About Michael H. Kahn Ph.D

Professional

Throughout his 41-year career as a psychologist, Michael’s special focus has been to identify the psychological tools of people who manage life's challenges well. He has used this understanding to counsel, teach, train and coach others to develop these tools. His aim is always to equip people with the coping skills needed to engage life to its fullest potential.

Michael received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Miami University in 1976. As a college student and then a graduate school student during the 60s, Michael’s thinking and values were shaped by the Human Potential movement, Humanistic Psychology, and by the popular culture of the decade. Those influences, as well as personal ones described in the book’s preface, fostered his search for sustainable strategies that could help people leverage their efforts to be successful in their aspirations and to live the good life. To learn more about the personal factors that let to Michael’s career interest, read the Preface.

For 38 years he specialized in Health Psychology, helping people manage the psychological challenges of stress, stress-related medical symptoms, and chronic medical afflictions, to function at their best. He developed his arsenal of effective methods from specialized training programs, evidence-based strategies, clinical experience, and his personal experience. He consolidated these methods into the Stress Management & Health Skills Enhancement Program™ - an eight-session psychoeducational program designed to teach the cognitive and behavioral skills needed for a stress hardy lifestyle [link to hardiness page]. Participants learned how the mind and body work as a system: they developed better ability to self-regulate their mind-body system, learned more effective personal and interpersonal skills, and gained enduring hardy habits.

Taking his work one step further, Dr. Kahn developed the CEO Stress Project to dive deeper into the stress management strategies of people who are strongly motivated to effectively manage high levels of pressure over the long haul ̶ senior executives of large companies and organizations. These white-color athletes of the business world are so-called because of their similarities to Olympic class athletes. Like high-level athletes, CEO’s experience continual pressure to perform at their best; however, CEO’s have the additional stress of needing to do so without breaks in between events.

In his book, Mastering the CEO’s Greatest Challenge: Strategies for Staying Cool in the Executive Hot Seat, Dr. Kahn distills his insightful understanding of the personal drama that happens every day as CEO’s pursue their dual goals of excelling at business and leading a fulfilling personal life. Readers will benefit from his in-depth knowledge and step-by-step guidance on the strategies that allow CEO’s and others to lead their best lives.