Jack A. Apsche (September 23, 1947 - October 12, 2014) was an American psychologist who has focused his work on adolescents with behavior problems. Apsche was also an author, artist, presenter, consultant and lecturer.

Background and education

Apsche was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. In 1967 through 1968 Apsche served as a Helicopter

Door Gunner A door gunner is a crewman tasked with firing and maintaining manually directed armament aboard a military helicopter. The actual role will vary depending on the task given on a particular mission. For certain aircraft a door gunner would use a ...

with the First Cavalry Division

Airmobile Air assault is the movement of ground-based military forces by vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft—such as the helicopter—to seize and hold key terrain which has not been fully secured, and to directly engage enemy forces behind ...

in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

and he was highly decorated for his service. After returning from his service in Vietnam, Apsche attended the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

where he graduated with honors with a B.A. in Speech, English, Political Science and a minor in Psychology in 1973. He continued his education at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...

, receiving an M.Ed, with an emphasis on psychological studies in education in 1977 and an Ed.D, in psychoeducational process and counselling psychology in 1986. While at Temple, Apsche edited The Effects of Punishment on Human Behavior. Apsche completed his post-doctoral internship at the Woodhaven Center at Temple University and his post-doctoral fellowship at the Joseph J. Peters Institute in Philadelphia.

Career

Apsche is The Program Director for Forensic Psychology at the School of Psychology, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at

Walden University Walden University is a private online for-profit university headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It offers Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, Master of Business Administration, Master of Public Administration, Master of Public Healt ...

, Minnesota and the Founder of The Apsche Center for

Mode Deactivation Therapy Mode deactivation therapy (MDT) is a psychotherapeutic approach that addresses dysfunctional emotions, maladaptive behaviors and cognitive processes and contents through a number of goal-oriented, explicit systematic procedures. The name refers to ...

, also located in Virginia. Dr. Apsche is board certified in clinical child and adolescent psychology, clinical psychology, counseling psychology, cognitive and behavioral psychology, group psychology, couples and family psychology, and family psychology by the

American Board of Professional Psychology The American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) is the primary organization for specialty board certification in psychology. Mission statement "The mission of the American Board of Professional Psychology is to increase consumer protectio ...

. His primary research is in adolescent externalizing disorders. Apsche is the developer of

(MDT) an evidence-based psychotherapy technique to treat the complex interplay between trauma, Child abuse,

Personality disorder Personality disorders (PD) are a class of mental disorders characterized by enduring maladaptive patterns of behavior, cognition, and inner experience, exhibited across many contexts and deviating from those accepted by the individual's culture ...

factors,

Conduct disorder Conduct disorder (CD) is a mental disorder diagnosed in childhood or adolescence that presents itself through a repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior that includes theft, lies, physical violence that may lead to destruction, and reckles ...

, and a child's belief system that often lead to conduct problems such as aggression. MDT is a contextual behavior therapy, a type of psychotherapy that combines behavioral science with concepts of acceptance and mindfulness, derived from eastern and western contemplative practices. MDT integrates methodologies from Mindfulness, Cognitive behavioral therapy,

Acceptance and commitment therapy Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT, typically pronounced as the word "act") is a form of psychotherapy, as well as a branch of clinical behavior analysis. It is an empirically based psychological intervention that uses acceptance and m ...

, Dialectical behavior therapy, and

Functional analytic psychotherapy Functional analytic psychotherapy (FAP) is a psychotherapeutic approach based on clinical behavior analysis (CBA) that focuses on the therapeutic relationship as a means to maximize client change. Specifically, FAP suggests that in-session conting ...

, which are woven together with some key concepts that are unique to MDT methods. The most notable of these is the Validation, Clarification, and Redirection (VCR) methodology. VCR follows from the assessment and case conceptualization process steps and is aimed at validating the clients' past experiences, clarifying the resultant core beliefs, and redirecting behavioral responses that are caused by associated fear and coping mechanisms.

Teaching experience

Apsche was an adjunct

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

for psychological studies and criminal justice at his ''alma mater'',

, from 1990 to 1998 and an associate professor of psychology and counseling at

Regent University Regent University is a private Christian university in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The university was founded by Pat Robertson in 1977 as Christian Broadcasting Network University, and changed its name to Regent University in 1990. Regent offe ...

in 2003. Apsche is a community clinical professor of psychology and behavioral science at Eastern Virginia Medical School and an adjunct professor of psychology at

Fielding Graduate University Fielding Graduate University (previously Fielding Graduate Institute and The Fielding Institute) is a private graduate-level university in Santa Barbara, California. It offers postgraduate and doctoral studies mainly in psychology, education, an ...

Publications

Apsche is the principal author of the book titled "''Mode Deactivation Therapy for Aggression and Oppositional Behavior in Adolescents: An Integrative Methodology Using ACT, DBT, and CBT''". Apsche is the founding editor of the ''International Journal of Behavior Consultation and Therapy''. He was a senior associate editor for the ''Behavior Analyst Today''. Apsche also serves on the editorial board of ''Child Abuse & Neglect: The International Journal'' and is a senior associate editor for the ''Journal of Behavioral Analysis of Offender and Victim Treatment and Prevention''. Apsche has published several other books such as: * ''Responsibility & Self-Management: A Client Workbook of Skills to Learn '' * ''Responsibility and Self-Management: A Clinician's Manual and Guide for Case Conceptualization'' * ''The Intimacy Manual: Balancing Control and Intimacy in the Bedroom and the Boardroom'' In addition, Apsche has published extensively in scientific journals and has appeared in many newspaper publications.

Awards and honors

Apsche has won several awards for his research and clinical work, including The Jan S. Handleman, Ph.D. Award in 2008, and was nominated for the Distinguished Practitioner Award in 2008 from the

Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers The Association for the Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse (ATSA) is an international, multi-disciplinary, non-profit organization with a stated goal of making society safer by preventing sexual abuse. ATSA promotes sound research, evidence- ...

(ATSA) and Behavior Analyst Online's 2007 Article of the Year. The International Academy of Behavioral Medicine, Counseling and Psychotherapy awarded Dr. Apsche a Diplomate in Professional Psychology in 2009, and a Diplomate in Chemical Dependency Counseling in 2010. Apsche is the only Psychologist who is board certified in six specialty areas by the

Forensic psychology

Apsche was an

expert witness An expert witness, particularly in common law countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, is a person whose opinion by virtue of education, training, certification, skills or experience, is accepted by the judge as ...

for the defense at the trial of serial killer

Gary Heidnik Gary Michael Heidnik (November 22, 1943 – July 6, 1999) was an American criminal who kidnapped, tortured, and raped six women (murdering two of them), while holding them captive in a self-dug pit in his basement floor, in Philadelphia, Pennsyl ...

and later profiled Heidnik in his book "''Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer''". In 2008, Apsche appeared in the

Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. As of February 2015, approximately 86 million Amer ...

program ''Escaped'', which described the experience of one of Heidnik's surviving victims, Josefina Rivera. While Heidnik was in prison, Apsche communicated with him, stating afterwards that in the more than 150 handwritten pages of letters he found the roots of a way to treat troubled youth in the killer's mind. This provided the impetus for the development of the Mode Deactivation Therapy (MDT) methodology—a third wave therapy approach that proved effective to treat youth with complex behavioral problems and psychopathology. Apsche also provided expert testimony during the trials of serial murderers Harrison "Marty" Graham and Juan Covington.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Apsche, Jack A. 1947 births 2014 deaths 20th-century American psychologists Scientists from Philadelphia Regent University faculty Temple University College of Education alumni University of Pittsburgh alumni People from Leesburg, Virginia