- 1966 BA Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY
- 1970 Three-year Public Health Service Fellowship, NIMH
- 1970-1971 Clinical Internship, Montefiore Hospital and Medical Center, Bronx, NY
- 1973 Ph.D. Yeshiva University, New York, NY
- 1974 Post-doctoral Fellowship in Neurophysiology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Hospital and Medical Center, Bronx, NY
- 1974-1976 Post-doctoral Fellowship in Clinical Psychology, Austen Riggs Center, Stockbridge, MA
- 1976-1978 Advances post-doctoral Fellowship in Clinical Psychology, Austen Riggs Center, Stockbridge, MA
- 1978-1982 Staff Psychologist, Austen Riggs Center, Stockbridge, MA
I received my B.A. from Hofstra University in 1966 and my Ph.D. from Yeshiva University’s Ferkauf Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences in New York City in 1973. As a graduate student I was awarded a three-year Public Health Service Fellowship from the National Institute of Health. Following the completion of my course work, I did my Clinical Internship at Montefiore Hospital and Medical Center, Bronx New York from 1970-1971. Upon completion of my clinical internship I was awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Neurophysiology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Hospital and Medical Center, Bronx New York from 1971-1974. During my tenure as a Postdoctoral Fellow I was able to maintain a full clinical caseload to add to my previous experience. I recall at this time that a senior member of the department made a comment to the effect that it takes about ten years to make a good clinician. I took this to heart because it made sense to me and decided to pursue postdoctoral training in clinical psychology.
I applied to and was accepted as a Postdoctoral Fellow in Clinical Psychology at the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge, Massachusetts from 1974-1976. For those of you who might not know, the Austen Riggs Center was and remains one of the finest private mental health facilities in the country. What is unique to Austen Riggs is that it is a completely open psychiatric hospital. What this means is that patients dress in street clothes and come and go as they please without passes or permission. There are no locked units. It is as close to independent living under supervision (perhaps a bit of an oxymoron) as possible. Medications were used sparingly and only when deemed clinically necessary. Patients were seen 4 to 5 hours weekly in a caseload could be as high as five inpatients. The work was intense and the learning curve steep. Unlike other psychiatric institutions, we lacked the physical restraints and intimidations that could force compliance so you really had to learn how to talk and to listen. At the completion of my two-year Postdoctoral Fellowship in Clinical Psychology I applied for a two-year Advanced Postdoctoral Fellowship in Clinical Psychology from 1976 – 1978.
- 1981-1982 Co-Director of Admissions, Austen Riggs Center, Stockbridge MA
- 1978-1982 Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
- 1983-1985 Director of Assessment, Psychological Services Center, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
- 1988-1991 Clinical Consultant and Supervisor, Student Counseling Center, Bennington College, Bennington VT
- 1983-1993 Clinical Consultant, Berkshire Learning Center, Pittsfield, MA
- 1993-1997 Clinical Director, Berkshire Learning and Residential Treatment Center, Pittsfield, MA
- 1982-2017 Private Clinical Practice (full-time) Stockbridge and Williamstown, MA, Manchester, VT
- 2017-present Private Clinical Practice (full-time) Boca Raton, FL
- Alaby-Varma, T. & Spiro, R. H. (2020, June). Teletherapy: A must for the modern world. The Integrative Therapist, 6(2), 14-16.
- Spiro, R. H., & Devenis, L.E. (2000): Enhancement of the therapeutic process. In J. K. Aronson (Ed.), Use of the telephone in psychotherapy (pp. 45-79), Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.
- Spiro, R. H., & Devenis, L. E. (1991): Telephone therapy: Enhancement of the therapeutic process. Psychotherapy in Private Practice9 (4), pp. 31-55.
- Spiro, R. H., & Devenis, L. E. (1989): The use of oneself: From transitional object to illusion in art. In M. G. Fromm & B. L. Smith (Eds.), The facilitating environment: Clinical applications of Winnicott’s theory (pp. 238-254). Madison, CT: International Universities Press.
- Spiro, R. H., & Spiro, T. W. (1981): Transitional phenomena and developmental issues in borderline Rorschachs. In J. S. Kwawer, H. D. Lerner, P. M. Lerner, & A. Sugarman (Eds.), Borderline phenomena and the Rorschach test (pp. 189-202). New York: International Universities Press.
