In Memoriam: Jason Aronson, MD, a Prominent Psychiatrist Publisher

PSYCHIATRIC VIEWS ON THE DAILY NEWS

You know that saying: “Be careful what you wish for.” It very well may come true in a negative way you did not anticipate.

A few columns ago, I called for more discussion about death and dying. Right after that, 3 important psychiatric deaths came to my attention, one after the other, including this one. This one helpfully came via my colleague and fellow Psychiatric Times columnist Vincenzo Di Nicola, who also passed along a posting by the colleague Mark Ruffalo on the death.

The colleague who had died was Jason Aronson, MD, who died at the age of 97 on January 12, 2026. Aronson was a landmark founder and publisher of psychiatric, psychoanalytic, and Jewish Study books in the 1980s and 90s under the rubric of Jason Aronson, Inc. Related to the focus on Jewish Studies, a memorial event happens to be scheduled for March 1, the day before the Jewish holiday of Purim, which celebrates a Biblical story of the defeat of an anti-Semitic genocidal attempt in ancient Persia.

I know of no other psychiatrist publisher, so it seemed especially relevant to publish this eulogy in another important psychiatric publication. Surprisingly to me, the coverage of his death seemed sparse.

In retirement, Aronson set free downloads of classic psychotherapy books from the International Psychotherapy Institute. Although the Jason Aronson imprint is no longer active, its legacy remains in all its worthwhile publications.

Taken together, these last 3 consecutive eulogies—covering successful psychoanalytic teaching in China, a unique psychiatric administrative team, and a psychiatrist publisher—convey some of the great range of psychiatrist and psychiatric contributions and relevance.

Dr Moffic is an award-winning psychiatrist who specialized in the cultural and ethical aspects of psychiatry and is now in retirement and retirement as a private pro bono community psychiatrist. A prolific writer and speaker, he has done a weekday column titled “Psychiatric Views on the Daily News” and a weekly video, “Psychiatry & Society,” since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. He was chosen to receive the 2024 Abraham Halpern Humanitarian Award from the American Association for Social Psychiatry. Previously, he received the Administrative Award in 2016 from the American Psychiatric Association, the one-time designation of being a Hero of Public Psychiatry from the Speaker of the Assembly of the APA in 2002, and the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill in 1991. He presented the third Rabbi Jeffrey B. Stiffman lecture at Congregation Shaare Emeth in St. Louis on Sunday, May 19, 2024. He is an advocate and activist for mental health issues related to climate instability, physician burnout, and xenophobia. He is now editing the final book in a 4-volume series on religions and psychiatry for Springer: Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, Christianity, and now The Eastern Religions, and Spirituality. He serves on the Editorial Board of Psychiatric Times.