Psychology professor Robert (Bob) Mendelsohn, PhD, has written two books that provide insights into the lasting value of Sigmund Freud, MD鈥檚 contributions to psychoanalysis and psychotherapy.
For 50 years, Bob Mendelsohn, PhD, professor, has been training Adelphi psychologists聽in the Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology by combining his passion for psychotherapy and psychoanalysis with a dose of humor鈥攁nd by sharing his insights with a broader audience in two recently published books.
Bringing Freud Into the 21st Century
Published in 2021, offers a persuasive framework for clinicians seeking to understand the continuing relevance of Sigmund Freud, MD鈥檚 legacy as the father of talk therapy.
鈥淚t offers a different view of him by asking readers to walk a mile in his shoes and putting themselves in his position. Talk therapy was Dr. Freud鈥檚 greatest contribution, as he helped people give voice to struggles that they had either kept to themselves or which had led to emotional turmoil,鈥� Dr. Mendelsohn said. 鈥淲e can see how revolutionary his work was by recognizing his ability to see the unsaid.鈥�
It鈥檚 currently a volume that is on display at , as a surprising photo sent to him by a former student attests. 鈥淚 grew up in Queens. When I saw the picture, I said, But 鈥業鈥檓 from Queens,鈥欌�� he recalled with typically disparaging humor.
A Prestigious Nomination
Nominated for a 2024 Gradiva Award, Dr. Mendelsohn鈥檚 is essential reading for mental health professionals and would-be clinicians alike.
Dr. Mendelsohn offers a fresh approach to conceptualizing and understanding clinical cases, including by applying the principles of talk therapy to cases when needed. To him, the role of the psychotherapist is to listen closely to help patients correlate their present problems with their past histories. It is by this shift in perspective, he insists, that healing can begin.
From Rock-and-Roll Drummer to Adelphi Professor
Dr. Mendelsohn鈥檚 path to Adelphi was surprisingly indirect. As a teen in Queens, he was expected to work in Key Food, the family run co-op, on weekends. Instead, he learned to play the drums, becoming involved with聽legendary musician Al Kooper, known for his work聽with everyone from Bob Dylan to the music group Blood, Sweat & Tears, and who set the young aspiring drummer up with a band. 鈥淚鈥檓 a performer and a shrink. I played with The Ronettes for two years and as a teacher I get up in front of the class and perform,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd I still keep a set of drums in my basement.鈥�
Even as he was successfully drumming in Greenwich Village, his Aunt Mildred鈥攁 prot茅g茅e of celebrated psychoanalyst Theodore Reich, MD鈥攖ook him aside and asked him what he was doing with his life.
鈥淚 subsequently buried my head in books and got my doctorate from the University of Massachusetts,鈥� Dr. Mendelsohn recollected. 鈥淎s an extern in a western Massachusetts hospital, I went to hear Gordon Derner talk. A few years later, while visiting Adelphi, I ran into Derner. He remembered me鈥攁nd by 1974 I had joined the faculty.鈥�
Making Lasting Connections
For Dr. Mendelsohn, teaching gives him meaning and purpose, and keeps him young. 鈥淚鈥檝e taught for so many years and am supposed to be an expert,鈥� he confessed. 鈥淵et I continue to learn from my students.
鈥淢y whole family is Derner: My wife, Robin, is a psychologist; my daughter went to Emory University and then to Derner for her PhD. When my wife and mother-in-law stood when she was hooded as she received her degree, it was very moving.鈥�
In addition to Freudian Thought for the Contemporary Clinician and Case Formulation in Contemporary Psychotherapy, Dr. Mendelsohn is the author of . Yet his Adelphi students aren鈥檛 the only ones reading his books: Many of his former doctoral students are themselves teaching with them.
鈥淎 doctoral graduate who is practicing in a Black North Philadelphia neighborhood called to tell me that he had thought of something I鈥檇 said 15 years ago in class,鈥� he reported. 鈥淚f I can make that kind of connection to others, from my teaching and mentoring, it feels like I have the kind of influence that will make a difference and be around after I鈥檓 gone.鈥