Sheldon Bach (May 18, 1925 – June 15, 2021) was an American

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...

and

psychoanalyst PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious processes and their influence on conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on dream interpretation, psychoanalysis is also a talk th ...

based 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 ...

Life and career

Bach was born in May 1925. He served in the European Theatre of Operations during World War II, then lived in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

where he studied at the Sorbonne. He joined the Research Center for Mental Health at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 1956, where he worked with George S. Klein and

Leo Goldberger Leo Goldberger (born June 28, 1930) is a psychologist, author, and editor known for his work in sensory deprivation, personality, stress and coping, as well as for his writings on the rescue of the Danish Jews during the Holocaust. A professor em ...

. He was Adjunct Clinical Professor of Psychology at the NYU Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis and a Fellow of the International Psychoanalytical Association. Bach was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

in New York City. He died in New York City in June 2021 at the age of 96.

Awards

In 2007 he was the recipient of the Heinz Hartmann Award for "outstanding contributions to the theory and practice of psychoanalysis." His Hartmann Lecture was published and reviewed the following year.International Psychoanalysis website
/ref> In 2016 he was chosen by the Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research to give the Norbert Freedman Memorial Lecture at the New School. In that same year he gave the 51st Freud Lecture at the Institute for Psychoanalytic Education at NYU Medical School.

Books

*"Chimeras and Other Writings: Selected Papers of Sheldon Bach". IPBooks, 2016, *''The How-To Book for Students of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy''. Karnac, 2011, *''Getting from Here to There: Analytic Love, Analytic Process''. Routledge, 2006, *''Narcissistic States and the Therapeutic Process'' J. Aronson, 1985, *''The Language of Perversion and the Language of Love''. J. Aronson, 1994,

References

1925 births 2021 deaths American psychoanalysts 21st-century American psychologists Military personnel from New York City New York University faculty Writers from Brooklyn American military personnel of World War II {{US-psychologist-stub