Thomas S. Merrill, Ph.D., ABPP

Diplomate in Clinical Psychology

Tom Merrill, Ph.D., ABPP, is an author, consultant, and professional speaker with a full-time clinical and forensic private practice centering on marital and family therapy.

Merrill, who is past president of the Hawaii Psychological Association and past Chairman of the Hawaii State Psychology Licensing Board, is a Board Certified Clinical Psychologist licensed to practice in Arizona, Hawaii, Louisiana, and Mississippi. In his role as a forensic psychologist he has served as an expert witness in state and federal courts, testified in capital murder cases and advised the U.S. Dept. of Justice on conditions of confinement, assessment and treatment of incarcerated adolescents. He is a trained mediator experienced in alternate dispute resolution.

He has co-authored, Settle for More: You Can Have the Relationship You Always Wanted...Guaranteed! with his professional and life partner Bobbie Sandoz Merrill, an experienced relationship therapist and parenting expert. They met each other in childhood and following a brief youthful crush, took different paths in building their lives. Years later they met again and have melded their lives into a powerful and fulfilling relationship. The secret to their relationship’s success is shared in their bestselling book. They also co-write as freelance columnists.

Merrill is one of a select number of psychologists elected to the National Academies of Practice as a Distinguished Practitioner in Psychology. Among his other career accomplishments, he co-developed Kids First, a program for Family Court designed to reduce the detrimental effects experienced by children during the divorce process. He also created and served as Chairman of the Hawaii Mental Health Center, Inc., a system to deliver pro-bono mental health services to families in need.

He received his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin, his M.Ed. in counseling psychology from the University of Hawaii, and a B.A. from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He served as affiliate faculty at Argosy University -Hawaii Campus and as an Adjunct Professor in clinical psychology at the University of Hawaii. Merrill has been published in various trade publications and professional journals, including the American Psychological Association’s Professional Psychology: Research and Practice.

Prior to his career in psychology, Merrill was the senior vice president of Hawaii’s largest advertising agency. He is an avid musician who enjoys playing his 12-string guitar and 5-string banjo, sings and has written and published in the folk domain.

The father of three daughters, four granddaughters, a stepdaughter and stepson, and three step-grandsons, he resides with his wife, Bobbie, in Hawaii and Arizona where they present seminars and consult with individual, couples, groups and organizations. For more information contact Tom at info@settleformore.com or call 808 286-3176.