Obituary: Arthur Cohen

Dr. Arthur M. Cohen passed away peacefully Monday, Feb. 26, 2018, at his home, surrounded by his family.

He was born in New York on Oct. 29, 1932. In 1935 his family moved to Boston. In 1944, Dr. Cohen was admitted, through examination, to Boston Latin School, where he prepared for college in 1950. During his school years he received several awards for outstanding scholarship in the classics. He was also accepted into the National Honor Society. Dr. Cohen in 1950 entered Harvard College, where he was awarded a Harvard College Scholarship. He graduated in 1954 with a major in psychology. Subsequently, he was accepted into the graduate program at Boston University, where he received his M.A. in psychology in 1955 and subsequently enrolled in the doctoral program for clinical psychology.

During the years from 1955 to 1959, when he earned his Ph.D., Dr. Cohen was awarded teaching assistantships and teaching fellowships and became the first Guttman Fellow at the Boston University Human Relations Center. Intense interdisciplinary training in organization and community leadership intervention served as the foundation for his later applied work as a consultant to government, industrial, educational and religious institutions inside and outside the United States, where he assisted organizational leaders in dealing with individual, interpersonal and intergroup tensions. In 1958, Dr. Cohen engaged in highly regarded laboratory research sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, Group Psychology Branch. As project director, Dr. Cohen based his doctoral dissertation on his project work, which was subsequently published in article and monograph forms. In 1959 he was awarded his Ph.D., followed by a post-doctoral year at Boston University.

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In 1960, Dr. Cohen accepted a position as assistant professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, where he continued his research, additionally sponsored by the National Science Foundation. During this period he was accepted into the Professional National Science Society. Dr. Cohen’s training as a practitioner in dealing with individuals, groups and organizations was advanced and recognized through an additional yearlong internship with the National Training Laboratories, where he served as an adjunct staff member and as a fellow during the period of 1960 to 1963. In 1963, Dr. Cohen accepted an appointment as associate professor at Emory University in Atlanta. His teaching, laboratory work and practitioner practice continued at Emory until 1966, when he accepted a position as professor at Georgia State University, where he helped develop and expand the undergraduate and graduate programs in psychology.

At age 37, Dr. Cohen was one of the youngest faculty members to be appointed a full professor with tenure. For his teaching activities, he received the award for being the Outstanding Professor at Georgia State University. He also received numerous awards for participating in community leadership activities, including the award from the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce as the Outstanding Professional Educator in Atlanta. During this period and shortly afterward, Dr. Cohen wrote several professional books and numerous articles published in professional journals. In 1972, Dr. Cohen was awarded the diplomate in clinical psychology, representing the highest national certification as a board-certified clinical psychologist, granted by the American Board of Professional Psychology. Since 1972, Dr. Cohen had been in full-time private clinical and consulting practice in Atlanta. He had also been a member of the Georgia Psychological Association, the American Psychological Association, the Council for the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology, and the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, and he was a fellow of the American Academy of Clinical Psychology.

During his more than 55 years in Atlanta, Dr. Cohen had been a member of Congregation Shearith Israel, where he served on the board of directors and where he and his wife, Lois, were awarded the Distinguished Service Award for their service to the synagogue and its members. In their later years, Dr. and Mrs. Cohen became associate members of Congregation Or Hadash, where his children had become members. As a psychologist for over 50 years, Dr. Cohen served the therapeutic needs of thousands of patients who will remember his loving care and patient help.

Dr. Cohen was a devoted husband, father and grandfather. Dr. Cohen is survived by Lois, his beloved wife of 56½ years, and his children, Dr. Lee I. Cohen and his wife, Debra; Dr. Deborah Cohen Wilder; Mrs. Roz Cohen and her wife, Erin; and Ms. Janis R. Cohen. Dr. Cohen was a devoted grandfather to his five grandchildren: Sophia Wilder, Justin Cohen, Samuel Wilder, Rebecca Cohen and Benjamin Wilder. He was predeceased by his brothers, Bob Cohen and Calvin Cohen, and he is survived by his sister, Anita Kornbleit. Arrangements made by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.