Armand M. Nicholi Jr. (October 18, 1927 – June 22, 2017) was a clinical professor of

psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry. Initial p ...

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is cons ...

and the

Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the third oldest general hospital in the United Stat ...

. His clinical work and research focused on the impact of absent parents on the emotional development of children and young adults. He was the editor and coauthor of the classic ''The Harvard Guide to Psychiatry'' (3rd edition, 1999). He was also a founding board member of the

Family Research Council The Family Research Council (FRC) is an American evangelical activist group and think-tank with an affiliated lobbying organization. FRC promotes what it considers to be family values. It opposes and lobbies against: access to pornography, emb ...

Biography

Nicholi was born in

Johnson City, New York Johnson City is a village in Broome County, New York, United States. The population was 15,174 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Binghamton Metropolitan Statistical Area. The village of Johnson City is in the town of Union and is a part of t ...

on October 18, 1927, to Armand and Mary ( Nitto) Nicholi. He had an older sister Constance and younger sister Maryann. He graduated from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

and

New York Medical College New York Medical College (NYMC or New York Med) is a private medical school in Valhalla, New York. Founded in 1860, it is a member of the Touro College and University System. NYMC offers advanced degrees through its three schools: the Schoo ...

. He intended a career In neurosurgery so he began his internship at Cornell Surgical Division at Bellevue Hospital. After a year, he switched to psychiatry. He taught a course on

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts i ...

and

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univer ...

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

and the Harvard Medical School for more than 35 years. For 15 years he served as the psychiatrist for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

NFL (football) team. He also had an active practice and served as a consultant to government groups, corporations, and professional athletes. He was married, with two children, and lived in Concord,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

until his death on June 22, 2017, at his home in

Concord, Massachusetts Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is near where the co ...

, aged 89.

Bibliography

* ''The Question of God: C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud Debate God, Love, Sex, and the Meaning of Life'' (2002). Free Press, New York: Simon & Schuster; .
''The Question of God''
PBS TV series.

References

1927 births 2017 deaths American psychiatrists Harvard Medical School faculty Cornell University alumni New York Medical College alumni People from Johnson City, New York American people of Italian descent {{US-psychiatrist-stub