Judianne Densen-Gerber (November 13, 1934

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, New York – May 11, 2003, Manhattan) was an American psychiatrist, lawyer, and educator. She “dedicated her professional life to fighting

substance abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to a ...

, battery of women and fought for the rights of child workers. She created the first non-

methadone Methadone, sold under the brand names Dolophine and Methadose among others, is a synthetic opioid agonist used for chronic pain and also for opioid dependence. It is used to treat chronic pain, and it is also used to treat addiction to heroin ...

treatment programs with seven addicts in New York City. Her innovative model was created by academia and substance abusers who worked together. The first residential program served as the foundation for therapeutic xommunities around the world.

Early life

She was born to Gustave Gerber, a chemical engineer and Beatrice Densen, an heiress. She graduated from

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United St ...

in 1956,

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

(JD (1959), and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

(MD 1963). Until 1997, she was married to pathologist

Michael Baden Michael M. Baden (born July 27, 1934) is an American physician and board-certified forensic pathologist known for his work investigating high-profile deaths and as the host of HBO's ''Autopsy''. Baden was the chief medical examiner of the C ...

. She died in her sleep from cancer. At the time of her death, she was a resident of

Westport, Connecticut Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, along the Long Island Sound within Connecticut's Gold Coast. It is northeast of New York City. The town had a population of 27,141 according to the 2020 U.S. Census. History ...

Career

She founded

Odyssey House Odyssey House Texas, located in Houston, Texas is a private not-for-profit organization established in 1989 to provide treatment and education to youth and families whose lives have been devastated by drugs, alcohol, and Child abuse, abuse. At tha ...

while working as a resident psychiatrist at

Metropolitan Hospital Metropolitan Hospital Center (MHC, also referred to as Metropolitan Hospital) is a hospital in East Harlem, New York City. It has been affiliated with New York Medical College since it was founded in 1875, representing the oldest partnership be ...

. Despite her success in getting government funding, in 1983 she resigned her position as executive director after a state investigation found financial irregularities.

Publications

*''Odyssey House: A Structural Model for the Successful Employment and Re-Entry of the Ex-Drug Abuser'' Volume: 4 issue: 4, page(s): 414–427, Issue published: October 1, 1974 Judianne Densen-Gerber, J. D., M. D., David Drassner, M.S., Ed.M. https://doi.org/10.1177/002204267400400413 *''Drugs, sex, parents, and you''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Densen-Gerber, Judianne 1934 births 2003 deaths American women psychiatrists American psychiatrists American women lawyers American lawyers American women educators Bryn Mawr College alumni Columbia Law School alumni New York University alumni Lawyers from Manhattan People from Westport, Connecticut Deaths from cancer in New York (state) 21st-century American women