Why is Arlene Feinblatt said to be "The Mother of All TMS Therapists?"

The first psychologist that Dr. Sarno hired at the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation was Dr. Arlene Feinblatt, PhD. She was the chief psychologist there and helped train the other psychologists who worked there. In that sense can be considered "The Mother of All TMS Therapists."

Dr. Eric Sherman also put the idea in print. In the acknowledgements of his book, Pathways to Pain Relief, Dr. Sherman wrote, "To Dr. Arlene Feinblatt, "The Mother of All TMS Therapists" and my first teacher, whose patience and belief in me were gifts that still touch me." Dr. Sherman worked with Dr. Sarno's core group of psychologists for approximately 29 years.

In The Divided Mind, Dr. Sarno writes the following:

“Arlene Feinblatt, Ph.D. has been my colleague and coworker for over thirty years. By dint of circumstance, she is a pioneer in the development of psychotherapy for psychosomatic disorders. Since no one in the field of psychology or psychiatry has had extensive experience with the musculoskeletal pain of psychosomatic origin, and since as a consequence there is no guiding literature on the subject, and in view of the fact that that this ailment represents a public health problem of major proportions, it was essential to develop appropriate psychotherapy for these patients. Dr. Feinblatt has done that job admirably. She has also trained a large cadre of therapists over the years.” (Sarno, John. The Divided Mind. HarperCollins: New York, 2006. pgs 150-151)
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Providing another perspective on this, in her survey response on our site, Dr. Feinblatt wrote, "I originated the psychological program for Dr. John Sarno in 1973."

On Dr. Feinblatt's website, Dr. Sarno is also quoted as saying, "In particular I am grateful to Arlene Feinblatt, the chief psychologist of our group, for her contribution to the understanding of the psychological basis for TMS."

You can read more about Dr. Feinblatt here:
http://www.tmswiki.org/ppd/Arlene_Feinblatt,_PhD (Arlene Feinblatt, PhD)
http://www.arlenefeinblatt.com/ (Arlene Feinblatt, Ph. D., Psychologist for Mind-Body Disorders)
http://www.tmswiki.org/ppd/Survey_Response:_Arlene_Feinblatt,_PhD (Survey Response: Arlene Feinblatt, PhD)

Sometimes when I talk to people about ISTDP, an approach that Dr. Feinblatt finds extremely helpful, I mention her endorsement of the approach. Saying that she has been called "The Mother of All TMS Therapists" helps me explain her special role in TMS history in just 10 words. This post is something for me to link to when I use that phrase in an email. I also figured that people might like to know some of the lore.