Obituary of Larry Karlin Michelson

Larry K. Michelson, Ph.D., age 64, died on March 22, 2017 at home, after a long, courageous, and hard fought battle from complications of a chronic condition. This made it increasingly difficult, and eventually impossible, for him to continue the pursuit of the career he had devoted his life to: clinical psychology and psychotherapy research. Dr. Michelson was born on November 6, 1952 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He completed his undergraduate degree in psychology at Temple University and earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Nova University in Florida. He was awarded a post-doctoral position at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic/University of Pittsburgh which evolved into a tenured associate professorship in psychology and psychiatry. In 1989, he moved to State College, PA after accepting a full professorship at Penn State's Psychology Department at the extremely young age of 36. As a result of his illness, Dr. Michelson retired from Penn State in 2002. Over the course of his all-too-short career, Dr. Michelson earned an international reputation for his work in psychotherapy and clinical research. He received dozens of awards for academic and research excellence including being made a Fellow of the International Society for the Study of Dissociation in recognition of his distinguished contributions to the field. His prolific writings included hundreds of journal articles, chapters, and books, focused on basic and applied research and the development of treatments for people suffering from anxiety disorders and histories of abuse. This work spanned children, adolescents, and adults, and was translated into many languages. As a result of his tireless work ethic and numerous research grants, Dr. Michelson was able to provide effective treatments for hundreds of people with debilitating anxiety disorders and, in order to serve even more people in need, he often waived a portion of his own research compensation in order to redirect those funds back to the clinical research programs. He was similarly generous as an educator, and delivered hundreds of free presentations and closely taught and mentored hundreds of devoted students. His personal interests were pursued as passionately as his academic ones. He was an avid long distance cyclist, runner, student of the martial arts and eastern philosophies, loved all things related to the sea (e.g., scuba-diving, snorkeling, boating, rafting, and swimming), had a great love of animals and the outdoors, and enjoyed the arts, reading, travel, technology, Buddhism, astrology, and vegetarianism. He was very passionate about human rights and social justice, and along with his professional work, was also a longstanding member of many different charitable organizations. Above all, he was a loving and devoted father and is survived by his only child, Rachel Ariel Michelson, and his wife of twenty-three years, Sandra Testa Michelson, Ph.D., both of whom reside in State College. He is also survived by his mother, Ellin Karlin Blumenthal of Philadelphia, and three brothers: Gary K. Michelson, M.D., of Los Angeles, Eric Michelson, M.D. of Haverford, and Mark Michelson, Esq. of Miami. He was preceded in death by his father, Norman Michelson, of Florida, and his step-father, Bernhard Blumenthal, also of Philadelphia. Larry is also survived by 14 nieces and nephews, and many more cousins, aunts, and uncles. Family and friends remember Larry as a brilliant, determined, loyal, and passionate man who loved life, had a razor-sharp sense of humor and a very compassionate soul. He will always be dearly missed by those who knew him and loved him. Services will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Larry's memory to the local Women's Resource Center, SPCA or a charity of the donor's choice. Arrangements are under the care of Koch Funeral Home, State College. Online condolences and signing of the guest book may be entered at www.kochfuneralhome.com. The family also wishes to express heartfelt gratitude for all of the caregivers who assisted with Larry's care in more recent years, with a special thank you to Genea Duck and her staff for their loving commitment to Larry's well-being.