Plenary Panel:
• Exploring the Art of Psychobiography
Panelists: James W. Anderson, Paul H. Elovitz, Joseph G. Ponterotto, Jeffrey B. Rubin, & Inna Rozentsvit (moderator)
(60 min)
Abstract:
This plenary panel examines psychobiography as both art and science — the intensive psychological study of individuals within their unique socio-cultural-historic contexts. Four distinguished scholars will share their expertise in the methodological approaches and practical challenges of psychobiographical work.
The panel promises to reveal the artistic dimensions and rigorous foundations that make psychobiography a vital tool for understanding human experience across cultural, historical, and psychological contexts.
Keywords: childhood influences, cultural context, personality psychology, psychobiography, psychohistory, socio-historical context, transdisciplinary approach
Short Bios:
James William Anderson, PhD, is a specialist in psychobiography. He has published dozens of works in this area, culminating in his 2024 book, Psychobiography: In Search of the Inner Life (Oxford University Press). A Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University, he teaches courses on the Psychology of Film and the Psychology of Personality. He is also a faculty member at the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute and a past president of the Chicago Psychoanalytic Society. He serves on the Editorial Board of “Clio’s Psyche.” He can be reached at j-anderson3@northwestern.
Paul H. Elovitz, PhD, is the founder and leader of the Psychohistory Forum (1982) and founding Editor-in-Chief of Clio’s Psyche (1994). A historian, psychoanalytic researcher, and prolific author of approximately 400 publications, his work spans presidential psychobiography, pedagogy, and the documentation of psychohistory as a field. The first Research Psychoanalyst designated by the New Jersey Institute for Psychoanalysis (2019), founding member and past president of the International Psychohistorical Association, and author of The Making of Psychohistory, editor of The Many Roads of the Builders of Psychohistory, and eight additional books.
Joseph G. Ponterotto, PhD, is a Professor of Counseling Psychology at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Education, Lincoln Center Campus. Author of book-length psychobiographies on Bobby Fischer and John F. Kennedy, Jr. (Charles C Thomas, 2012 & 2019), and the recently published The Psychobiographer’s Handbook: A Practical Guide to Research and Ethics (American Psychological Association, 2025). Co-editor of Beyond WEIRD: Psychobiography in Times of Transcultural and Transdisciplinary Perspectives (Springer, 2023) and author of nearly 30 psychobiography-focused journal articles.
Jeffrey B. Rubin, PhD, practices psychoanalysis and psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy in New York City and North Salem, NY. He teaches at The Object Relations Institute of NY, The American Institute of Psychoanalysis, and the C. G. Jung Institute of NY. A psychohistorian and psychobiographer, he has authored eight books, including A Psychoanalysis for Our Time, The Art of Flourishing, and Psychotherapy Case Studies: Escaping the Prison You Didn’t Know You Were In, and is currently completing two new works in psychobiography. He has lectured internationally on the integration of psychoanalysis, Buddhism, and meditation. Dr. Rubin champions a pluralistic psychoanalysis that draws on the best of all analytic traditions alongside history, art, literature, and anything that illuminates the human condition. Chip Brown described his approach in a 2009 New York Times article as “Enlightenment Therapy.” More information is available at drjeffreyrubin.com.