Theodore H. Blau
Theodore H. Blau (1928-2003) was a notable clinical psychologist known for his contributions to police training and forensic psychology. He earned both his master's and doctoral degrees from Pennsylvania State University and completed postdoctoral training at a Veteran's Administration Hospital. After relocating to Tampa, Florida, he established a successful clinical practice focusing on child and cognitive psychology and behavior modification. Over his career, Blau became prominent in both academic and clinical settings, teaching at institutions like the University of South Florida.
In the 1980s, he transitioned to police psychology, lecturing at the FBI Academy on the credibility of child witnesses and serving as a chief inspector for a sheriff's behavioral science unit. Blau was recognized for his expertise with multiple honors, including serving as the president of the American Psychological Association, where he was the first independent clinical psychologist to hold the position. While he also consulted for the tobacco industry, arguing against the characterization of smoking as an addiction, his influence on forensic psychology and the establishment of clinical practice standards has had a lasting impact. Blau's extensive publication record includes technical books on various psychological topics, marking him as a significant figure in the field.
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Theodore H. Blau
- Born: March 3, 1928
- Birthplace: Huntington, West Virginia
- Died: January 28, 2003
- Place of death: St. Petersburg, Florida
TYPE OF PSYCHOLOGY: Motivation; social psychology
Blau was a clinical psychologist whose research and writings included police training and forensic psychology.
Life
Theodore H. Blau was a clinical psychologist whose research was in police training and forensic psychology. He received his master’s degree in psychology in 1949 and his doctorate in psychology in 1951 from Pennsylvania State University. His postdoctoral training from 1951 to 1952 was at the United States (US) Veteran’s Administration Hospital at Perry Point, Maryland. He was a follower of B. F. Skinner and Kenneth B. Clark. After moving to Tampa, Florida, in 1955, he developed a successful private clinical practice specializing in child and cognitive psychology and behavior modification. Blau became prominent over the next thirty years in academic and clinical psychology. During the 1970s and 1980s, he taught psychology to undergraduate and graduate students at academic institutions, including the University of South Florida. In 1985, he began work in police psychology and lectured regularly at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Academy in Quantico, Virginia, on the credibility of child witnesses. He was a chief inspector of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Behavioral Science Unit for more than ten years. He testified as a psychological expert for prosecutors at the District Attorney’s Office of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee. Blau wrote technical books in forensic psychology, including The Psychologist as Expert Witness (1984).
Blau was elected president of the American Psychological Association in 1977, becoming the first independent clinical psychologist to be elected. That year, Pennsylvania State University honored him as an alumni fellow. He was named an honorary life member of the New York Society of Clinical Psychologists and received the Distinguished Service Award of the Florida Psychological Association, the Distinguished Contribution Award of the Philadelphia Society of Clinical Psychologists, and the Distinguished Psychologist Award of the California State Psychological Association.
Blau was an expert on drug addiction. As a tobacco industry consultant, he repeatedly testified before the US Congress that tobacco smoking was a “habit not an addiction.” In 1988, before the House Subcommittee on Health and the Environment, he maintained that “There is no substantial scientific evidence that smoking creates a physical dependence to nicotine” and criticized the surgeon general’s report, The Health Consequences of Smoking: Nicotine Addiction (1988). Blau argued that tobacco smoking was a habit rather than an addiction because it did not cause intoxication, and its withdrawal symptoms were no worse than those experienced by people who stopped using caffeine. He argued that smokers choose to smoke, and ceasing to smoke was also a matter of choice.
Despite these questionable statements, Blau's contributions to forensic psychology cannot be overlooked. He was critically influential in defining how to practice forensics and document forensic investigation. Blau published frequently, writing books not only on forensic psychology but also child psychology, cognitive function in psychology, behavior modification, and psychotherapy techniques. Further, Blau was instrumental in creating standards of practice for clinical psychologists.
Bibliography
Barclay, Alan, and Fred L. Alberts, Jr. "Theodore Hertzl Blau." American Psychologist, vol. 59, no. 1, 2004, p. 41.
Blau, Theodore H. The Forensic Documentation Sourcebook: The Complete Paperwork Resource for Forensic Mental Health Practice. New York: Wiley, 2004.
Blau, Theodore H. Psychotherapy Tradecraft: The Technique & Style of Doing Therapy. Hoboken: Taylor, 2014.
Gifford, Olivia. "Noted Psychologist Theodore Blau." Tampa Bay Times, 1 Feb. 2003, www.tampabay.com/archive/2003/02/01/noted-psychologist-theodore-blau. Accessed 25 Sept. 2024.
Krieshok, Thomas S. "Psychologists and Counselors in the Legal System: A Dialogue with Theodore Blau." Journal of Counseling and Development, vol. 66, no. 2, 1987, pp. 69–72, doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.1987.tb00801.x. Accessed 25 Sept. 2024.
Trotter, Robert J. "Psychologist with a Badge." Psychology Today, vol. 21, no. 11, 1987, p. 26.