In Memoriam: Sherman E. Nelson, Ph.D.

Born the youngest of six children in Northeast Minneapolis in 1928, Dr. Sherman E. Nelson died in February of this year. Sherm was the therapist’s therapist.  In 1966, I met him while he was treating another graduate student. Over the years, he treated many. He was a professor in the clinical psychology program at the U of M and taught and mentored many until his retirement in 2000.

He was the youngest in his doctoral class in 1952, and went to work at the Minneapolis VA Hospital.  After three years, Sherm became the second local psychologist to go into private practice.  His career was spent at the Minneapolis Clinic of Psychiatry and Neurology, where he headed the psychology department.  His wife, Denise Lillian Nelson, is also a psychologist as is one of his daughters, Liane Nelson.

While Sherm was one of the early volunteers at the Walk-In Counseling Center in 1969 and 1970, his main influence was over young clinicians in training, many of whom would credit him with helping them personally and professionally to become good psychologists.  Sherm taught one of the few therapy courses in the clinical program, gathering graduate students in the evenings, and playing audiotapes of different therapists.  His normal assignment to us was to listen for what therapists had in common.  He believed, and we came to believe, that good therapists shared certain traits, despite variability in therapeutic schools of thought.

Sherm also modeled good inter-professional relationships and teamwork, and was well respected by neurologists, psychiatrists, and social workers at the clinic.  He had an inquiring mind and also modeled the scientist-practitioner approach (also known as the Boulder Model).  He carried on correspondence with a number of people in the field, and very much kept alive the sort of inquiry common earlier in the history of our field.  He was as bright, energetic, and sensitive as they come.

As a supervisor, he taught me not to fear my mistakes, and was very supportive when I faced a challenge.  There is a story I tell when I teach about clinical supervision about a foreign student whom I treated pro-bono for eight months, who brought a thank-you gift to the last session.  Despite the rule against accepting gifts, it did not seem right to turn it down, so I thanked the client and accepted it.  When I went in to confess my rule breaking, his response was “Thank God you had the common sense to break that rule….”  He will be missed by all in the psychology community.

The Memorial Service will take place on Saturday, June 17, from 2 to 5 PM, at the Unity Unitarian Church, 733 Portland Ave., St. Paul, in the Ames chapel. There will be refreshments following the memorial. Come and share your memories.

Gary R. Schoener, M.Eq., LP 

Share this post:

Comments on "In Memoriam: Sherman E. Nelson, Ph.D."

Comments 10-5 of 76

- Sunday, April 07, 2024
2014940564

DR. GREAT IS THE BEST SPELL CASTER ONLINE WHO RESTORED MY BROKEN RELATIONSHIP AND I HIGHLY RECOMMENDS DR. GREAT TO ANYONE IN NEED OF HELP! My husband left me for another woman 3 months ago and ever since then my life has been filled with pain, sorrow and heart break because he was my first love whom I have spent my entire life with. A friend of mine told me he saw some testimonies of a spell caster called Dr Great that he can bring back lover within some few days, i laugh it out and said i am not interested but because of the love my friend had for me, she consulted the great spell caster on my behalf and to my greatest surprise after 2 days my husband called me for the very first time after three months that he is missing me and that he is so sorry for every thing he made me went through.He came back to me and now we are happy together. I still can’t believe it, because it is highly unbelievable. Thank you Dr.Great for bringing back my lover and also to my lovely friend who interceded on my behalf, for any one who might need the help of this great spell caster here is the email address: [email protected] or [email protected] you can also call him or add him on Whats-app:+2348118829899 View his blog http://infinitylovespell1.blogspot.com

- Sunday, April 07, 2024
2014940564

DR. GREAT IS THE BEST SPELL CASTER ONLINE WHO RESTORED MY BROKEN RELATIONSHIP AND I HIGHLY RECOMMENDS DR. GREAT TO ANYONE IN NEED OF HELP! My husband left me for another woman 3 months ago and ever since then my life has been filled with pain, sorrow and heart break because he was my first love whom I have spent my entire life with. A friend of mine told me he saw some testimonies of a spell caster called Dr Great that he can bring back lover within some few days, i laugh it out and said i am not interested but because of the love my friend had for me, she consulted the great spell caster on my behalf and to my greatest surprise after 2 days my husband called me for the very first time after three months that he is missing me and that he is so sorry for every thing he made me went through.He came back to me and now we are happy together. I still can’t believe it, because it is highly unbelievable. Thank you Dr.Great for bringing back my lover and also to my lovely friend who interceded on my behalf, for any one who might need the help of this great spell caster here is the email address: [email protected] or [email protected] you can also call him or add him on Whats-app:+2348118829899 View his blog http://infinitylovespell1.blogspot.com

emily keeton - Thursday, April 04, 2024
2013708765

I have been suffering from Herpes for the past 1 years and 8 months, and ever since then I have been taking series of treatment but there was no improvement until I came across testimonies of Dr. Silver on how he has been curing different people from different diseases all over the world, then I contacted him as well. After our conversation he sent me the medicine which I took according .to his instructions. When I was done taking the herbal medicine I went for a medical checkup and to my greatest surprise I was cured from Herpes. My heart is so filled with joy. If you are suffering from Herpes or any other disease you can contact Dr. Silver today on this Email address: [email protected] or Whatsapp +2348120513902

- Wednesday, April 03, 2024
2014940564

BEST URGENT EFFECTIVE LOVE SPELL TO GET YOUR EX/HUSBAND/WIFE BACK FAST AND TO SAVE YOUR MARRIAGE NOW CONTACT DR GREAT ON WHATSAPP DIRECTLY +2348118829899  Hi everyone I’m here to testify of a great and powerful spell caster called DR GREAT. I was so confused and devastated when my husband left our house and moved in with another woman, I needed him back desperately because I love him so much. I spoke to my closest friend about what happened and she advised we search for a spell caster online because she do believe in psychics and readings so we searched for spell casters and we saw a lot of different spell casters then we read  testimonies of how DR GREAT has helped a lot of people with similar issues as mine, so I contacted him on WhatsApp and I explained everything to him and he promised that in 48 hours he will come back to me. After I did all he asked, to my greatest surprise my husband who refused to speak with me came to my house and asked for forgiveness for all he  made me go through and now we are living happily together, if you have any relationship problem I will advise you contact him for your fast result. Below are his contact details.  Contact him on WhatsApp +2348118829899  Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

- Wednesday, April 03, 2024
2014940564

BEST URGENT EFFECTIVE LOVE SPELL TO GET YOUR EX/HUSBAND/WIFE BACK FAST AND TO SAVE YOUR MARRIAGE NOW CONTACT DR GREAT ON WHATSAPP DIRECTLY +2348118829899  Hi everyone I’m here to testify of a great and powerful spell caster called DR GREAT. I was so confused and devastated when my husband left our house and moved in with another woman, I needed him back desperately because I love him so much. I spoke to my closest friend about what happened and she advised we search for a spell caster online because she do believe in psychics and readings so we searched for spell casters and we saw a lot of different spell casters then we read  testimonies of how DR GREAT has helped a lot of people with similar issues as mine, so I contacted him on WhatsApp and I explained everything to him and he promised that in 48 hours he will come back to me. After I did all he asked, to my greatest surprise my husband who refused to speak with me came to my house and asked for forgiveness for all he  made me go through and now we are living happily together, if you have any relationship problem I will advise you contact him for your fast result. Below are his contact details.  Contact him on WhatsApp +2348118829899  Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Please login to comment