Biography: Barry and Emily McCarthy

Barry and Emily McCarthy

Barry W. McCarthy, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at American University, a certified marital and sex therapist, and recipient of the 2009 Smart Marriages Impact Award. He practices individual, couple, and sex therapy at the Washington Psychological Center. Dr. McCarthy has published more than 75 professional articles and 20 book chapters, and has written 12 books for the lay public on relational and sexual topics.

In addition, he has presented more than 300 workshops nationally and internationally. Dr. McCarthy is a member of the American Psychological Association, American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists, Society for Sex Therapy and Research, and the Association of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies.

Emily McCarthy, having worked for years as a speech therapist, now collaborates with her husband on books that address issues faced by married couples.

Barry and Emily McCarthy have co-authored six books -- the latest is a revised edition of Couple Sexual Awareness: Building Sexual Happiness (August, 1998), their favorite book. A book for couples who want to keep their sexual life vital and satisfying, not by using sexual gimmicks, but integrating intimacy, pleasuring, and eroticism into their lovemaking style. They cover a range of topics from family planning to creative sexuality, as well as dealing with desire and dysfunction problems.

Their best selling book is Sexual Awareness: Couple Sexuality for the Twenty-First Century, revised in 1993. What makes it unique is the use of specific sexual exercises to enhance comfort and functioning. The original Male Sexual Awareness: Increasing Sexual Satisfaction was written by Barry in 1988, and they revised it as a co-writing project in 1998. This book is accessible for both male and female readers. They hope to revise Female Sexual Awareness: Achieving Sexual Fulfillment next.

Their poorest selling book, although it received great professional reviews, was Confronting The Victim Role: Healing From an Abusive Childhood. That's unfortunate because it can provide a great deal of help and support for people who take pride in being survivors of a difficult or traumatic childhood.

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