Dr. Edelstein has an in-person and telephone therapy practice in San Francisco. He is the author of Three Minute Therapy, a self-help book for overcoming common emotional and behavioral problems, for which he has been awarded Author of the Year. The book was a Quality Paperback Book Club/Book-of-the-Month Club Selection, a Behavioral Sciences Book Service Book Club Selection, and an Albert Ellis Institute Selection. His latest book, Stage Fright, includes interviews with Robin Williams, Jason Alexander, Melissa Etheridge, Maya Angelou, and others, relating their personal experiences and wisdom in coping with performance anxiety.

In his practice, Dr. Edelstein specializes in the treatment of anxiety, depression, anger, relationship problems, and addictions, and is one of the few practitioners of REBT in the Bay Area. He is also the San Francisco SMART Recovery Professional Advisor.

Dr. Edelstein lectures nationally and internationally, appears on radio and television, and is published in psychological journals. He writes the advice column, “Ask Dr. Mike,” which has appeared in the Mensa San Francisco Intelligencer and In the Know.

Dr. Edelstein was a Training Supervisor and Fellow of the Albert Ellis Institute. He holds a diplomate in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy from,
and is on the Board of Advisors of, the National Association of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists. He is Past President of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy. He is a Certified Sex Therapist and has served as a Consulting Psychologist for the National Save-A-Life League, Inc., the oldest suicide prevention center in the United States.

REBT is a modern approach to overcoming emotional and behavioral disturbance. It focuses on the present and helps clients take an active role in their recovery. It helps clients identify the unrealistic beliefs at the core of their psychological problems and gives them powerful tools they can use to change their thinking and dramatically improve their lives. 

Education & Certifications

Ph.D. Psychology. Yeshiva University, New York, N.Y. 1979. Dissertation: “Educational Audiotape Approaches to Short-Term Weight Loss.” 

B.A. Psychology. Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, N.Y. 1965. 

Licensed Psychologist, California, 1991. License no. PSY 12307.

Licensed Psychologist, Massachusetts, 1980. License no. 2439. (Inactive)

Licensed Psychologist, New York, 1979. License no. 006145. (Inactive)

Diplomate in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, National Association of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists, Weirton, WV, 1999.

Certified Cognitive-Behavioral Therapist, National Association of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists, Weirton, WV, 1997.

Certified Rational Addictions Therapist, National Association of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists, Weirton, WV, 1997.

Certified Rational Marriage & Family Therapist, National Association of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists, Weirton, WV, 1997.

Certified Rational Sex Therapist, National Association of Cognitive – Behavioral Therapists, Weirton, WV, 1997.

Certified Rational Recovery Specialist, Rational Recovery Systems, Lotus, CA, 1992. 

Certified Supervisor, Albert Ellis Institute for Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, New York, N.Y., 1979.

Fellow, Albert Ellis Institute for Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, New York, N.Y., 1977.

Certified Sex Therapist, American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists, Washington, D.C., 1977.