Arnold P. Goldstein

Arnold P. Goldstein (1933 to 2002) was an American psychologist, born in Brooklyn, who spent his whole academic career at Syracuse University. After finishing the clinical psychology programme at Pennsylvania State University in 1959 he joined Syracuse as a professor of psychology in 1963 and became emeritus professor in 1997. He directed the university's Counseling and Psychotherapy Center, co-founded the Society for the Scientific Study of Clinical Psychology, and in 1983 took the initiative to found the Center for Research on Aggression. He is best known for aggression replacement training and for developing the skillstreaming method, a structured way of teaching social skills to young people, work that makes him a figure in applied educational and psychoeducational practice as well as in clinical psychology. He also led a New York State task force on juvenile gangs. His books include Psychotherapy and the Psychology of Behavior Change (1966) and Helping People Change (1975), and his honours include a 1996 career achievement award from the American Psychological Association.