E. Joe Holt, Ph D is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT/GA) and a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC/SC) who is the clinical director of the Family Center. The Center has offices in both Augusta, Georgia and North Augusta, South Carolina. His private practice includes services to adults, adolescents, children, couples, families, as well as consulting businesses and churches. He has been in practice for the past 25 years.
Dr. Holt completed a Ph. D. in Counseling Psychology and Social Work at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, a Masters in Arts (M.A.) in Education at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Bachelors in Arts (B. A.) at Oklahoma Baptist University. He has done extensive postgraduate work at the University of Texas, University of South Carolina, Columbia College, Converse College and Augusta State University.
He is currently teaching in the classroom and online at the following schools: Troy University (Graduate School of Psychology), and Strayer University (Augusta, Georgia) (undergraduate psychology and humanities). He is currently on the staff with Liberty University (Graduate School of Psychology and Counseling).
His professional training in psychotherapy includes Systemic Brief Family Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral therapy, Addiction and Co-Dependency therapies, grief therapy, play therapy, and behavioral marital therapies.
In addition to his practice and teachings, he is a frequent speaker to businesses, civic and professional groups throughout the Southern and Southwestern parts of the United States.
He has led numerous Marriage Enrichment retreats and Parenting seminars for churches, Department of Social Services (South Carolina), Department of Family and Children Services (Georgia), and private hospitals. His parenting seminars focus on a variety of family models (single parent, nuclear, intact, and blended families) and he has conducted these seminars for such client organizations as South Carolina Baptist Convention, Department of Social Services (South Carolina), Florida Baptist Convention (Families Ministries Division), Charter Hospital of Augusta, and the Georgia Association of Juvenile Court Personnel.
For the past several years, his work has expanded to include assessments of families in crisis and their children (Georgia/South Carolina) who would be in foster care at the time of the assessment. Dr. Holt has participated in the following training by Georgia DHR/Foster Care Division of DFCS along with the Bricklin Center for family and children’s assessments. Our Center staff's goal of this effort is to determine how reunify the family and what services are needed to facilitate this effort. He is an active member with diplomate status with the American College of Forensic Examiners and Counselors (ACFEI).
The final stage of this effort was the development of the support services to aid many of these families which has evolved into a non profit center, Southeastern Family Institute. The center is also coordinating a home-based approach to working with high-risk families.
Dr. Holt’s professional memberships include the American Psychological Association, Approved Supervisor and Clinical Member status with the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy. He is also a clinical designation of being a licensed Supervisor of Licensed Professional Counselors (SC) and a Board Approved Supervisor of Marriage and Family Therapists (Georgia).
