Edgar Howard Jessee was born on February 26, 1953, in Johnson City, Tennessee, to James Jessee and Robert Maxine Fletcher Jessee. He later established his professional base in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he developed a long career in clinical psychology, psychotherapy, consultation, and higher education. Jessee married Ellen Murphy Jessee on July 3, 1976; they have two children, Sean Patrick Jessee and Ryan Christopher Jessee.
Jessee studied psychology at Eckerd College, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1975. He continued his professional training at Georgia State University, where he earned a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology in 1978 and a Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology in 1984. His postgraduate preparation also included an American Psychological Association internship and a clinical externship in family therapy at the Institute for Juvenile Research in Chicago in 1982.
Jessee began his professional career in clinical and family psychology during the early 1980s. He served as a clinical director at the Family Therapy and Research Institute in Kenosha, Wisconsin, from 1982 to 1984, and combined that period with postgraduate work at Chicago's Institute for Juvenile Research. From 1984 to 1986 he was clinical director of the Oak Hill Center for Adolescents in Knoxville, Tennessee, becoming the center's director from 1986 to 1990. In 1991 he directed adolescent services at Oaks of St. Mary's in Knoxville and began private practice there. His later professional work included clinical practice with the Northshore Group, teaching at the University of Tennessee and Carthage College, consultation for Peninsula Hospital and Preferred Health Partnership, and work in behavioral medicine with Cariten Insurance Company. The Northshore Group describes his clinical practice as addressing depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, attention-deficit disorder, and marital and family issues. Jessee has also published and presented professionally in the fields of individual, marital, and family therapy. He describes his therapeutic orientation as pragmatic and eclectic, drawing particularly on family-systems, cognitive-behavioral, and psychodynamic approaches and using a biopsychosocial framework.
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1982(Co-authored with Gregory J. Jurkovic and Linda R. Goglia....)
1991Presbyterian.
Jessee's documented clinical philosophy is biopsychosocial and holistic. He emphasizes integrating biological, psychological, and social perspectives and identifies family-systems, cognitive-behavioral, and psychodynamic orientations as major influences on his practice.
Jessee has been associated with the American Psychological Association, the World Federation for Mental Health, the Tennessee Psychological Association, and the Mental Health Association. His professional memberships reflect his continuing involvement in clinical psychology, mental-health practice, and professional and public education.
Jessee describes himself as a pragmatic, eclectic therapist. His stated clinical approach emphasizes examining biological, psychological, and social dimensions together and taking a holistic view of psychological problems and their treatment.
Jessee married Ellen Murphy Jessee on July 3, 1976. His parents were James Jessee and Robert Maxine Fletcher Jessee.
