Malkah Tolpin Notman

Malkah T. Notman, MD (1927-2025)

Malkah Tolpin Notman (1927 - 2025), former GAP president 1997 -1999, Professor at Harvard Medical School, fmr President of American College of Psychoanalysts, fmr President of Massachusetts Psychiatric Society, Psychiatrist for over 55 years, Died May 3 2025, at 97.

A tenured Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a Training and Supervising Analyst at the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, Dr. Notman's influence extended across the fields of psychiatry and psychoanalysis for more than half a century. She served in numerous leadership roles, including President of the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society, President of the American College of Psychoanalysts, Councilor-at-Large of the American Psychoanalytic Association, and President of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry. She also chaired the Education Committee and served as President of the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute. In recognition of her enduring contributions, the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society awarded her its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.

Born in New York City in 1927 to Eastern European immigrants, Dr. Notman entered the University of Chicago at just 16, studying psychoanalysis with Bruno Bettelheim and physics with Enrico Fermi. During World War II, she volunteered in Fermi's lab as part of the Manhattan Project. Though her father hoped she would become a research scientist, Dr. Notman pursued medicine, graduating from Boston University School of Medicine when few women were admitted to medical schools.

Dr. Notman trained in psychiatry at Boston State Hospital and Beth Israel Hospital, later completing fellowships at the National Institute of Mental Health and the Henry Murray Center at the Radcliffe Institute. Her early clinical work included serving as a consulting liaison for obstetrics and gynecology at Beth Israel and providing psychiatric care to students at Wellesley College.

She joined the faculty at Cambridge City Hospital (now Cambridge Health Alliance), where she would later become the first and only woman to serve as Chair (Interim) of the Department of Psychiatry from 1991 to 1995. During this time, she guided the department through significant transitions amidst the rise of managed care and demonstrated exceptional leadership and advocacy within both the hospital and Harvard Medical School.

A prolific writer and editor, Dr. Notman's scholarship centered on adult development, gender and identity, and the psychological dimensions of women's reproductive lives. She co-edited the foundational three-volume work The Woman Patient and the influential Physician Sexual Misconduct, both with longtime collaborator Dr. Carol Nadelson. Her research and clinical work often bridged feminist thought and psychiatric practice, leading to innovations in care for survivors of sexual trauma and the founding of the Rape Crisis Intervention Program at Beth Israel Hospital.

Beyond her professional roles, Dr. Notman was a passionate mentor, particularly to women in medicine. She modeled how to balance intellectual ambition with motherhood and advocated for women's voices in academic and clinical settings. As her colleague Dr. Cathy Schen wrote, "She was a brilliant scholar and a fierce advocate of women. She encouraged junior female faculty in their scholarship and helped them navigate department politics and advance their careers."

In her later years, Dr. Notman remained actively engaged in writing, teaching, and mentoring. She continued to practice psychiatry well into her 90s and was widely admired for her intellectual vigor and dedication. In 2025, the Cambridge Health Alliance established the Malkah Notman Award to honor faculty scholarship on women's mental health-a fitting tribute to her enduring impact.

Outside her professional life, Dr. Notman was an avid hiker, traveler, and lifelong learner. She climbed to Camp 1 at Everest at age 60 and Machu Picchu at 70. A lover of books, oil painting, and nature, she brought the same curiosity and discipline to her personal interests as she did to her work.

Her husband, Dr. Ralph R. Notman, died in 1993. She leaves three children: Naomi Notman Butterfield (of Concord, NH) husband: Norman, and grandchildren: Lee and Frances Butterfield; daughter, Laura Notman (of Arlington, MA) husband: Mark Diamond, and grandchild: Rafaela Diamond; son, Evan Notman (of Tacoma Park, MD) wife: Ana Christine Villegas, and grandchild, Emma Notman-Villegas.

A memorial celebration of her life will be held on June 27 at the Harvard Loeb House starting at 2pm with a reception starting about 3.

Dr. Malkah Notman's contributions to psychiatry, psychoanalysis, and the advancement of women in medicine leave a lasting legacy. She will be remembered as a brilliant clinician, scholar, teacher, and trailblazer.