A Personal Memoir
Jay L. Bisgyer , M.D.
Davidge Hall is an historic building at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. It contains two amphitheaters, an anatomical hall, and a chem- ical hall. Two hundred years ago, an underground passageway was con- structed to smuggle bodies into the medical school at night for dissection.
On a bright September day in 1946, at this building’s entrance, I met Joe Lichtenberg on our fi rst day of medical school, where we also met Ernest Wolf. We were joined at the dissection table by Larry Demarest. Perhaps it was due to long exposure to formaldehyde rather than simple coincidence that three of us became psychiatrists and psychoanalysts, while Larry mar- ried a psychiatrist! Joe, Ernie, and I have remained close friends for 65 years.
My own interest in medicine began during childhood, observing how the quiet and competent manner of our family physician calmed the anxiety associated with illness. A favorite uncle of mine was a psychiatrist and psy- choanalyst, and I visited him when I was about 11 years old while he was working at a psychiatric hospital. Perhaps most infl uential was my fourth grade teacher’s comment: “With your terrible handwriting, the only thing you can do is to become a doctor!”
While Joe’s remarkable intelligence and superb memory made him an excellent student, he also gave notice that he was not willing to totally con- form to limits that he felt were arbitrary. I remember one afternoon when we were in the fi rst week of anatomy and we had fi nished a dissection, he convinced me to join him in leaving class early in order to see the fi lm Spectre of the Rose . He did conform well enough to complete midshipman’s school and serve on a destroyer in the Pacifi c. Joe recalled being ordered to report to San Francisco to board the ship to which he had been assigned.
Upon his arrival he discovered that the ship had already sailed, and he was forced to endure many weeks in that city, quartered in a posh hotel, waiting
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for his ship to return to port. Since Larry also served aboard a destroyer, we heard many “Tales of the South Pacifi c” while at the dissecting table.
The War was over and our class was composed primarily of returning G.I.s, some in their 30s. I was still 18, having gone through accelerated programs in both high school and college. My roommate and classmate that fi rst year had a Doctor of Science degree in Bacteriology. He had worked at Los Alamos on the effects of radiation during the development of the atomic bomb. He devoted four hours of study to our fi rst anatomy assignment, and having observed his diligence and seriousness of purpose impressed upon me that I needed to do the same.
Joe’s home was a short distance from where I was living, and I was invited to dinner there on a number of occasions. The food was delicious and the conversation always lively. Joe went beyond hospitality when I had a brief illness, arriving at my room with dinner when he realized that I would be unable to leave my bed.
As we attended various academic lectures it was apparent that Joe did not assume that a professor’s position of academic authority automatically warranted uncritical acceptance of the material being presented. Joe sug- gested that we augment the lectures by forming a study group composed of Joe, Ernie, myself, and several others. Many years later, two members of this group claimed that, without it, they might not have graduated. This proved to be the fi rst of Joe’s successful efforts to develop educational programs.
Early in my fi rst year of medical school, I was fortunate enough to have attended a special lecture given by Hans Selye on the General Adaptation Syndrome, illustrating his lecture with slides of pathological fi ndings and objective laboratory conclusions. He demonstrated how stress resulted in physiological and ultimately pathological changes in people. Returning pro- fessors who had served overseas as physicians during World War II reported their experiences treating young men exposed to severe and chronic stress who then developed peptic ulcers, cardiac pathology, and other physical illnesses in addition to purely psychological symptoms. Such fi ndings gave credence to the concept of Psychosomatic Medicine. Alexander and French wrote a book with that title, and followed it with research which attempted to correlate certain diseases with specifi c focal confl icts. This later evolved into a more inclusive view of all aspects of health and disease. These con- cepts stimulated my own interest as a medical student, intern, psychiatric resident, and as an Air Force psychiatrist during the Korean War. I treated many patients diagnosed with combat-related illnesses, including those who would be diagnosed today with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.
I became a candidate at the Institute for Psychoanalysis in Chicago.
I liked the fact that we were presented with excellent proponents of various theoretical perspectives who might disagree, but remained within the same institute. Among my teachers was Heinz Kohut, whose major course was Ego Psychology. He taught Freud’s “Problem of Anxiety,” and the work of
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Hartmann, Kris, and Loewenstein. There was no hint of Kohut’s later focus on Narcissism and what would later evolve into Self Psychology.
