Dr. Paul M. 68 Distinguished Psychoanalyst LERNER

LERNER, Dr. Paul M., 68, Distinguished Psychoanalyst
Dr. Paul M. Lerner, regarded as the world's leading authority on the Rorschach Test, died unexpectedly Wednesday afternoon at Logan Airport in Boston. He was 68.
His career included professorships in the medical schools of the University of Detroit, University of Toronto and University of Tennessee, and more than 30 years of private practice in Detroit, Toronto, Asheville and Camden, Maine. He was the author or coauthor of five books dealing with aspects of the Rorschach Test and served as past president of the Society for Personality Assessment.
His work in analyzing talent for the NHL was viewed as an important component to the rise of the Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers professional hockey teams.
Dr. Lerner earned his B.S., Ed.M. and Ed.D at the University of Illinois. Upon graduation, he became the first Illinois student to receive a post doctoral internship with Dr. Karl Menninger, the pioneering psychiatrist at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas.
Dr. Lerner received countless professional awards including the Distinguished Psychology Award from the Ontario Psychological Association, the Bruno Klopfer Award from the Society for Personality Assessment, and the Hans H. Strupp Award. In April, 2005 he received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Illinois, that school's highest honor.
Dr. Lerner resided in Camden where he owned the Owl & Turtle Bookshop.
Born on November 5, 1937, in Boston to second-generation Jewish immigrants, Dr. Lerner attended Brookline public schools. At the age of 14 his mother died of cancer, an event that would shape his personal life and drive him to help heal thousands of patients throughout his professional career.
Dr. Lerner is survived by his wife Carole, to whom he was married for 38 years, a son Brett and daughter-in-law Kristine and two granddaughters, Caroline and Claire, all of Camden, and a brother, Howard, of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Visiting hours will be Thursday from 6-8 p.m. at Laite Funeral Home in Camden. A memorial service will be on Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. at the Camden Opera House.