James Samuel Gordon is an American author and

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

known for mind-body medicine. In 1991, he founded and is the director of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM), a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

educational organization. At the Georgetown Medical School and Georgetown University, he is the director of mind-body studies and clinical professor in the departments of psychiatry and family medicine.

Education

James Samuel Gordon was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. His father was a

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

and his grandfather was a

pediatrician Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

, First Chief of Pediatrics at Beth Israel Hospital in New York. He attended both college and medical school at Harvard University. As an undergraduate, he studied for and received an A.B. in English, and went on to

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 consi ...

to receive an M.D. degree. After medical school, he became a volunteer physician at the Haight-Ashbury Free Medical Clinic during the 1960s. He also attended

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

as a volunteer physician.

Career

During the 1970s he worked as a research psychiatrist at the

National Institute of Mental Health The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is one of 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH, in turn, is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the prima ...

(NIMH) as well as on many NIMH projects through 1997. He also became a lecturer at various colleges. While at NIMH, he developed the first national program for runaway and homeless youth, edited the first comprehensive studies of

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

and

holistic medicine Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alte ...

, directed the Special Study on Alternative Services for President

Carter Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to: Geography United States * Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Carter, Montana, a census-designated place * Carter, ...

’s Commission on Mental Health, and created a nationwide preceptorship program for medical students. He has been Georgetown Medical School’s director of the program of mind-body studies and clinical professor in the departments of psychiatry and family medicine since 1980. In 2008, CMBM won a research award from the

U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secur ...

to study the mind-body approach with veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and their families. Gordon also was appointed to chair the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy (WHCCAMP) from 2000 to 2002 by President Clinton. During September 2019, Gordon published a new book entitled, ''The Transformation: Discovering Wholeness and Healing After Trauma''. The book is on his recommendations to heal depression, anxiety, and psychological trauma for those who are confronted by tragedy and trauma and reviews his work with traumatized children and families in Bosnia, Gaza, Haiti, post-9/11 New York, and Parkland, as well as, veterans, active-duty military, and others.

“Unstuck” approach

In his seven-stage program outlined in ''Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven-Stage Journey Out of Depression'', which he describes as "adapted from mythologist

Joseph Campbell Joseph John Campbell (March 26, 1904 – October 30, 1987) was an American writer. He was a professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College who worked in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His work covers many aspects of the ...

's groundbreaking studies of the world's mythic heroes and heroines", Gordon explains the useful, mood-healing benefits of food and nutritional supplements; movement, exercise, and dance as well as that of psychotherapy, meditation, guided imagery, spiritual practice, and prayer. He concludes each chapter with a "Prescription for Self-Care," guidelines to help each person play an active, effective role in their own healing. He includes examples from the patients he has worked with over the years.

Personal life

Gordon is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

."Finding a Steadier Path in Gaza"
Bronner, Ethan. ''The New York Times.''Published September 7, 2010. Accessed May 14, 2017.

References

External links

official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, James Samuel American Jews American male writers American psychiatrists Harvard Medical School alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people)