About  - Terry Northcutt, Ph.D.

I am a Psychologist, a veteran of many years of writing classes, and a Certified Guided Autobiography Instructor.

I earned my undergraduate degree and my doctoral degree at the University of Maryland. Providing therapy and psychological evaluations, I  have been privileged to support, guide,  and teach adults and children facing a variety of challenges: anxiety, depression, learning disabilities, Asperger Syndrome, ADHD, death of a parent, career change, retirement lifestyle planning, abuse, chronic illness, chronic pain and many more issues too numerous to list. 

Fascinated by the interesting, humorous, and sometimes painful stories people tell about their lives and having participated in writing classes for many years, I decided to pursue  certification as a Guided Autobiography Instructor. This training provided me with the knowledge and skills necessary to teach,  guide and support small groups as they write their life stories. It is important to note that while I am a Psychologist, Guided Autobiography is not therapy.  It was developed by James Birren and is "dedicated to enriching the lives of adults through writing, sharing, and preserving life stories and life experiences." (For more information, click on the Life Stories Tab).

Working with adults and children as well as teachers and schools over the years, I discovered that thoughtfully crafted books often told entertaining stories that spoke eloquently about the dilemmas, problems, and possibilities of life. Over my many years of practice, I have stuffed myself with these books and inundated my clients with them. I am famous for the sudden and excited exclamation, “Oh, yes, there’s a book about that!”

This website is about reading broad and deep, taking and giving and sharing what I have read. This website is also about writing and sharing the gentle humor and sometimes painful but meaningful insights gathered through the ordinary and sometimes extraordinary experiences of daily living from the common cold to life-changing transitions that are part of most life stories.   

*****Please note that I am currently not accepting clients for therapy or psychological evaluations*****