throughout the 1970’s, John served as a management consultant at Drillco Manufacturing Company and as a leadership trainer Denka Chemical Company.  He was also Director of Human Resources and served on the Board of Directors of Texas General Oil Company.  John is the developer and presenter of workshops for forty Fortune 500 companies and thousands of evolved non-profit and for-profit institutions.

 

His public service includes serving as President and sitting on the Board of Directors of the Palmer Drug Abuse Program (1981-88), as National Director of Life-Plus Co-Dependency Treatment Center (1987-1990), as the Founder and National Director of the John Bradshaw Center at Ingleside Hospital in Los Angeles (1991-1997), and he has served on the National Board of Directors of The International Montessori Society beginning in 1990.  Since 1999, John has been a Fellow at The Meadows Institute.  The Meadows is a multi-disorder inpatient facility specializing in the treatment of a broad range of addictions. The facility’s intensive treatment focuses on drug and alcohol addiction, sexual addictions, depression, psychological conditions, affective disorders and compulsive behaviors. 

 

In 1991, John was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host for his series Bradshaw On: Homecoming.  In 1996, John was the host of the nationally syndicated talk show The Bradshaw Difference with MGM Studios.  John has appeared on Oprah, Geraldo, Sally, Dr. Ruth, Tom Snyder, Donahue, Politically Incorrect, and CNN-Talk Back Live, as well as hundreds of other television and radio talk shows worldwide. He has been interviewed and published in hundreds of magazines, journals, and research publications.

 

John is the author of five books, three of which are New York Times Best Sellers, and has sold over 10 million copies.  His books are published in 42 different languages.  His books are Homecoming:  Reclaiming and Championing Your Inner Child (52 weeks as #1 and 108 additional weeks on the New York Times Best Selling List), Healing the Shame That Binds You (15 weeks on the New York Times Best Selling List), Creating Love (7 weeks as #1 and 78 additional weeks on the New York Times Best Selling List), Bradshaw On: The Family—A Revolutionary Way of Self-Discovery, and Family Secrets—What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You. 

 

In 1999, John was nominated by a group of his peers as “One Of The 100 Most Influential Writers On Emotional Health in the 20^th Century”.

 

John continues to tour the world doing lectures and workshops.  Over 750,000 people have attended his talks.  John continues to write, and is working on a soon-to-be-released book in which he deals with the unprecedented opportunity to live a life which leaves a legacy of virtue.  John resides in Houston, Texas with his beloved artist/wife Karen.