About Brad Heinz
A native from the Cleveland Ohio area. Psychologist, meditator, tennis buff, part time humorist :-) troublesome brother to three sisters… among other hats.
I’m very fortunate to be a father figure to three kind, accomplished daughters, and now to two spirited teenage granddaughters and a thoughtful college-grad grandson. They keep me grounded (and gently tease me as a “social media dinosaur”), while constantly reminding me with how much sharper, wiser, and more capable they are than I was at their age.
For 25 wonderful years, I was married to an extraordinary woman, Deb. A true Woodstock spirit, she was a fearless advocate for social justice and a compassionate caregiver. She directed the first AIDS residential and Hospice facility in Chapel Hill NC during the deadly AIDS epidemic of the 80s and 90s.
Another remarkable chapter affecting my growth came from Deb being a pioneer in the original Enneagram movement just arriving in California and Chicago in the 70’s. She underwent three years of intensive group study and meditation designed to see through through the 9 clever Enneagram ego patterns shrouding Authentic Spiritual identity. She was a patient teacher sharing that deep knowledge throughout our 25 year marriage. She passed onto a more subtle plane over a decade ago. Her influence still powerfully guides our family.
My own roots are classic post-WWII suburban Cleveland: a modest house, endless neighborhood adventures with buddies—playing sports, biking freely to the pool or hangouts with no adult supervision (just the rule to be home by dark). High school was immersed the amazing rock music and vibe of the 70. A Jesuit High School education that sharpened my thinking, and the looming shadow of Vietnam chastened it. (My generation was drafted via a lottery ).
College at Kenyon in Ohio gave me a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Religion, sparking my fascination with Eastern spiritual traditions. Graduate school led to a PhD in Clinical Psychology at Loyola University of Chicago in the 1980s. My dissertation was a theoretical exploration contrasting Eastern and Western models of meditation. Fortunately, I was one of those rare students allowed to bypass the heavy data-gathering and stats requirements that most Doctorates in Psychology had to endure. (I’ve never been a natural at crunching numbers!)
My work life has been varied: starting at age 16 with fast-food jobs, followed by summer stints in restaurants and factories, and later in some unusual (and short-lived) roles as steel foundry worker and home-delivery milkman.
In college, I served as an EMT and firefighter on the local volunteer fire department. After college I was in the initial paramedic squad trained for the emergency services in Cleveland serving in the inner city. I also worked as a paramedic in San Francisco before attending graduate school. Those emergency services calls included some my most rewarding work with my colleagues before entering the mental health field.
Today, I draw on all of it—mindfulness, the Enneagram, David Hawkins’ Map of Consciousness, Eastern teachings, and more—to help people navigate emotions, release old patterns, and open to greater peace and freedom.
If any of this resonates, I’d love to connect and explore together.