On October 31, 2011, Clinical Professor Sheldon Weintraub, PhD, the clinical Director of the Inpatient Child Psychiatry Unit, will retire after 43 years at Stony Brook University.
Dr. Weintraub came to Stony Brook in 1968 as an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology where he taught developmental psychopathology and supervised graduate students. For 22 years he was the Director of the Stony Brook Family Project, a prospective research study sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health which investigated precursors and early signs of schizophrenia and affective disorder. He has also collaborated with Gabrielle Carlson, MD, in research of bipolar disorder.
Dr. Weintraub came to the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science in 1991 to work as the chief psychologist in inpatient child psychiatry, where he has been responsible for coordinating intakes and admissions, directing the behavior modification program and parent training program, and assisting in the training of residents and fellows.
Gabrielle Carlson, MD, Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, said that Dr. Weintraub brings wisdom and calmness to the unit. “In an area where feelings can run high,” Dr. Carlson observed, “Dr. Weintraub is able to provide the kind of equanimity necessary to keep everyone focused. I cannot stress enough how important his intellectual wisdom has been. He is so clinically astute; he knows the literature and knows how to translate it into practice.”
David Margulies, MD, Director of the Child Inpatient Service, described Dr. Weintraub as a mentor. “I have learned so much from him both when I was a resident and after. He is a great teacher.” “Dr. Weintraub is a great human being as well,” Paul Grover, RN, added. “He is one of those rare clinicians who has an exquisite grasp of his own discipline but can see around corners to where other disciplines have expertise.”
For his part, Dr. Weintraub is retiring with mixed feelings. “I’ve never felt bored,” he said. “The patients and their families present such complex, challenging problems. I loved what I’ve been doing. But my wife bought me a new bicycle to keep me busy, and I leave knowing that the unit is in good hands.”
