Dr. Herbert S. Cohen

Growing up in Scranton, Pennsylvania in the 50's, didn't offer Dr. Cohen much exposure to psychology. In spite of this, however, he remembers being very curious about what made people feel and think differently from each other. Unlike his peers at the time, he was interested in reading Freud and other books that were available to help satisfy his craving to better understand human nature.

Over the protests of his family, and even his guidance counselor, he was determined to major in psychology. It was felt, then, that such a career offered little opportunity. Who, after all, would seek such counsel?

Fortunately, times and attitudes have changed. For over fifty years, he has had the opportunity to pursue his dream and literally thousands of patients later, he has indeed discovered the uniqueness, yet similarity of people. His experience has included practicing in a hospital for the criminally insane, a drug rehabilitation center, and a private clinic, as well as a private practice. He has also been on the faculty of New York University and the State University at Purchase.

Always, a pioneer, early in his career, he was able to see the importance of family therapy and established an Institute focused on marriage and family counseling. In the 1960's, he also developed a program for parenting and established a non-profit foundation to offer courses to interested parents and those at risk.

Although his focus has primarily been on understanding the family history and dynamics that underlie emotional problems, Dr. Cohen, recognizes the relationship between our thoughts and our emotions that is central to the field of cognitive psychology. He believes, that in the current climate, of managed care, that this approach to emotional problems is effective and can have a profound influence on

changing one's behavior and feelings.

As new information became available about the role of brain chemistry in mental illnesses such as depression, he became interested in the biological etiology of emotions as well as the mind/body connection. Employed by various corporations, such as IBM, he taught stress reduction courses. Some of the side effects experienced by his clients were a reduction in illness, and an increased ability to handle the stress caused by interpersonal relationships at the office. Effectively dealing with stress seemed to allow them to approach life in a more positive manner.

He began to incorporate stress reduction in his practice along with the cognitive therapies and realized that together they were powerful tools. He also added the thought stopping technique that he had previously used with addictions and compulsive behaviors. He found that helping a person to relax, while stopping and changing negative thoughts was an extremely successful approach.

Excited about the results he observed, he decided to make them available to others in a way that allowed him to share his experiences. It was like coming full circle, from reading about psychology as a young man to writing about it.

Dr. Cohen lives in Stamford, Connecticut and Longboat Key, Florida with his wife Anita.