Volker Thomas, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Marriage and Family Therapy in the Department of Child Development and Family Studies at Purdue University. He received his Ph.D. in Family Social Science with a Specialization in Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of Minnesota and an MSW from the University of Kassel, Germany. Since 1993 Dr. Thomas is on the faculty of the COAMFTE accredited doctoral MFT program at Purdue University and served as its director from 1999-2003. Dr. Thomas has been on the editorial boards of the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, The Family Journal,