Harold P Blum MD

Dr. Harold Blum, former Director of the Sigmund Freud Archives and former editor of the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, leaves behind a vast body of work. Over his six decades as a practicing psychoanalyst he published nearly 200 scientific papers, wrote or edited ten books, and taught students and colleagues across four continents. He made significant contributions in advancing psychoanalytic theory, particularly in modernizing the psychoanalytic understanding of female psychology. In 1976, he was the inaugural winner of the Margaret Mahler Prize for distinguished contributions to child psychoanalysis, and in 1996 he was one of the inaugural winners of the Sigourney Award, the most prestigious award of the psychoanalytic profession.

Harold Blum was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1929 to Jewish immigrant parents who came to the U.S. from Eastern Europe with little education but a dream that their children would find opportunity in their adopted country. Dr. Blum obtained his bachelor’s degree at Cornell and his medical degree from Boston University. While at Cornell he met Elsa Fienberg. They married in 1952, and in 1957 they moved to Long Island where he established his psychoanalytic practice. Self-taught, he wrote his first psychoanalytic paper, which is still cited, before beginning his psychiatric and psychoanalytic training.

In the ensuing years, his scholarship ranged across numerous clinical topics including dreams, trauma and technique. As editor of one of the world's leading psychoanalytic journals, he spearheaded a reexamination of female psychology. Freud’s early views of women, while remarkably insightful in some ways, were also colored by the more sexist era in which Freud lived. Dr. Blum led an effort to address some of the shortcomings in understanding female psychology and to expand contemporary understanding of women. He also had a particular interest in, and wrote a book about, “Reconstruction,” which refers to the psychoanalytic effort to fully comprehend the patient’s childhood emotional struggles so as to help liberate the patient from them.

His interest in patients’ personal histories was complemented by a profound interest in the history of psychoanalysis itself. He acquired extraordinary knowledge of Sigmund Freud and the earliest psychoanalysts. This added depth to his writing and led to his appointment as Executive Director of the Sigmund Freud Archives, where he worked to open as many previously restricted documents as possible for public study.

In addition to his clinical papers, he wrote extensively about psychoanalytic understanding of literature and visual art. He had particular interests in Proust, Van Gogh, and Leonardo Da Vinci, and for many years he organized international conferences on psychoanalysis and art in Florence, Italy.

In addition to his many professional accomplishments, he was a devoted husband, brother, father, and grandfather. After more than 71 years of marriage, his final words to his wife were that they had a great marriage. In addition to his wife, Elsa, he is survived by his sister, Roslyn Goldner; three children, Lawrence Blum, MD, (Diane Blum), Linda Blum, PhD, and Daniel Blum (Katherine Stone); four grandchildren, Isaac Blum (Kelly Siderio), Amy Blum (Nathaniel Josephs), William Blum and Charlotte Blum, and one great-grandchild, Gabriel Josephs.

A funeral chapel service for Harold will be held Sunday, March 31, 2024 from 10:00 AM to 10:45 PM at RIVERSIDE NASSAU NORTH CHAPES, 55 North Station Plaza, Great Neck, New York 11021. Following the funeral chapel service will be a committal service from 11:30 AM to 12:15 PM at Beth David Cemetery, 300 Elmont Road, Elmont, New York.