May, Rollo

May, Rollo (Reese)

(1909–94) psychoanalyst; born in Ada, Ohio. He studied psychology at Columbia University, theology under Paul Tillich, and psychoanalysis with Erich Fromm. He taught at various universities throughout his career, but starting in 1958 was most regularly affiliated with the William Alanson White Institute of Psychiatry in New York City. Influenced by Tillich's book The Courage to Be (1952), an introduction to European existentialism, he became a pioneer of humanistic psychology with the publication of Existence: A New Dimension in Psychiatry and Psychology (with E. Angell and H. F. Ellenberger, 1958). In contrast to cognitive psychology, he emphasized individual values and uniqueness in the practice of psychotherapy. With such books as Psychology and the Human Dilemma (1967), Love and Will (1969), and Freedom and Destiny (1981), he reached a broad public and found himself frequently quoted and honored in his later years.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.