Roger Shapiro

The Roger Shapiro Fund for New Music was established by pianist/composer Dina Koston in memory of her husband Dr. Roger Shapiro, who died on Dec. 3, 2002 at the age of 75. According to Dr. Shapiro’s NY Times obituary, Dr. Shapiro was

“a research psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who provided fresh insights into how the complex dynamics of family interactions might contribute to psychological illness”.

The obituary may be found here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/07/us/roger-l-shapiro-75-research-psychiatrist.html

Dr. Shapiro brought attention to patterns in troubled families where the family would, unwittingly, designate one of its members as “sick”, and a disproportionate share of family troubles were then blamed on that unfortunate family member. Dr. Shapiro believed that it was useful to make families aware of these patterns of behavior. Dr. Shapiro’s methods of observation of family dynamics were influential among family therapists.

Dr. Shapiro was trained at the University of Chicago and at the Tavistock clinic where, according to the NY Times, Dr. Shapiro “helped to develop psychological methods to study how groups function.”

Dr. Shapiro practiced privately in Washington D.C. He was on the staff of the National Institutes of Health, directing the section on personality development. Later he was a director of clinical services at George Washington University Medical Center. He was a great supporter of classical music and new music.