Erwin Mark Stern (December 5, 1929 – March 11, 2014) was a

humanistic Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

Biography

He was born on December 5, 1929, in New York City. He holds a Master of Science (M.S.) degree from the

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

(1953) and a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degree from Teachers College,

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

(1955) and a Certificate in

Psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...

from the Training Institute of the

National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis The National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis (NPAP) is an institution in New York City founded by Theodore Reik in 1948, established in response to the controversy over lay analysis and the question of the training of psychoanalyst ...

(1958). Stern served for many years from Associate Professor to Full Professor and finally Professor Emeritus of Pastoral and Family Counseling in the Graduate Faculty of Arts and Sciences of

Iona College Iona University () is a private Catholic university with a main campus in New Rochelle, New York, United States. It was founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and occupies a campus of in New Rochelle and a campus of in Bro ...

, New Rochelle. He was at various times Adjunct Professor of Psychology at

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

South Orange, New Jersey South Orange is a historic suburban Village (New Jersey), village located in Essex County, New Jersey. It was formally known as the Township of South Orange Village from October 1978 until April 25, 2024. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

in New York, and the

Australian Catholic University Australian Catholic University (ACU) is a public university in Australia. It has seven Australian campuses and also maintains a campus in Rome. History Australian Catholic University was opened on 1 January 1991 following the amalgamation ...

. He was also a Fellow and Faculty Member of the American Institute of Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

as well as the Training Institute for Mental Health Practitioners, also in New York. In later years, he was a guest instructor at the Lifetime Learning Institute of

Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains within the Hudson River Historic District ...

Annandale-on-Hudson, New York Annandale-on-Hudson is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet in Dutchess County, New York, United States, located in the Hudson Valley town of Red Hook, New York, Red Hook, across the Hudson River from Kingston, New York, Kingston. The hamlet consists main ...

. Stern served as Editor of the ''Journal of Pastoral Counseling'' (published by Iona College), ''Voices: the Journal of the American Academy of Psychotherapists'' and was founding Editor of the ''Psychotherapy Patient'' published by the

Haworth Press Haworth Press was a publisher of scholarly, academic and trade books, and approximately 200 peer-reviewed academic journals. It was founded in 1978 by the publishing industry executives Bill Cohen and Patrick Mcloughlin. The name was taken from ...

. He was also coauthor (with Bert Marino, Ph.D.) of ''Psychotheology'', published by the

Paulist Press The Paulist Fathers, officially named the Missionary Society of Saint Paul the Apostle (), abbreviated CSP, is a Catholic society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men founded in New York City in 1858 by Isaac Hecker in collaboration wi ...

; editor of ''The Other Side of the Couch" What Therapist Believe,'' published by Pilgrim Press and other books and articles in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

and psychoanalytic periodicals as well as chapters in anthologies. He was president of two divisions of the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...

: the Psychology of Religion (Division 36) and the Society for Humanistic Psychology (Division 32). He served four non-consecutive terms on the APA's Council of Representatives. He was a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the

Association for Psychological Science The Association for Psychological Science (APS), previously the American Psychological Society, is an international non-profit organization whose mission is to promote, protect, and advance the interests of scientifically oriented psychology in r ...

. The Division of the Psychology of Religion presented him with the Virginia Sexton Mentoring Award and the Distinguished Service Award and the Society of Humanistic Psychology the Humanistic Psychology, the Carl Rogers Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Profession and Practice of Humanistic Psychology as well as the Lifetime Award for Contributions to the Society of Humanistic Psychology (subsequently named the Mike Arons/E. Mark Stern Award). He was a licensed psychologist in the

State of New York New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

, a Diplomate in Clinical Psychology of the

American Board of Professional Psychology The American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) is the primary organization for specialty board certification in psychology. Mission statement "The mission of the American Board of Professional Psychology is to increase consumer protectio ...

and a member of

Psi Chi Psi Chi () is a college student honor society in psychology with international outreach founded in 1929 at the University of Kansas in the United States. Psi Chi is one of the largest honor societies in the United States, with more than 1,100 chap ...

the National Honor Society in Psychology and

Phi Delta Kappa PDK International (also known as PDK or Phi Delta Kappa International) is an international professional organization for educators. It was founded on January 24, 1906, at Indiana University. The fraternity administers the collegiate honor society ...

, a professional fraternity in education. In his semi-retirement Stern was a legislative appointee to the Dutchess County Mental Health Commission while continuing a limited practice in humanistic and existential psychotherapy. Stern died on March 11, 2014, in Clinton Corners,

Dutchess County, New York Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later o ...

References

Bibliography

;Further lectures * * *, that quotes the following article: Stern A. M. (1998) ''The battle against the A.P.A. resolution: interview with E. Mark Stern''. ''

NARTH The Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity (ATCSI), which until 2014 was known as the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), also known as the NARTH Institute, is a US organization that promotes con ...

Bulletin'', 6(2), 3, 19–20. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stern, E. Mark 1929 births 2014 deaths Pennsylvania State University alumni Teachers College, Columbia University alumni Iona University faculty Seton Hall University faculty Fordham University faculty Place of birth missing People from Dutchess County, New York 20th-century American psychologists Fellows of the American Psychological Association American Freemasons