J. Christopher McGinnis, Ph.D.
Clinic Director & Supervisor

Licensed Psychologist (PY6149)
& School Psychologist (SS676)

Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA)
Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP)
Health Service Provider in Psychology (HSPP)

Dr. Christopher McGinnis earned his B.A. degree in Psychology from Salisbury University (Maryland) and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in School Psychology from The University of Southern Mississippi. His internship was with the Nebraska Internship Consortium in Professional Psychology with a primary rotation at Father Flanagan’s Boys’ Home in Omaha, best known as “Boys Town.” His psychological residency was with the Family Psychology Clinic in Fort Myers. Upon his move to Florida, he worked for two years as a school psychologist for the School District of Lee County before earning his Licensure. He opened the McGinnis Psychology Group in January of 2004 after five years at the Family Psychology Clinic and since has worked to meet the growing needs of the community and region.

Trained under the scientist-practitioner model, Dr. McGinnis is a Skinnerian behavioral psychologist committed to the provision of effective, efficient, evidence-based treatment with a supportive and empathetic touch. He has published articles in professional psychological and medical journals including the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. Besides serving as an ad hoc manuscript reviewer for several professional scientific journals, his editorial activities have included assisting with the National Association of School Psychologists’ publication of two authoritative works: the fourth edition of Best Practices in School Psychology and the second edition of Interventions for Academic and Behavior Problems: Preventive and Remedial Approaches. He currently is a member of the American Psychological Association and its Society of Pediatric Psychology, Division of School Psychology, and Division for Psychologists in Independent Practice, National Association of School Psychologists, Association for Behavior Analysis, Florida Association for Behavior Analysis, and the Lee Physician Hospital Organization.

Dr. McGinnis is a member of the Medical Staff of the Lee Memorial Health System and has served as an Adjunct Faculty Member within the College of Education at Florida Gulf Coast University. In 2004, he was appointed to the Executive Committee of the School Health Advisory Committee which reports to the Superintendent of the School District of Lee County in an advisory fashion on timely medical and mental health issues. He also serves on and currently chairs the Professional Advisory Board of the Lee County chapter of CHADD (Children & Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). He has worked with both the Infants and Toddlers Early Intervention Program as well as with the institutionalized adult mentally handicapped population in previous years. In 2007, he was appointed by the Executive Director of the National Autism Center in Randolph, Massachusetts, to the National Standards Project, which has as its ultimate goal the publication of a data-based review of all high-quality empirical research on “what works” in the treatment of autism and related disorders.

Dr. McGinnis’ charity work also includes having served as the inaugural Chairman of the Board of Directors of the not-for-profit Children’s Network of Southwest Florida, LLC, the Lead Agency for Florida DCF’s District 8, which helps children throughout Lee, Charlotte, Collier, Hendry, and Glades counties suffering from abuse, neglect, and abandonment. He has served on the Board of Directors of Camelot Community Care, Inc., the national parent company of the Children’s Network. He also continues his involvement in the local autism community and supports national research as well as local efforts to improve the experience of affected children and their families.

Dr. McGinnis’ primary interests include the effective education of children with special needs, solving common problem behaviors of young children, and Verbal Behavior Therapy for children with language delays.