Joe Rich is a Social Worker with a Master of Social Work Degree from the University of Toronto. He has practiced social work for over 25 years and has worked with couples, families, and individuals in a variety of counselling and counselling-related settings. Joe also has an undergraduate degree (Honours Bachelors of Arts) in English from York University.

Although many know Joe Rich from his role as the regular weekly guest therapist on the nationally syndicated television show CityLine, he has been active in providing counselling services, and consultation and professional development training opportunities for professionals throughout his career. Joe has been in the public eye for a number of years being featured on radio, in newspapers and magazines and in his role as relationship couple therapist in Canwest Global's 13 episode series entitled Last Chance For Romance, filmed in the Caribbean in 2004. He is the author of UB (John Wiley and Sons, 2006), presenting regularly to community and corporate groups on family and parenting topics, and is well-respected for his commitment to helping parents navigate their way along the road to healthy family experiences.

Joe has been a guest lecturer at several university settings including the University of Toronto (School of Graduate Studies; Continuing Education, and the Faculty of Social Work) and Sir Wilfrid Laurier University.

Joe's love of recreation has also lead him in a number of directions. He has worked in a variety of recreation settings and during the 1980's was the Head Counsellor at Camp White Pine. He frequently calls on his days in recreation, camping and recreation leadership in his work with relationships, using it to assist individuals in the identification of ways and means to access personal strengths and resources. Joe continues to provide training and consultation for a variety of public and private camp/recreation settings.

In addition to being certified with the Ontario College of Certified Social Workers, Joe is a member of Family Service Canada and The Ontario Association of Professional Social Workers. Joe is a certified Family Life Educator and to his credit includes the leadership of literally hundreds of group sessions in the area of family life education. Included in this work has been significant training in group work and in the provision of specialized service to individuals and their respective families in the transitions of separation, divorce and remarriage. Joe is also certified (Level 1) in Family Mediation by the Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto.

Books

• Parenting: The Long Journey (2006)