Home > Encyclopedia of Psychology > Nathan Ward Ackerman

1908-1971
Psychologist and educator noted for his work as a family therapist, particularly for his ability to look beyond the traditional assessment of families and to accurately assess the way that family members relate to each other.

Nathan Ward Ackerman was born in Bessarabia, Russia on November 22, 1908. His parents were pharmacist David Ackerman and Bertha (Greenberg) Ackerman. They came to the United States in 1912, and were naturalized in 1920. He was married to Gwendolyn Hill on October 10, 1937. They had two daughters, Jeanne and Deborah.

Ackerman attended a public school in New York City. In 1929 he was awarded a B.A. from Columbia University, and in 1933 earned his M.D. from the same university. After a short spell (1933–34) as an intern at the Montefiore Hospital in New York, he interned at the Menninger Clinic and Sanitorium in Topeka, Kansas. He joined their psychiatric staff...