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Note: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA) - May 18, 2007 Deceased Name: Ex-VCU professor D. J. Kiesler dies
He was known for challenging the tenets of psychotherapy
From the early days of psychotherapy, when a patient came to see a therapist, the therapist would ask himself, "What treatments work?"
Dr. Donald Joseph Kiesler, an internationally known psychotherapy expert who retired at Virginia Commonwealth University, took issue with that premise, the underlying paradigm for his field.
"He said we should be asking 'What particular approach works for this particular person?'' said Dr. Jeremy Safran, professor of psychology and director of clinical training at The New School for Social Research in New York.
"He was a real pioneer - more than 40 years ago - in recognizing the importance of trying to look at psychotherapy in a more nuanced way, individualizing the treatment. In many ways, the field still hasn't caught up with that insight."
Dr. Kiesler, professor emeritus and former director of the doctoral program in clinical psychology at VCU, died Wednesday in a local hospital.
Before coming to VCU, he expressed his views on individualizing treatment in a 1966 scholarly article that was widely heralded as a breathrough publication in the psychology field.
In 1992, the Clinician's Research Digest hailed the article as one of 12 classic articles in the field of clinical psychotherapy.
From 1973 to 1976, Dr. Kiesler was director of the VCU doctoral program in clinical psychology and helped define his department. In 1975 he spearheaded the effort to obtain full accreditation for his program, the first such program accredited in the state. He was director again from 1992 to 1998.
From the beginning he believed that the VCU program could be ranked among the elites in academic psychology, said Dr. Chris Wagner, associate professor in the VCU departments of rehabilitation counseling, psychology and psychiatry.
"This year the program was ranked fifth in the nation in scholarly productivity and was honored as the outstanding training program in child and adolescent psychology by the American Psychological Association - high honors for a program just established in the 1970s at what was then primarily a commuter college."
Dr. Kiesler was also a key figure in the development of interpersonal psychotherapy.
"He said how the client related to the therapist may be reflective of the way the client related to the rest of the world," said Dr. Arnold Stolberg, psychology professor and director of the VCU doctoral program that Dr. Kiesler started.
Born in Louisville, Ky., Dr. Kiesler received a doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Illinois at Champaign.
Survivors include his wife, E. Allison Hall Kiesler; a daughter, Sarah Hall Kiesler; and a son, Benjamin Hall Kiesler, both of Richmond; another son, Barry Donald Kiesler; three brothers, John Valentine Kiesler Jr. of Columbia, Md., Dr. Thomas A. Kiesler of Rockville, Md., and Michael J. Kiesler of St. Louis, Mo.
A funeral will be held Monday at noon at St. Peter Catholic Church, 800 E. Grace St. Burial will be in Hollywood Cemetery.
Published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch from 5/18/2007 - 5/19/2007.
Dr. Donald J. Kiesler, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Clinical Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University, died May 16, 2007. He was predeceased by his infant daughter, Rachel Hall Kiesler. He is survived by his wife, E. Allison Hall Kiesler; three children, Sarah Hall Kiesler, Benjamin Hall Kiesler and Barry Donald Kiesler. He was born in 1933 in Louisville, Kentucky to parents John Valentine Kiesler and Mildred Foushee Kiesler, both deceased. Dr. Kiesler is also survived by his three brothers, John Valentine Kiesler Jr. of Columbia, Maryland, Dr. Thomas A. Kiesler of Rockville, Maryland, and Michael J. Kiesler of St. Louis, Missouri. As a research psychologist, Dr. Kiesler was internationally recognized as a seminal authority in study of contemporary interpersonal psychotherapy. In 1973, Dr. Kiesler assumed directorship of VCU's doctoral program in clinical psychology, and spearheaded its accreditation in 1975 by the American Psychological Association as the first accredited doctoral clinical program in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Dr. Kiesler received his bachelor's degree in 1958 from Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky and his Ph.D. in clinical psychology in 1963 from the University of Illinois. Before arriving at VCU in 1973, he held research and academic positions at Wisconsin Psychiatric Institute in Madison, the University of Iowa, and Emory University. Upon his retirement in 1999, he continued to conduct research at VCU's Medical College of Virginia in the physician patient interpersonal relationship. The family will receive friends at Bliley's Central Chapel, 3801 Augusta Avenue, on Sunday, 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 12 noon on Monday at St. Peter's Catholic Church, with interment to follow in Hollywood Cemetery.
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