Two profiles illustrating different patterns of thought

About Dr. Robbins

Dr. Peter Robbins: Extended Biography

The fuller story of Dr. Peter Robbins’s clinical work, leadership, faith, family, teaching, and more than four decades of service.

Dr. Peter Robbins is a licensed clinical psychologist, licensed marriage and family therapist, co-founder and executive director of Turning Point Counseling, financial advisor, family-business consultant, and business psychologist.

Known as the “Emergency Room Marital Therapist,” Dr. Robbins specializes in helping couples who are seriously considering divorce. His approach is direct, concise, active, down-to-earth, and practical. He offers clear feedback and useful advice in plain English, drawing on more than four decades and over 52,000 hours of experience. He reports that most resolutions occur in under 12 weeks.

Because financial stress is often part of marital conflict, Dr. Robbins also brings financial-advisory experience to his work with couples and families. Many people seek his help after other efforts have not brought the change they need.

Clinical psychologist and LMFT

Practical care shaped by a lifetime of experience

Dr. Robbins works with marriages on the brink, couples, families, parents of defiant children and teens, and under-functioning young adults.

He also helps people facing depression, anxiety, panic attacks, fears and phobias, and supports police officers, firefighters, first responders, and their families.

Dr. Peter Robbins, PhD, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Clinical Psychologist

Clinical work and consulting

His clinical training and practical business experience meet in several areas of service.

Marriage and relationship care

Dr. Robbins focuses on divorce prevention and recovery, marriage and couples counseling, relationship coaching, family counseling, and direct help for couples in crisis.

Parenting and family support

He specializes in helping parents of out-of-control children, teens, and under-functioning young adults cut through conflicting advice and use practical tools to restore peace at home.

Emotional health

His work includes depression, anxiety, panic attacks, fears and phobias, support for first responders and their families, and consultation for fellow therapists.

Business and family-business consulting

Dr. Robbins combines clinical insight with practical experience to help business owners address employee concerns, family-business pressures, and the balance between family relationships and business success.

Financial guidance

As a registered financial advisor, he has helped individuals, couples, and families address the financial strain that can intensify relationship conflict.

Immigration evaluations

His professional services have also included immigration evaluations for individuals, couples, and families.

A pioneer and organizational leader

Dr. Robbins has helped build counseling, financial, and media organizations since the early 1980s.

Turning Point Counseling

Co-founder and executive director, 1983 to present.

Turning Point Stewardship

Co-founder, owner, and CEO, 2009–2023.

Turning Point Mortgage

Co-founder, owner, and CEO, 2004–2015.

Turning Point Financial Counseling

Co-founder and CEO of the organization also known as Debt Free Christian, 1997–2014.

Journey of the Heart

Weekday radio talk-show co-host with Dr. Kevin Downing on KKLA 99.5 FM, 1990–1998.

Faith and church service

For more than 40 years, Dr. Robbins has served churches, congregations, pastors, and ministry leaders.

Teaching and speaking

He has preached in local churches and taught in Sunday-school and ministry settings, connecting Biblical insight with practical application.

Board service and conflict resolution

He has served church boards and acted as a peacemaker in internal disputes, helping faith communities work toward reconciliation and unity.

Support for church leaders

His church service has included lay-counseling programs and care for pastors and ministry leaders facing the distinct pressures of leadership.

A ministry for marriages and families

In 1983, he co-founded Turning Point Counseling as a ministry dedicated to restoring Christian marriages and families.

Professional author, speaker, and media contributor

Dr. Robbins has shared practical teaching on emotional, spiritual, marital, family, and financial health through many formats.

Books and teaching programs

He has created numerous audio and video programs, often in collaboration with Dr. Kevin Downing, to support individuals, marriages, and families.

Public speaking

His speaking blends warmth, humor, personal stories, Biblical insight, and practical application for audiences seeking emotional, spiritual, and financial health.

Newspapers and magazines

He has appeared in the Orange County Register and in It’s Your Business, Steps, Changes, and Virtue magazines, and has been quoted in the San Gabriel Valley Daily Tribune, Progress Bulletin, Los Angeles Times, and Daily Bulletin.

Radio and television

His guest appearances include Live from L.A. and Lite Talk on KKLA, Faith on the Line on KBRT, and the television programs Joy, In Your Interest, and Jerry Heaps Live.

Expert video projects

He has contributed professional insight to video projects including Power Surge episodes on suicide and self-esteem, and Overcoming Depression.

Family and life outside the office

Dr. Robbins often says, “My best credentials are not found on my wall, but at home.”

Husband, father, and grandfather

Married since 1978, Dr. Robbins is a husband, father, and grandfather who sees the health of his family relationships as a central measure of success.

Interests and perspective

Outside his professional work, he enjoys sailing, skiing, riding his Harley, reading, traveling, exploring the world, and making memories with his family.

Qualifications

Licensed Clinical Psychologist

California PSY #12745

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

California MFT #18023

Certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner

Prepare/Enrich testing facilitator

U.S. Army Drug and Alcohol Counselor

1974–1978

Registered Financial Advisor

Ordained Minister

Evangelical Church Alliance

Education and therapy approaches

PhD, Clinical Psychology

Cambridge Graduate School of Psychology

MA, Marriage and Family

Fuller Seminary

BA, Psychology

Southern California College, now Vanguard University

Therapy approaches

Marriage therapy, family therapy, family systems therapy, Christian counseling, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).