Dr. Sheehan received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Marquette University before receiving his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from St. Louis University in 1971.  

Shortly after graduating he went on to become the director of training for the NIMH sponsored Drug Education and Training Center at Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute, the highest rated of the NIMH regional training centers.  

In 1975 Dr. Sheehan accepted a position as a visiting professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. He held the position of Special Investigator for the Michigan Senate investigating the nursing home industry under the direction of psychologist and State Sen. Dr. John Otterbacher.  Dr. Sheehan is responsible for penning the first draft of the omnibus nursing home Reform Act. 

The arrival of his first child in 1975 and the initiation of his private practice in South Bend, Indiana as a clinical psychologist motivated him to invent and develop The Self-Esteem Game©.  He used the next eight years of his private practice to formulate the content of the cards for the game.  In 1983 he obtained a copyright and released The Self-Esteem Game©.  Since then, over 38,000 games have been sold to therapists, teachers and parents. 

During his 40+ years private practice in clinical psychology Dr. Sheehan conducted over 75,000 therapy sessions.  In addition, he developed employee assistance programs for local businesses; led organizational development engagements for local not-for-profits, including a successful team building process for the Notre Dame registrar’s office; developed the protocol and ran the first Notre Dame drug screening program for athletes; started the not for profit American Combat Veterans With War Trauma, which still has ongoing groups for combat veterans; and founded CAID (Child Advocate In Divorce) which provides the parenting classes for the St. Joseph County Courts for parents going through divorce. 

Dr. Sheehan has been a regular contributor to local media. He has had his own television and radio show (War Brains) to teach the community about PTSD.  He has appeared over four hundred times on local news programs, addressing current psychological issues.  

Dr. Sheehan also coached football at Holy Cross/Christ the King for a team that lost one game in four years and ultimately went on to win the state football championship for St. Joe High School.  He also coached basketball, Little League baseball, and indoor soccer.