As medical students, Joe and I were delighted by the arrival from Harvard of a new chairman of the psychiatry department, Jacob Finesinger. With the assistance of a prominent professor of internal medicine and other colleagues who had been infl uenced by their experiences in World War II, Finesinger revolutionized the department and gained the respect of faculty and stu- dents. (Our class invited him to give the graduation address.) He secured my admiration during my fi nal year of medical school. I had been assigned to liaison psychiatry, where I interviewed a 16-year-old girl who had been admitted to neurosurgery for a prefrontal lobotomy to be performed by the head of that department. She was to undergo this procedure because she was considered to be “out of control” and “incorrigible.” By today’s standards, she would be considered to be only a moderately troubled adolescent. I was able to arrange an urgent psychiatric consultation and subsequent presenta- tion to Dr. Finesinger, who had the courage to cancel the operation and face the wrath of the powerful and long-established chairman of neurosurgery.
While I was in residency training in Chicago at the Institute for Psychosomatic and Psychiatric Research and Training, headed by Roy Grinker Sr., David Hamburg, and Melvin Sabshin, Joe completed his residency in Baltimore at Spring Grove State Hospital and Sheppard Pratt, headed by Lewis Hill, whom he greatly admired. Joe later became the Clinical Director of Sheppard Pratt. Upon the completion of his psy- choanalytic training at the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. Psychoanalytic Institute, he joined the Washington Psychoanalytic Society and Institute. He also became a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine. Joe’s educational interests culminated in the establish- ment of the Institute of Contemporary Psychotherapy along with a small group of founding members. It evolved into the Institute of Contemporary Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis which provides active training programs in both psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. The Institute offers special lec- tures, classes, seminars, and workshops for professionals in a number of related disciplines with an emphasis on learning together.
Joe Lichtenberg’s creativity continues to fl ourish with his many papers, books, lectures, and workshops that take place throughout America and around the world. Joe also became the fi rst elected president of the International Association for Psychoanalytic Self Psychology, and he has worked diligently to make it a truly international organization. While I was at the Chicago Institute, I became the director of a large community mental health clinic. My old friend and classmate, Ernie Wolf, had come to Chicago and we enjoyed sailing together on Lake Michigan with our two young sons.
Ernie began his long and productive collaboration with Heinz Kohut.
I returned to Washington, D.C. in 1963, where I practiced psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, primarily with young adults and adolescents. For the
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next 40 years I taught at the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute, where I was chairman of the Psychoanalytic Technique track and was a member of the Candidates’ Progress Committee. As program chairman, I brought some of my most esteemed teachers from Chicago and arranged a workshop on Heinz Kohut’s recently published book on narcissism. I was also a clinical associate professor at Georgetown University School of Medicine, where I taught psychotherapy for 40 years. I became one of the founding members of the Institute of Contemporary Psychotherapy where I was also on the fac- ulty and Chairman of the Candidates Progress Committee.
A few years after I returned to Washington, Joe Lichtenberg moved to the area from Baltimore. I discovered that he lived nearby when my son told me that he had hitched a ride to school from someone in a nearby community. It turned out to be my old friend Joe! We have remained close friends as well as sailing shipmates. Sailing together on the Chesapeake Bay provided countless opportunities for discussion, which often turned to Joe’s theoretical ideas as they were evolving. Sometimes our conversations were interrupted by the rapid approach of cargo ships, and Joe’s naval experi- ence served him well, as he would tack just in time (I would have preferred to come-about much sooner, but he has always been right – so far!). Over the years, Joe and his wife, Charlotte, and my wife Lynne and I spent many evenings and weekends together.
When Joe was writing a book (when wasn’t he?), we would frequently be presented with a chapter that he had just completed. Charlotte’s back- ground in literature and Lynne’s experiences as a teacher and educational innovator often offered valuable perspectives. Joe was always interested in our reactions and open to considering our opinions, and we enjoyed seeing his creative process in action.
From the vantage point of 65 years of friendship and professional asso- ciation, Joe’s remarkable attributes are evident. It is obvious that he pos- sesses a keen and highly developed intellect. For as long as I have known him, Joe has never accepted the idea that what is being presented as authoritative is the fi nal word. At the same time, he is no bomb-throwing rebel. He considers what is presented, may master the subject or even teach it. (He taught ego-psychology, as did Kohut, many years ago, before their own interest and perspectives diverged.) Joe has respect for the value of his own ideas, and he does not abandon them if they do not meet with immediate acceptance or acclaim. I remember attending a workshop at a meeting of the American Psychoanalytic Association where Joe presented his outline of Motivational Systems Theory. Someone in the audience rose and exclaimed, “Joe, why are you doing this to us?” Joe remained unfl ap- pable; he anticipates that new ideas will inevitably meet with resistance, just as a patient’s rejection of an interpretation does not mean that the interpretation was wrong, but that the patient might not be ready to have long-held beliefs challenged.
