A Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, registered conflict mediator, and internationally acclaimed speaker, Hal is the New York Times bestselling author of ScreamFree Parenting, ScreamFree Marriage and 2017's Amazon Bestseller, Choose Your Own Adulthood. Those books have reached hundreds of thousands around the world, and have been translated into 11 languages. Hal and the ScreamFree message have been featured on over a thousand media outlets, including over 40 appearances on NBC’s Today Show, as well as countless local TV and radio stations around the country, and in numerous publications like Good Housekeeping, Business Insider, Redbook, and The Huffington Post.

After earning both a BA and MS in philosophy & theology, Hal pursued his Masters Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Abilene Christian University. That was when he began to create and practice the ScreamFree philosophy. 

“Throughout my education I was continually drawn to two ideas: the power of nonreactivity, and the power of the individual. Throughout my life, however, I was the last individual you’d see as nonreactive. With a few less-than-ideal moments in my childhood, I was emotionally volatile as a teen and young adult. In short, I was a screamer, in many different ways. Thankfully, life led me to a marriage partner who, because of her own struggles, could love me through that. But I still needed to change.

This especially became apparent as I became a father. That’s when I started my own journey of family therapy, and that’s when ScreamFree began to form itself into a total relationship philosophy. I didn’t know then it would become my life’s work, but as I began to see ScreamFree’s effect in my own family, and then on other parents, spouses, leaders, and organizations, I couldn’t help but keep saying yes to each new opportunity to share it with others.”

Hal and his wife, Jenny, started dating when they were teens and now have been married for 24 years. They are constantly striving to stay calm and connected with each other and their two teenagers, Hannah (20), and Brandon (18). They both consider Houston, Texas their hometown, but since 2000 they’ve called Atlanta, Georgia home.