Dr. Peter Salerno

Peter 005

Dr. Peter Salerno founded the Old Louisville Counseling Center (1979). His educational/training background includes dual disciplines: Ministry (he is an ordained Presbyterian Minister) and Psychology (he is a trained mental health clinician; Division of Religion and Psychiatry, The Menninger Clinic; Topeka, KS).

Peter's practical work involves the areas of:

·         Group Therapy

·         Individual Therapy – Anxiety, Depression, Insomnia, Work, Career

·         Couples Counseling Therapy

·         Children, Teenage and Parent Therapy (Individually or In Concert)

·         Sex Therapy

Peter's Methodology (all areas require in-depth training):

·         Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

·         Clinical Hypnosis

·         Psychoanalysis (Freudian & Jungian)

Couples Counseling:

Dr. Salerno provides Covenantal/Relational Therapy. He conceptualized and authored a new strategy for couples to quickly identify their core problems themselves, produce lasting, good change and learn how to best re-invent or re-invigorate their marriage/relationship. The end product produces faster results and a new marital/relational covenant/contract which they agree to as their new goals for the future.

Peter's Formal Education:

·         B.A. Bloomfield College, Bloomfield, NJ

·         Masters of Divinity – Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY

·         Master of Sacred Theology – University of Dubuque, Dubuque, IA

      ·         Doctorate – Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY

·         Certification; Religion & Psychiatry – The Menninger Clinic, Topeka, KS

·         Clinical Hypnosis: 100 hours intensive training, auspices of American Association of Clinical Hypnosis

·         Clinical Hypnosis - Monthly consultation with Dr. Michael Yapko, San Diego, CA

Peter’s awards & honors:

·         NAACP: Outstanding Community and Race Relations

·         National Council of Churches: Ministries With Veterans and the Incarcerated

·         United States Air Force: Chaplain, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal

·         National Champion: United States & Canada Oarsman


Our Professional Organizations

  • The Louisville Wedding Network
    Planning a wedding is expensive and hard work. The Louisville Wedding Network is here to make your job easier and less expensive. You'll be much more relaxed and able to enjoy your big day. Let us show you how!
  • The Gottman Institute
    The Gottman Institute™ has two major functions. The Institute helps couples directly, and it provides state-of-the-art training to mental health professionals and other health care providers. The Gottman Institute™ applies leading-edge research on marriage in a practical, down-to-earth therapy and trains therapists committed to helping couples.
  • The Association for Clinical Pastoral Education
    The Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc. (ACPE) is a multicultural, multifaith organization devoted to providing education and improving the quality of ministry and pastoral care offered by spiritual caregivers of all faiths through the clinical educational methods of Clinical Pastoral Education.
  • Prepare/Enrich
    Life Innovations began in 1980 as a result of several research projects at the University of Minnesota in which Dr. David Olson developed a set of inventories for couples; known as PREPARE/ENRICH.
  • National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis
    Ever since the early schisms in psychoanalysis, Freudians, Jungians, Adlerians, and other psychoanalytic schools have remained fragmented. NAAP represents the first effort to reunite these psychoanalytic schools of thought in more than half a century.
  • Menninger Clinic
    Menninger is a leading psychiatric center dedicated to treating individuals with mood, personality, anxiety and addictive disorders, teaching mental health professionals and advancing mental healthcare through research.
  • Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
    The Master of Divinity is designed for students seeking ordination. This three-year program combines the academic and professional education demanded for ministry.
  • Dr. Michael Yapko's Official Website
    I have spent my professional life addressing the issue of making the process of psychotherapy and self-help briefer and more effective. I have particularly been interested in the many ways clinical hypnosis, a focused and relaxed experience, can be used to help people acquire and better utilize their skills and innate abilities.
  • American Society of Clinical Hypnosis
    ASCH is unique among organizations for professionals using hypnosis. Members must be licensed healthcare workers and, at a minimum, have obtained a master’s degree. ASCH membership is mostly made up of psychologists, psychiatrists, clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, mental health counselors, medical doctors, masters-level nurses, dentists and chiropractors.