2000 PhD, The New School for Social Research, New York
1994 MA, The New School for Social Research, New York
1990 BA, Psychology, Hunter College of the City University of New York
Professor Gottdiener received his BA in psychology from Hunter College of the City University of New York. He received his MA in general psychology and his PhD in clinical psychology from The New School for Social Research and subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship in substance abuse research at National Development and Research Institutes that was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. He also received additional postdoctoral training in psychoanalysis (PA), psychodynamic therapy (PDT), supportive-expressive therapy (SET), and in intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy (ISTDP). He is board certified in psychoanalysis in psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology.
He has been a faculty member at John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York (CUNY) since the fall of 2003. He is also a faculty member of the Graduate Center--CUNY. He is a licensed psychologist in New York and maintains an active part-time clinical practice. His theoretical orientation is psychodynamic and integrative.
Recent Teaching
Drugs and Crime
Evidence-Based Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
Psychology of Addictive Disorders
Current Editorial Boards
2021-Present Editorial Board Member: Psychological Bulletin
2021-Present Editorial Board Member: The Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association
2007-Present Editorial Board Member: Psychoanalytic Psychology
Professional Memberships/Affiliations
- American Board & Academy of Psychoanalysis
- American Psychoanalytic Association
- American Psychological Association
- Association for Research in Personality
- China American Psychoanalytic Association
- International Psychoanalytic Association
- International Psychoanalytic Association—Addictions Working Group
- International Society for Neuropsychoanalysis
Gottdiener, W. H. (2021). Supportive-expressive psychodynamic psychotherapy for the treatment of opioid use disorder. Psychodynamic Psychiatry, 49(3), 488-403.
Weber, S., Gottdiener, W. H., & Chou, C. (2021). The relationship between defense mechanisms and psychopathic traits in an Internet sample. The Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 85(3), 271-282.
Whitman, C., & Gottdiener, W. H. (2015). Implicit coping styles as a predictor of aggression. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma, 24(7, 809-824.
Prout, T., Gerber, L. E., & Gottdiener, W. H. (2015). Trauma and substance abuse: The role of defenses and religious engagement. Mental Health, Religion, and Culture, 18(2), 123-133.
Corbin, J., Gottdiener, W. H., Sirikantraporn, S., Armstrong, J. L., & Probber,S. 2013). Prevalence of substance abuse treatment education in American Psychological Association accredited clinical and counseling psychology doctoral programs. Addiction Research and Theory, 21(4, 269272.
Fellow: The American Board and Academy of Psychoanalysis
Fellow: The American Psychological Association in Divisions 1, 12, 39, 50
Fellow: The International Psychoanalytic Association
Honoree: The Research and Scholarship Award of the Society of Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psaychology (Division 39) of the American Psychological Association.
Outstanding Mentor Award: The Ronald E. McNair Post Baccalaureate Achievement Program at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
CURRENT RESEARCH INTERESTS
RESEARCH ON DEFENSE MECHANISMS
Professor Gottdiener is especially active in the disciplines of psychoanalytic psychology and personality psychology. Professor Gottdiener's research focuses on mental processes known as defense mechanisms, which are sometimes thought of as unconconscious automatic coping and self-regulatory mechanisms. Professor Gottdiener's current reseearch largely focuses on understanding the role that defense mechanisms play in people with addictive disorders and the role they play in people with dark personality traits which include, psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism, antisocial personality, and sadism. Defense mechanisms in "normal" everyday psychological functioning is also a topic of current research. Professor Gottdiener is also interested in how to work with defense mechanisms in psychotherapy to foster change.
RESEARCHH ON DOCTORAL EDUCATION ON ADDICTIVE DISORDERS
Another research interest of Professor Gottdiener's is how to improve training in addictive disorders in clinical and counseling psychology doctoral programs, of which there is a dearth of trainig opportunities.