Alan Downs, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist who lives in Palm Springs, California. He is the author of seven books in the field of psychology and a sought-after public speaker. He is currently focusing primarily on his clinical work and writings for gay men. Dr. Downs is the former CEO of Michael's House Treatment Center in Palm Springs, California and has been an intensively trained Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) therapist for the past twenty years. His current book, THE VELVET RAGE, has been acclaimed as "groundbreaking" and "the bible for the gay men". Dr. Downs has been a guest on many media programs including, THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW, TODAY SHOW, and NPR's MORNING EDITION.

Dr. Downs's influence as a thought leader for gay men is worldwide and continues to grow. In 2018, London's premier fashion designer, Charles Jeffrey "Loverboy", in an interview with VOGUE credited THE VELVET RAGE for inspiring his Fall line of clothing. Later that same year, television producer Ryan Murphy referenced the influence of THE VELVET RAGE in a published interview with THE NEW YORKER magazine in an article titled "Why Ryan Murphy is the Most Powerful Man in Television".