Dr. Cox holds a B.A. degree in Religion from Wofford College and Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC. The focus of his doctoral work was counseling and suicide intervention.
As a part of his training, Dr. Cox completed a two-year clinical residency as a hospital chaplain at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center. In addition, Dr. Cox completed a three-year pastoral internship in the Pastoral Counseling Center of First Baptist Church of Spartanburg, SC, where Dr. Kirk H. Neely served as his mentor and supervisor. While in graduate school, he also completed paramedic training and worked as a senior paramedic for Spartanburg EMS and was named South Carolina’s 1989 Paramedic of the Year.
Dr. Cox is an ordained minister. Having served various churches as a youth minister and pastoral counselor prior to entering private practice as a Christian life coach in 1992, he has helped numerous individuals, couples, and families in crisis.
Dr. Cox served as an expert witness in the Susan Smith murder trial in Union, SC in 1995, giving testimony regarding the effects of suicide on surviving children. The BBC interviewed him for a suicide documentary about the Susan Smith case.
In 1997, he founded a local SOS (Survivors of Suicide) support group. He facilitated the group, which continues to meet monthly, until several years ago when he felt the need to devote a large block of time to writing a book to help survivors of suicide cope.
He has also served as a staff counselor for Wounded Heroes, now Wounded Ministers, a ministry of LifeWay to pastors. Dr. Cox was the special counselors captain for the Upstate Carolina Festival 2001 with Franklin Graham.
Following the events of 9/11, he was the subject of an article on Family.org (Focus On The Family) concerning how to talk to children about the tragedy. On the one-year anniversary, the article entitled Help Children Cope was reprinted in the Focus on the Family magazine. He also provided services in the aftermath of the shootings on the Virginia Tech campus that occurred on April 16, 2007.
He is coauthor with Candy Arrington of AFTERSHOCK: Help, Hope, and Healing in the Wake of Suicide – Broadman & Holman Publishers – October 2003 and contributor to The Art of Helping – River Oak Publishers, 2003.
In both 2004 and 2007, Dr. Cox was a radio guest on “Family Life Today” with Dennis Rainey. He has appeared on the national television programs “Helpline” with Dr. Morris Cerullo and “Time for Hope” with Dr. Freda Crews. He hosted his own radio program, “Life Matters with Dr. David Cox,” from 2002 until 2012.
As a national speaker on the subject of suicide, David Cox is available to bring his “17 Minutes of Hope” seminar to your church, school, or community. You may book him for appearances by contacting him.
Dr. David Cox 