For three decades, James Lehman has worked with troubled children and teens and the families and professionals who live with, educate and treat them. Born in the New York City borough of the Bronx, James was abandoned as a toddler by his birth parents and adopted by Marguerite and Teddy Lehman. As he grew older, he began to exhibit behavioral problems in school and at home that intensified in his early teens. He left home, lived on the streets and fell into a life of petty crime and substance abuse.

He spent approximately seven and a half years in and out of prisons and institutions throughout his teens and early twenties. He was eventually sentenced to a therapeutic program that emphasized personal and social responsibility. It was during this program that he confronted the issues which prevented him from developing into his full potential.

After completing the program, James became a staff coordinator there and began working with emotionally disturbed children and teens. Children of this age and with these problems would command his attention for the next 30 years.

James began his education at Fordham University, then relocated to Maine. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Southern Maine with a degree in Social Work. He received his master's degree in social work from Boston University. Now retired from clinical practice, James is the creator of The Total Transformation®—a program designed to help parents manage challenging behavior in children and teenagers.