Dr. John Pita, Ph.D., LSOTP-S
Dr. Pita is a licensed Texas Psychologist. He specializes in Clinical and Forensic psychology. His emphasis is on child custody evaluations, forensic and personality assessments, and individual, family, couples, and marriage therapy. He has over thirty years of Clinical and Forensic experience with adults, couples, adolescents, and children in private practice. He is also the former Chief Psychologist and Director of Clinical Services of the Dallas County Juvenile Department. As the Dallas County Chief Psychologist, he provided individual, group, and family psychotherapy. He conducted psychological assessments. He was involved in staff and student supervision. He also participated in court testimony and consultation. He was responsible for the creation, clinical and administrative oversight, and supervision of all psychological services and the hundred-plus clinical staff who provided services within the department’s:
- Detention Center
- Two emergency shelters
- Assessment unit
- Outpatient Family assessment and Therapy program
- Outpatient sex offender treatment program
- Two sex offender residential treatment units
- Three male behavioral units
- Female trauma-based in-patient unit (Letot Center)
- Residential and outpatient (IOP, Day Treatment and Drug Education) substance abuse units
- 24 hr./7 days a week Emergency on-call services department-wide
- Staff training
- Student Intern/Practicum Training Program
Dr. Pita began his practice in 1991. His emphasis is on clinical and forensic assessments. He also focuses on individual, and couple’s counseling. Additionally, he offers court-ordered therapy, court testimony, and LSOTP adolescent sex offender treatment and assessment. He makes use of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Insight Oriented Therapy, Trauma-Focused-Cogitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT), and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).
Career History:
- 1991 – Present Independent Practice. Clinical and Forensic Psychology – Dallas and Plano, TX
- 2002 – 2019 Dallas County Juvenile Dept., Chief Psychologist Dallas TX
- 1991 – 2002 Dallas County Juvenile Dept., Asst.Chief Psychologist Dallas, TX
- 2000 – 2019 Adjunct Professor, Clinical Psychology. University of Texas Southwestern Medical School (UT-SWMS, Dallas)
- 1975 -1978 USAF Active Duty
- 1978 – 1981 USAF Active Reserves
Education:
- 1986 -1991 Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School – Dallas, TX. Clinical rotations included Dallas County Juvenile Department, Southwest Family Institute – family therapy, Parkland outpatient Psychiatric unit, UT Arlington Student Center, Parkland Psychiatric Emergency room, and Southwest Medical School Southwest Clinic.
- 1983 -1985 MS degree in Clinical Psychology from Abilene Christian University – Abilene, Texas
- 1982 – 1983 M.Ed. in Counseling and Human Development from Hardin-Simmons University – Abilene, Texas
Areas of Specialization:
- Forensic Evaluations: i.e., custody evaluations, court-related assessments
- Clinical Evaluations: i.e., personality assessment
- Court ordered therapy
- Anxiety and Depression
- Suicidal Ideation/history
- Narcissistic abuse recovery
- Trauma and PTSD
- Adolescent Sex Offender treatment
- Pre-Marital Counseling
- Divorce Recovery
- Anger Management
- Emotional Disturbance/Emotional Dysregulation
- Family Conflict
- Grief
- Narcissistic Personality (NPD)
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Oppositional Defiance (ODD)
- Crisis management