- Spiro, R.H. (1974): Language and thinking in the child: A cognitive developmental approach. Dissertation Abstracts International 35 (1).
- Spiro, R. H., Adrien, J., & Roffwarg, H. P. (1974): Effects of binocular visual deprivation on the development of LGN monophasic waves in REM sleep in functionally blind kittens. In M. Chase, W. Stern, & P. Walters (Eds.), Sleep ResearchVol. 3 (p. 30). Los Angeles: Brain Information Service/Brain Research Institute. (Abstract).
- Spiro, R. H., & Kolbert, G. S. (1974): A new technique for functional visual deprivation. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology 37, pp. 654-656.
- Roffwarg, H., Adrien, J., Herman, J., Lamstein, S., Pessah, M., Spiro, R. H., &
- Bowe-Anders, C. (1973): The place of middle ear muscle activity in the neurophysiology and psychophysiology of the REM state. In M. Chase, W. Stern, & P.Walters (Eds.). Sleep Research Vol. 2 (p. 36). Los Angeles: Brain Information Service/Brain Research Institute. (Abstract).
- Silverman, L. H., Pettit, T. F., Goldweber, A., & Spiro, R. H. (1971): Procedure for study of reality testing in schizophrenics. Perceptual and Motor Skills 33, pp. 859-862.
- Silverman, L. H., Spiro, R. H., Weisberg, J. S., & Candell, P. (1969): The effects of aggressive activation and the need to merge on pathological thinking in schizophrenia. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 148, pp. 39-51.
- Spiro, R. H., & Silverman, L. H. (1969): The effects of body awareness and aggressive activation on the cognitive functioning of schizophrenics. Perceptual and Motor Skills 28, pp. 575-585.
- Silverman, L. H., & Spiro, R. H. (1968): The effects of subliminal, supraliminal and vocalized aggression on the ego functioning of schizophrenics. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 146, pp. 50-61.
- Silverman, L H., & Spiro, R. H. (1967). A further investigation of the effects of subliminal aggressive stimulation on the ego functioning of schizophrenics. Journal of Consulting Psychology 31, pp. 225-232.
- Silverman, L. H., & Spiro, R. H. (1967). Some comments on the partial cue controversy and other matters relevant to investigations of subliminal phenomena. Perceptual and Motor Skills 25, pp. 325-338.
- Spiro, R. H., & Devenis, L. E. Telephone therapy: Enhancement of the therapeutic process. Annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Boston, MA 1990.
- Spiro, R. H., & Devenis, L. E. The importance of paradox in Winnicott’s theory of development. Symposium The Facilitating Environment: Further Clinical Applications of Winnicott’s Theories, annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C. 1982.
- Spiro, R. H., & Devenis, L. E. The use of oneself: From transitional object to illusion in art. Symposium The Facilitating Environment: Clinical Applications of Winnicott’s Theories annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Los Angeles, CA 1981.
- Spiro, R. H. Modifications of technique in the treatment of schizophrenia. Symposium Working Therapeutically with the Severely Disturbed Patient, Austen Riggs Center, Stockbridge, MA, March 1978.
- Spiro, R. H. The formation of a therapeutic alliance: An overview of intensive psychotherapy with a young, paranoid schizophrenic woman. William Alanson White Institute, New York, NY, May 1976.
Academy of Clinical Psychology (Fellow)
Diploma No. 0621
January 1994
American Board of Professional Psychology
(Board Certification in Clinical Psychology)
Diploma No. 3505
8/16/83
American Psychological Association
Member No. 1459-1378
1975
Council for the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology
Certificate No. 18803
8/2/76
As a licensed therapist in Boca Raton, who has practiced for more than 40 years, I have developed a profound understanding of the range of issues that clients present and have tailored my approach to delivering relief effectively and empathically.
Massachusetts: Psychologist and Health Service Provider
Certificate of Registration No. 1696
Issued: 11/18/75
New York: Psychologist
License No. 4541
Issued: 3/29/74
Florida: Psychologist
License No. PY9850
Issued: 5/10/2017
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(413) 441-9261
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