As a clinical
psychiatrist and author, Dr. Richman has worked with many health care workers,
individuals and families placing an emphasis on enhancing life by working humor
into therapies. He often says, "Adversity can be painful, but overcoming adversity
can be fun."
Dr.
Joseph Richman is a Professor Emeritus at the
Albert Einstein College of Medicine. In 1955 he was appointed
as the first clinical psychologist in the Department
of Psychiatry. He organized the intern training
program, appointed staff, advertised the opening
of this new facility, and spent the first years
supervising interns and staff members; meanwhile,
integrating psychology with the other activities
of the psychiatry department, teaching the principles
of clinical psychology to psychiatric residents,
and medical students. The psychiatry department
was the only specialty that was ready at the official
opening of the school in July of 1955. As
one of the founding teachers at The Albert Einstein
College of Medicine, he was honored as a distinguished
professor at the 50th Anniversary Celebration
of the
Medical
School
in August of 2005.
He has
been active as a faculty member and teacher at
the
New York
Center
for Psychoanalytic Training, a founding
member of the American Association of Suicidology,
and the founder and president of the New York State
Association of Suicidology. Dr. Richman is
also a Fellow of the Society for Personality Assessment,
a member of the American Gerontological Association,
the International Society for Humor Studies, the
American Group Psychotherapy Association, the American
Psychological Association, and others, and maintains
a private practice.
Dr. Richman
received his PhD from
Columbia
University
in 1953. He has published over
100 books, articles, and book chapters for the
professional public. His books, Family
Therapy for Suicidal People (1986) and Preventing
Elderly Suicide (1993) are among the
standard works in their fields. He has been
particularly aware of how humor can be therapeutic
and has written widely on the use of humor in therapy,
the comparison of humor with other therapeutic
interventions, and in assessment. His lighter works
include a series of essays in Medical Aspects
of Human Sexuality and lectures to the public.
Over
the years, Dr. Richman has evaluated or treated
over 1,000 depressed and suicidal persons and their
relatives. He has supervised, taught, and served
as a consultant to psychiatrists, psychologists,
social workers, counselors, nurses, and other members
of the health and education professions. His
emphasis is on enhancing life by working with the
caring and healing forces of the patient and family. |
