Personal History
Born in Dunkirk, NY, I moved to Rochester, NY when my father returned from his navy duties in World War II. I considered being a priest, and spent nine years in the seminary and monastery. (See my book Young Man of the Cloth.) I was married for twenty nine years and raised three children. I am currently in a wonderful relationship and live in Leroy, NY.
Education
When I returned to the world at large after my monastery stay, I decided to explore psychology. I switched from my philosophy major in the monastery to psychology and received my undergraduate degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo. I stayed in Buffalo to receive a master's degree in Rehabilitation Counseling. Then I moved to the University of Illinois for my Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology. Along the way, Gowanda Psychiatric Center and Chenute Air Force Base Counseling Center gave me some practical experience.
My Psychology Practice
After graduating, I moved to Philadelphia, where I worked for two years at Temple University Counseling Center. Next I spent two years at De La Salle In Towne, an experimental day treatment center for delinquent boys. Then I came back to Western New York and worked at Genesee County Mental Health in Batavia. Being in a rural area with limited resources, I learned to work with a great variety of people of all ages. After eleven years, I decided to return to Rochester where I grew up and took a job at DePaul Mental Health. I learned about family therapy, ending up as supervisor of the children's treatment program. By 1990, I felt ready to be more on my own and became an independent contractor at a practice in the Buffalo area. Eventually I moved the rest of the way into private practice and returned to work in Batavia. I recently retired from psychology practice and now write full time.
My Writing
I began writing short stories in the 1980's for my own amusement and even published one. In 1990, when I began private practice, I started writing a quarterly newsletter for my referral sources. Eventually I converted this to a biweekly newspaper column which I still write for The Daily News in Batavia. These columns formed the basis for my first book, Commonsense Wisdom for Everyday Life. In light of my seminary and monastery background, I took an interest in the priest-sexual abuse crisis and thought back to my cloistered years. Pondering these years led to my memoir, Young Man of the Cloth. When I realized that no one had told the priest abuse story from their point of view, I planned to write a book of interviews with abusive priests. Finally daunted by the enormity of this task, I decided to write what I had learned from my research about abusive priests as a novel, The Pastor's Inferno. Recently I published Navigating Life: Commonsense Reflections for the Voyage, a book of considerations about life's joys and predicaments and what to do about them. I have also published an e-book, Conversations with Calliope: A Year With My Muse, available as a free download.. I also write a regular newspaper column for The Daily News in Batavia, NY which appears in my free newsletter to which I invite you to subscribe and Conversations with Calliope, an ongoing dialogye with my muse about the writing life.
What Readers Say
Joe is a professional writer/editor/publisher with a broad range of talents. His writing is celebrated for his wise, common-sense approach to life's challenges. Joe's editorial expertise is also amazing; he has been a wonderful help to me with my own writing. It has been my privilege to work with Joe, whose efforts in organizing the LiftBridge Writers Group resulted in the best series of writers workshops I have attended.~Bobbie Donaldson.
Joe’s extraordinary life experiences give him a deep understanding of human circumstances, motivations and actions. He is uniquely able to apply those insights into thought-provoking articles and books which challenge the reader to reflect on their own life and stimulate positive behavioral change.~ Richard Smith
Joe is a creative, thoughtful and sensitive writer who has a gift for capturinig the marrow of life in his stories. He lives his life as creatively as he writes, taking full advantage of opportunities to leverage his gifts in ways that are mutually beneficial to him and those with whom he interacts. He is a man of integrity and vision. I highly recommend him. ~ John Howell
Joe lead our Writer's Group for about 18 months with encouragement and good mentoring. He has published two books, authors a biweekly column on commonsense wisdom, and writes a daily blog. Even though the group no longer meets, Joe continues to encourage me in the marketing of my book about caregivers, Journey With Jeff; Inspiration for Caregivers of People with Special Needs. I endorse Joe Langen's fine work. ~ Sybil Reisch
Links to Dr. Langen's membership sites:
AARP Online Community
Author's Den
The Batavian
Blog Talk Radio
Book Marketing Network
Book Place
Business Training Network
Cold Coffee
Democrat and Chronicle Online
MySpace
Phenomenal Magazine
Sta.rtUp.Biz
StartupSpace
Successville News Network
WritersCafe
Writers Market Community
Writing.com