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Confi dence in one’s own ideas when they diverge from the accepted wisdom of the time is characteristic of all who advance knowledge in every academic fi eld. In addition, Joe has a truly remarkable ability to integrate concepts from varied disciplines. He discovers those currents which are moving in a similar direction, and while giving credit to their originators, joins them in moving the stream forward, ever closer to achieving the most useful and accurate understanding of the complex- ities of the human mind. It is important to note that Joe subjects his own ideas to critical re-evaluation and modifi cation. They often derive from his clinical experience, and he tests and revises them in the crucible of the clinical exchange.
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8
JOE AND CHARLOTTE
Linda Gunsberg , Ph.D.
It was the Infant Psychiatry Congress in Nice, France, April, 1983, and Passover. The Congress had arranged for a Passover Seder at the hotel. I was alone and, within seconds, was motioned over to an empty big round table by Joe and Charlotte Lichtenberg. And this was the beginning of my rela- tionship with both Charlotte and Joe.
A few months later, Joe called me and invited me to sit on the Editorial Board of the newly formed journal, Psychoanalytic Inquiry . I was shocked since we hardly knew each other. But after someone at the Infant Psychiatry Congress told me he knew me through my publications on fatherhood and had imagined me to be much older than I was when he met me, I was pre- pared for any mistaken identity and even transferences. Lo and behold, when I asked Joe on what basis he was inviting me to be on the Editorial Board, he answered, “You remind me of my grandmother and she was a very smart woman.” Twenty-seven years later, during the interviews with Joe for this book, I began to understand who this grandmother was.
Although pregnant with twins, I could not resist Joe’s offer. It was an extraordinary professional opportunity and I accepted, not knowing for sure if I was Joe’s grandmother reincarnated or myself, but delighted either way.
My fi rst issue for Psychoanalytic Inquiry was Application of Infant Research to Adult Psychoanalytic Treatment. Joe attentively listened to my fi rst drafts of the prologue and epilogue, and made a few suggestions. This is how he mentored, and this is how I learned. Before long, he was calling me and asking me to listen to drafts of his work. Again, I had to remind myself that I was Joe’s grandmother. His confi dence in me and his confi dence in himself in guiding me worked well for both of us. I always felt I wanted to do my best and would often fi nd myself taking big leaps, not necessarily
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feeling I was prepared or ready for them. But I knew, there was Joe, my safety net, who was available to catch me if needed.
I rose to the occasion as an issue editor of Psychoanalytic Inquiry , in terms of creating and developing ideas and implementing them. My inte- grative abilities matured and my editing and organizational skills launched me on my own writing career beyond Psychoanalytic Inquiry . Joe also gen- erously offered to include a co-edited volume, Fathers and Their Families (Cath, Gurwitt, & Gunsberg, 1989), into the Psychoanalytic Inquiry Book Series.
Perhaps because I met Joe with Charlotte initially, I still always think of them as a couple. Charlotte attended the Psychoanalytic Inquiry Editorial Board breakfast meetings at the Waldorf Astoria, and I so much looked for- ward to seeing her – like in France – at meals, in elegant hotels, and seated at big circular tables. Charlotte made me feel special and always asked how I was doing and how were my children. She knew I was co-editing a Psychoanalytic Inquiry issue, The Adoption Journey , and told me she looked forward to reading it. After it came out in 2010, Charlotte spontaneously told me, “You know Linda, I read your adoption issue cover to cover and you didn’t miss anything.” This is the way Charlotte talked. She was direct, to the point, and laudatory when this was deserved.
I found Charlotte to be a quiet person, comfortable in her own skin, and not needing to talk a lot. I appreciated our conversations, and hung onto every word. I found her to be strong and she shared her strength with those around her.
In some unspoken ways, Charlotte and Joe were a strong team towards whom people gravitated because they would always make room for you.
They never felt crowded around a table when they invited you to join them.
I never felt there was not enough room at their table for me. For the past two years and some, Joe has had to carry the Charlotte and Joe torch on his own, but I can tell you, she is always right by his side.