Carol C. Nadelson papers

Carol C. (Cooperman) Nadelson (1936-), B.A., 1957, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, New York; M.D., 1961, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, New York, is Professor of Psychiatry at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. She held academic appointments at Tufts University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Simmons College and hospital appointments at Beth Israel Hospital, Cambridge Hospital, and Dana-Farber Cancer Center. Her career research focused on medical education and women’s mental health.

Carol Nadelson (née Cooperman) was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1936. She received her B.A. from Brooklyn College in 1957 and her M.D. from the University of Rochester School of Medicine in 1961. While at the University of Rochester, she was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society (1961) and received the Benjamin Rush Psychiatry Award (1961). After receiving her M.D., she held a medical internship at the University of Rochester's Strong Memorial Hospital (1961-1962). After completing her internship in Rochester, she moved to Boston and undertook successive residencies in psychiatry at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center (1962-1964) and the Beth Israel Hospital (1964-1966).

Nadelson received her first hospital appointment in 1966 as Assistant in Psychiatry at Beth Israel Hospital, and her first academic appointment in 1968 at the Simmons College School of Social Work. She was appointed Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in 1969, and became a full Professor of Psychiatry in 2009. In 1979, Nadelson was named Professor of Psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine and Vice-Chair of Psychiatry at New England Medical Center (now Tufts Medical Center); Nadelson held an academic position at Tufts until 1993.

Nadelson was Editor-in-Chief of the American Psychiatric Press, Inc., the first woman to hold this position, from 1986 to 2001 and continued to work with the press as Editor Emerita. She was also the founding Director of the Partners Office for Women’s Careers in Brigham and Women’s Hospital in 1998, which provided career development assistance to female faculty and fellows. Nadelson has held positions on various advisory boards, including the Stone Center at Wellesley College, the Menninger Clinic, and the Society for Women's Health Research.

Nadelson was a member of a wide range of professional organizations relating to psychiatry and women’s health, including the American Psychiatric Association, the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society, the Massachusetts Medical Society, the American Medical Women’s Association, the Association for Academic Psychiatry, and the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry. She served as President of the Association for Academic Psychiatry and the American College of Psychiatrists, and was the first female president of the and the American Psychiatric Association. She held positions on the editorial boards of various publications including the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, MEDICA, the American Journal of Family Therapy, Psychiatric Times, and Clinical Psychiatry News. Her published books include The Woman Patient co-authored with Malkah Notman, one of the first books to examine specifically the needs of female patients. For a fuller list of Nadelson's publications, professional affiliations, and positions, researchers should refer to her 2011 CV in Box 60.

Nadelson has also received numerous awards over the course of her career including a fellowship in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2010), the Alma Dea Morani, M.D. Renaissance Woman Award from the Foundation for the History of Women (2009), a Special Presidential Commendation for dedication to the health and well-being of women from the American Psychiatric Association (2000), and a Distinguished Life Fellowship from the Association for Academic Psychiatry (2007).

Carol Cooperman married and had two children with Theodore Nadelson (1930-2003) after her first marriage ended in divorce.