Sheldon Gardner
Encyclopedia
Sheldon Frank Gardner was an American
psychologist
who worked in the tradition of Sigmund Freud
. With his wife, Gwendolyn Stevens, Gardner wrote several books, several pamphlets and other shorter works, and more than 50 articles in the field of psychology. Titles include The Care and Cultivation of Parents, Separation Anxiety and the Dread of Abandonment in Adult Males, Women of Psychology: Pioneers and Innovators, Women of Psychology: Expansion and Refinement, and Red Vienna
and the Golden Age of Psychology, 1918-1938.
Gardner held teaching, research, and administrative positions at several major universities and various institutes. Among highlights, he was the first chair of the Psychology Department at the University of North Carolina at Asheville
, the founder and Executive Director of the Hyperkinesis
Clinic in Pasadena, California
, and the founder and Executive Director of the Psychological Assessment Laboratory in Santa Ana, California
; also, he organized and directed the Psychological Services Department at the Long Beach
Neuro-Psychiatric Institute. From 1982 he lived in Connecticut
, where he was Chief Psychologist at the Child Guidance Clinic of Southeastern Connecticut before opening a private practice in Mystic in 1991.
Gardner wrote and performed the play An Evening with Sigmund Freud and performed in other theatrical and musical events, once being nominated for a Eugene O'Neill
award for community theater acting in southeastern Connecticut. He wrote a column for a Cape Girardeau, Missouri
newspaper and a monthly column for Professional Selling. Late in life, he wrote several novels.
Gardner was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts
, the oldest child of Philip and Goldie (Stepanski) Gardner. As the 1952 “outstanding graduating student” from Everett High School in Boston, he earned a scholarship to Harvard and thus an education his family could not have afforded. After graduating with an A.B., he earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Southern California
in 1963, where he studied under J. P. Guilford
.
He was a longtime member of Rotary International
, including service as Secretary of the Mystic, CT chapter. He served on the Board of Directors of the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, including one term as Second Vice-President. He served one term as President of the Groton-Mystic chapter of AARP
. He was a member of the Vestry of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Mystic, where he also sang in the choir.
Having contracted polio as a child, Gardner overcame the illness, only to have its symptoms recur later in life. He met the recurrence with remarkable strength, continuing to travel widely and to remain, in his words, a “fanatical” tennis
player. Known for a brilliant mind and loved for an inexhaustible sense of humor, Gardner was extraordinarily youthful to the last day of his life.
Gwendolyn Stevens has written an account of Gardner's life and ideas, titled Goombah Luigi's Grandson: Memoir of a Jewish Psychologist.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
who worked in the tradition of Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
. With his wife, Gwendolyn Stevens, Gardner wrote several books, several pamphlets and other shorter works, and more than 50 articles in the field of psychology. Titles include The Care and Cultivation of Parents, Separation Anxiety and the Dread of Abandonment in Adult Males, Women of Psychology: Pioneers and Innovators, Women of Psychology: Expansion and Refinement, and Red Vienna
Red Vienna
Red Vienna was the nickname of the capital of Austria between 1918 and 1934, when the Social Democrats had the majority and the city was democratically governed for the first time.-Social situation after World War I:...
and the Golden Age of Psychology, 1918-1938.
Gardner held teaching, research, and administrative positions at several major universities and various institutes. Among highlights, he was the first chair of the Psychology Department at the University of North Carolina at Asheville
University of North Carolina at Asheville
The University of North Carolina at Asheville is a co-educational, four year, public liberal arts university. The university is also known as UNC Asheville. Located in Asheville, Buncombe County, North Carolina, UNCA is the only designated liberal arts institution in the University of North...
, the founder and Executive Director of the Hyperkinesis
Hyperkinesis
Hyperkinesia, also known as hyperkinesis, refers to an increase in muscular activity that can result in excessive abnormal movements, excessive normal movements, or a combination of both...
Clinic in Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, and the founder and Executive Director of the Psychological Assessment Laboratory in Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana is the county seat and second most populous city in Orange County, California, and with a population of 324,528 at the 2010 census, Santa Ana is the 57th-most populous city in the United States....
; also, he organized and directed the Psychological Services Department at the Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
Neuro-Psychiatric Institute. From 1982 he lived in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, where he was Chief Psychologist at the Child Guidance Clinic of Southeastern Connecticut before opening a private practice in Mystic in 1991.
Gardner wrote and performed the play An Evening with Sigmund Freud and performed in other theatrical and musical events, once being nominated for a Eugene O'Neill
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
award for community theater acting in southeastern Connecticut. He wrote a column for a Cape Girardeau, Missouri
Cape Girardeau, Missouri
Cape Girardeau is a city located in Cape Girardeau and Scott counties in Southeast Missouri in the United States. It is located approximately southeast of St. Louis and north of Memphis. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 37,941. A college town, it is the home of Southeast Missouri...
newspaper and a monthly column for Professional Selling. Late in life, he wrote several novels.
Gardner was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts
Chelsea, Massachusetts
Chelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States directly across the Mystic River from the city of Boston. It is the smallest city in Massachusetts in land area, and the 26th most densely populated incorporated place in the country.-History:...
, the oldest child of Philip and Goldie (Stepanski) Gardner. As the 1952 “outstanding graduating student” from Everett High School in Boston, he earned a scholarship to Harvard and thus an education his family could not have afforded. After graduating with an A.B., he earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
in 1963, where he studied under J. P. Guilford
J. P. Guilford
Joy Paul Guilford was a US psychologist, best remembered for his psychometric study of human intelligence, including the important distinction between convergent and divergent production....
.
He was a longtime member of Rotary International
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
, including service as Secretary of the Mystic, CT chapter. He served on the Board of Directors of the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, including one term as Second Vice-President. He served one term as President of the Groton-Mystic chapter of AARP
AARP
AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is the United States-based non-governmental organization and interest group, founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus, PhD, a retired educator from California, and based in Washington, D.C. According to its mission statement, it is "a...
. He was a member of the Vestry of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Mystic, where he also sang in the choir.
Having contracted polio as a child, Gardner overcame the illness, only to have its symptoms recur later in life. He met the recurrence with remarkable strength, continuing to travel widely and to remain, in his words, a “fanatical” tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player. Known for a brilliant mind and loved for an inexhaustible sense of humor, Gardner was extraordinarily youthful to the last day of his life.
Gwendolyn Stevens has written an account of Gardner's life and ideas, titled Goombah Luigi's Grandson: Memoir of a Jewish Psychologist.