The officers and members of the New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute mourn the loss of our esteemed member, Dr. Theodore (Ted) Shapiro, whose extraordinary life in psychiatry and psychoanalysis was marked by intellectual distinction, clinical wisdom, devotion to children and adult patients, a commitment to teaching and mentoring throughout the field, and a generosity of spirit that touched generations of colleagues, students, and patients.

Among those who knew him at NYPSI, he will be remembered as that rare, esteemed faculty member who could combine formidable intelligence with genuine warmth; rigorous scientific inquiry with openness to new ideas; and a deep commitment to psychoanalytic thought with an equally deep concern for the person sitting in front of him. He is remembered for bringing his curiosity, humor, and delight in people to his relationships, and especially to his work with children.

Ted was born in New York City on February 26, 1932. He graduated from Wesleyan University in 1953, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and received his M.D. from Cornell University Medical College in 1957. Ted trained in psychoanalysis at NYPSI from 1960 to 1965 and became a member in 1967. He subsequently served the Institute in numerous capacities, including as a member of its Board of Trustees, as Secretary, as a Training and Supervising Analyst, and more generally through his research and educational leadership. For over a decade he taught the course on unconscious fantasy.

Ted believed deeply in psychoanalysis as an intellectual and clinical discipline, and his scholarly contributions were immense. He wrote about psychoanalytic listening, language and unconscious communication and fantasy, psychotherapy, development, anxiety, personality, and the processes through which psychological change occurs.

His scholarship repeatedly crossed the boundaries between psychoanalysis, developmental psychology, linguistics, child psychiatry, and empirical research. A review of Pep shows that he published over 90 scholarly papers and book chapters. He also authored or co-authored numerous books. A particularly foundational article used in child development courses is his 1976 article, “Latency Revisited—The Age 7 Plus or Minus 1,” in Psychoanalytic Study of the Child.

Ted served as editor of the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association from 1984 to 1993, helping to shape the conversation within American psychoanalysis during an important period of intellectual change. He later served as North American Book Review Editor of the International Journal of Psychoanalysis.

His work brought psychoanalytic perspectives into conversation with emerging developments in developmental science and child psychiatry, a field that he helped to develop. At New York University, Ted established himself as a major figure in child and adolescent psychiatry. In 1976 he moved to Cornell University Medical College and the Payne Whitney Clinic, where he became Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Psychiatry in Pediatrics, and served for many years as Director and Chair of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He later served as Vice Chair of the Department of Psychiatry in child psychiatry. He led the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Payne Whitney from 1976 until 2002, after which he continued his clinical, teaching, and scholarly work. At Weill Cornell, he founded and directed the Sackler Infant Psychiatry Program, extending his interest in the earliest stages of development and in the relationships through which emotional life takes shape. Ted also served in leadership roles in the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, including chairing the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Section of the Board. He served on numerous national committees concerned with psychiatric education, nomenclature, research, and the treatment of children.

He received numerous awards and lectureships, among which were: the Wilfred C. Hulse Memorial Award, the Bakwin Lectureship, the Teacher of the Year Award at the Payne Whitney Clinic, the Sandor Rado Lecture, the A.A. Brill Lecture, the Heinz Hartmann Memorial Lecture, the Philip Wilson Memorial Lecture, and the Mentor Award of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Ted also mentored generations of psychiatrists and psychoanalysts, helping each person to develop their specialties and interests. On our NYPSI member listserv people wrote about the myriads of ways in which they and their families were affected by Ted’s generosity, care, intellect, curiosity and humor. They described how they learned by his example, particularly in the areas of clinical psychotherapies and in mentorship. They remembered his pleasure in engaging with children and his capacity to meet them on their own terms, including his ability to disarm even the angriest teenager.

Ted remained intellectually engaged well into his later years. In 2019, NYPSI colleagues joined him for a discussion of creativity and the science of psychoanalysis. Even after retiring from active assignments in 2022, he continued to participate in the program, attend Grand Rounds and seminars, mentor younger colleagues, and maintain a small clinical practice. In 2022 he delivered a Weill Cornell Grand Rounds presentation reflecting on Freud and contemporary questions about sexuality, identity, and social change. Even in retirement, his curiosity remained active.

We at NYPSI will remember his voice, his humor, his intellect, his attentiveness, and his extraordinary capacity to make other people feel seen. We will remember a teacher who could make a difficult idea come alive, a physician who cared deeply about the suffering of children and families, a psychoanalyst who continued to ask what it means truly to listen, and a friend and colleague who showed up even in the most difficult of times. Ted was a moral leader for so many of us.

The officers and members of the New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute extend our deepest condolences to Ted’s family. We share their loss, even as we recognize the immeasurable legacy he leaves behind.

He is already deeply missed.

Amber Nemeth, PhD

President

Howard Bliwise, MD

Dean