Dr. Robert Gordon: Psychotherapy Part 1

RUSK Insights on Rehabilitation Medicine

Dr. Robert Gordon is the Director of Intern Training and Associate Director of Postdoctoral Fellow Training at Rusk Rehabilitation Institute and Clinical Associate Professor at New York University Grossman School of Medicine. He has been the Director of Intern Training since 1995 and has trained over 270 psychology interns. He has specialties in the areas of neuropsychological and forensic testing and psychotherapy with children and adults with physical and learning disabilities and chronic illness. He has published in the areas of existential-humanistic and relational therapeutic approaches during COVID-19 with patients with preexisting conditions, ethics, supervision, relational psychoanalysis, dream interpretation, pain management, and the use of projective testing in neuropsychology. He received his doctorate from the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University in Child Clinical/School Psychology in 1985 and a Certificate in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy from Adelphi University in 1999.

This is a two part series. In Part 1, he discusses: his role at Rusk and the services his department provides and with what populations; the extent to which telehealth was used prior to the COVID-19 outbreak and how this usage compares to the aftermath of the appearance of this disease; what motivated him to write a recent article entitled “Existential-Humanistic and Relational Approaches During COVID with Patients with Preexisting Medical Conditions;” his description of the meaning of the term Existential-Humanistic Psychotherapy; who some major writers are in the field of Existential-Humanistic Therapy and how their ideas are relevant to dealing with COVID; some psychological challenges of dealing with COVID; and what constitutes relational psychotherapy and what major ideas there are in this approach.

In Part 2, he discusses: some major techniques in applying Existential-Humanistic and Relational approaches with patients with preexisting medical conditions; what Posttraumatic Growth is and what strategies are used in exploring it in psychotherapy; major issues that patients with preexisting issues experience; kinds of therapeutic adjustments that must be made in treating patients with communication impairments; the nature of group work with patients and determining when it is advantageous to use it; and some implications of the paper he wrote regarding clinical practice and society in general.