Carl E. Thoresen ( – ) was a

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 interpretation of how indi ...

on the faculty of

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. From 2005, he was also a senior fellow at

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university's campus surrounds the historic Mis ...

Education and academic career

Many events and achievements in Thoresen's career as a psychologist were described in a profile published in 2009 in ''

The Counseling Psychologist ''The Counseling Psychologist'' is a Peer review, peer-reviewed academic journal that focuses on timely topics in such diverse areas as multiculturalism and cross-cultural competency, research methods, vocational psychology, assessment, internatio ...

'' (''CP''), as part of its "Legacies and Traditions" series. Alex H. S. Harris (2009)
Carl Thoresen: The evolving pioneer
''The Counseling Psychologist'', v37, n2, 275-295. . Thoresen graduated with a B.A. from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

with a bachelor's degree in

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

(1955), later received his MA (counseling, 1960) and PhD (psychological studies, counseling psychology, 1964) from

. After a brief period as an assistant professor of counseling at Michigan State (1965–1967), he returned to Stanford as assistant professor of education (1967). From 1975 until 2000 he served as professor of education, and by courtesy, psychology, and psychiatry. From 2000, he held the same title with emeritus status. From 2005, he was also a senior fellow at the Spirituality and Health Institute at

. According to his ''CP'' profile, he was also: *President, Counseling & Human Development,

American Educational Research Association The American Educational Research Association (AERA, pronounced "A-E-R-A") is a professional organization representing education researchers in the United States and around the world. AERA's mission is to advance knowledge about education and p ...

(1974–1976). *President of the Division of Counseling Psychology,

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...

(1978–1979). *Founder and Elected Chair,

, Counseling Health Psychology Section, Division 17 (1997–1999). *Founder and Chair,

Society of Behavioral Medicine The Society of Behavioral Medicine (abbreviated SBM) is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting research in the field of behavioral medicine. History SBM was established in 1978, with its first meeting taking place in Chicago, ...

, Spirituality and Health Special Interest Group (2000-). Thoresen has been awarded honorary doctorates by the Faculty of Social Sciences at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

(1986), and by the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) ( ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann) is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called ''university college, constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under t ...

(Literature, 2004). Text of the Introductory Address Delivered by Professor Eleanor O'Lear

Accessed 6 Nov 2009. He was awarded a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

. He was an elected Fellow of several major organisations, including the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

(1982-), the

(1972-) and the

Society of Behavioural Medicine The Society of Behavioral Medicine (abbreviated SBM) is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting research in the field of behavioral medicine. History SBM was established in 1978, with its first meeting taking place in Chicago, ...

(1986-). His professional publications number more than 200.

Research and influence

According to the ''CP'' interview, Thoresen's "scholarly work, professional service, teaching, and mentorship have motivated many counseling psychologists to radically expand their areas of inquiry. He was among the first to focus counseling on observable behaviors and to apply psychological science and interventions to physical problems in medical settings. More recently, he has pioneered the study of the interface between spirituality and health" (p. 275). Beginning in 1973, Thoresen collaborated with well-known

cardiologist Cardiology () is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular hear ...

Meyer Friedman Meyer Friedman (July 13, 1910 – April 27, 2001) was an American cardiologist who developed, with colleague Ray H. Rosenman, the theory that the " Type A" behavior of chronically angry and impatient people increases their risk of heart disease. ...

. They worked together on the

Recurrent Coronary Prevention Project Recurrence and recurrent may refer to: *''Disease recurrence'', also called relapse *''Eternal recurrence'', or eternal return, the concept that the universe has been recurring, and will continue to recur, in a self-similar form an infinite number ...

, which followed 1013

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

survivors for 4.5 years to determine effects from altering their coronary-prone ( type A) behavior patterns. Thoresen was responsible "to help design and direct the psychological treatment program based on a behavioral self-control perspective" (p. 282). Results indicated that behavioral counseling reduced rates of recurrence to 13% (from 21% or higher). After the first year, those receiving behavioral counseling also experienced significantly lower rates of death. The study showed, "for the first time, within a controlled experimental design, that altering type A behavior reduces cardiac morbidity and mortality in post infarction patients" (p. 653).Meyer Friedman, Carl E. Thoresen, James J. Gill, Diane Ulmer, Lynda H. Powell, Virginia A. Price, Byron Brown, Leonti Thompson, David D. Rabin, William S. Breall, Edward Bourg, Richard Levy, Theodore Dixon (1986).
Alteration of type a behavior and its effect on cardiac recurrences in post myocardial infarction patients: Summary results of the recurrent coronary prevention project
''American Heart Journal'', v112 n4, pp653-665. .

References

External links

Santa Clara faculty page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thoresen, Carl E. Educational psychologists Psychologists of religion Stanford University alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni Stanford University Department of Psychology faculty Stanford Graduate School of Education faculty Stanford University School of Medicine faculty 1933 births 2020 deaths American educational psychologists