Dr. Jeffrey L. Whitaker, Ph.D.
Dr. Jeffrey is a licensed marital and family therapist (LMFT), OK# 1280, Affiliate Supervision Faculty for the Family Institute at
Northwestern University, Clinical Fellow with the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), AAMFT Approved Supervisor, National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), Center for Credentialing & Education (CCN) approved clinical supervisor (ACS), and member of Delta Kappa International Marriage and Family Therapy Honor Society. Dr. Jeffrey has received postgraduate training in Bowen family systems theory (BFST) from the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) from the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety (CTSA) at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) from the DBT Institute of Oklahoma, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) from the EMDR Institute, Inc., and integrative systemic therapy from the Family Institute at Northwestern University. Dr. Jeffrey has also received training in managing aggressive behavior (MAB) from the University of Oklahoma and therapeutic crisis intervention (TCI) from Cornell University. Dr. Jeffrey entered service with the U.S. Navy in 1996. After completing training at the Naval Hospital Corps School (NHCS), Great Lakes, Illinois and Field Medical Service School (FMSS) at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Dr. Jeffrey accepted a leadership position with the Drug Education for Youth (DEFY) program at Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island, Oak Harbor, Washington. DEFY is a comprehensive multi-phase prevention program for kids ages 9 to 12 years that was developed by the Department of the Navy’s Drug Demand Reduction Task Force (DDRTF). The DEFY curriculum aims to facilitate relationships between youth and positive adult role models, deliver life-training skills, and deter drug use and gang involvement. Dr. Jeffrey was awarded the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal for his work with the DEFY program. While serving at Naval Hospital Oak Harbor, Washington (NHOH) Dr. Jeffrey was assigned to the department of pediatrics where he instructed courses in pediatric advanced life support (PALS) and was twice awarded the Navy Achievement Medal for his work in the development of the pediatric asthma clinic. After completing his tour of duty at NHOH Dr. Jeffrey received orders to the Jungle Warfare Training Center (JWTC), Northern Training Area (NTA), Camp Gonsalves, Yanbaru Jungle, Okinawa, Japan, where he instructed courses in survival, evasion, resistance, and escape (S.E.R.E) and tropical/environmental medicine. Dr. Jeffrey completed his service with the U.S. Navy in 2001. After returning home Dr. Jeffrey began working in outdoor behavioral healthcare (OBHC). OBHC describes the prescriptive use of a wilderness experience by mental health professionals to meet the needs of youth who are struggling to overcome a variety of behavioral, emotional, social, and psychological challenges. Dr. Jeffrey worked with residential OBHC programs in Deer Lodge, Tennessee and Two Harbors, Minnesota, before returning to Oklahoma to assume the role of program director for the Outdoor Achievement Group, L.L.C. (OAG), a flexible-term adventure therapy program for struggling youth and their families. Dr. Jeffrey returned to the classroom in 2011 and subsequently received a Bachelor of Science in Behavioral Science and Ethics and a Master of Science in Counseling, Marital and Family Therapy from Mid-America Christian University in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Marriage and Family Therapy, Child and Adolescent Therapy from National University in San Diego, California. Dr. Jeffrey’s research interests include studying the effects of disorganization, confusion, and instability in the family ecosystem on vagally-mediated cardiac function.
Tel: 405.361.1754
Fax: 405.563.9511
Email: whitakerjl@cox.net
