Norman Bruce Epstein

On October 17, 2025, Dr. Norman Bruce Epstein of Rockville, Maryland passed away peacefully in his home. Norman was the beloved husband of Carolyn Regina Epstein, to whom he had been married for 40 wonderful years. He was the world's absolute best daddy to Meredith Brooke Epstein (Guy Kilpatric) and Christine Epstein-Ansaldi (Patrick Ansaldi), and "Poppa" to Ada Kilpatric, Paul Kilpatric, and Luca Ansaldi. Norman was the cherished brother of Harriet Epstein Falkin (Larry Falkin), and is also survived by a large and loving family of brothers- and sisters-in-law, aunts and uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews, and close friends he considered to be family. Norman is preceded in death by his father Max Louis Epstein, mother Irene Ruth Sherman, and stepfather Paul Sherman.

Norman was born on July 15, 1947 in Worcester, Massachusetts. He enjoyed his Jewish upbringing in New England - a balance of studies at Worcester Academy, hobbies, mischief, and entertaining his little sister. Norman was especially fond of amateur ("ham") radio with his father, building model rockets with friends, and spending time at Cape Cod in the summer. He learned the night sky and fell in love with the stars, planets, and telescopes. A creator from a young age, he operated the radio station WNBE from his bedroom and published editions of "Stuff Magazine" for Harriet. Norman was bar mitzvahed in 1960 at Temple Emmanuel.

The family moved to Los Angeles, California in 1962 when Norman was 15. He ran track at Palisades High School and enjoyed spending time body surfing at the beach. High school was the time when his lifelong love of music took hold, starting with '45s. After that, he was never without a turntable and massive record collection.

Following the tragic death of his father Max in 1964, Norman devoted himself to the care of his mother and sister. He stayed at home for college, obtaining his Bachelor of Arts ('69), Master of Arts ('70), and Doctoral ('74) degrees in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. UCLA is where his adoration for college basketball was born, as he enjoyed attending games at Pauley Pavilion. Though he never lived in California after graduate school, his strong connections to family and the beach brought him back many times a year for the rest of his life.

Dr. Epstein served as Assistant Professor of Psychology at the State University of New York at Buffalo and of Psychology and Psychiatry at the School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1983, he joined the University of Maryland Department of Family Studies, becoming Associate Professor in 1986 and Professor in 1992.

Dr. Epstein was a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Family Science at the University of Maryland College Park, where he served as a core faculty member of the Couple and Family Therapy (CFT) program for 36 years and held the post of CFT Director from 2003 through 2018. He played a key role in building the program, and even after his retirement, his dedication continued as he provided essential Inter-Partner Violence (IPV) training and assisted the Center for Healthy Families. Dr. Epstein taught graduate and undergraduate courses in couple and family relationships and therapy, research methods and human sexuality. He provided clinical supervision to student therapists and directed over 85 master's theses and doctoral dissertations.

With licenses as both a clinical psychologist and clinical marriage and family therapist in Maryland, Dr. Epstein maintained a part-time private practice for over 45 years. Additionally, he worked Wednesday evenings as a therapist and clinical supervisor for over 30 years at Greenbelt CARES, a community-oriented, family based agency offering counseling and crisis intervention free of charge to citizens of Greenbelt and surrounding communities. During his career, he helped countless individuals, couples, and families improve and maintain mental health and emotional wellness.

Dr. Epstein was a pioneer in the development of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) with couples and families. He never learned to type, so with his two pointer fingers he authored and edited six foundational books that established the core principles of cognitive-behavioral couple therapy, including Cognitive-Behavioral Marital Therapy (1990), Enhanced Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Couples: A Contextual Approach (2002), and Treatment Plans and Interventions in Couple Therapy (2024). His influence extended to assessment, contributing to the development of important, widely-used instruments used in the field today. Dr. Epstein published over 150 journal articles and book chapters, with his research funded by the National Institute of Health and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIH-NIMH), Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine. Beyond the U.S., his teachings and training in China and South Korea were instrumental not only in disseminating CBT approaches but also in establishing the entire field of couple and family therapy in those countries. Dr. Epstein was a skilled collaborator in all of these endeavors, building connections with colleagues nation- and worldwide that resulted not only in the production of these works, but often in lifelong friendships.

Dr. Epstein's patience, acceptance, and understanding made colleagues and students feel consistently comfortable and supported; his dedication and mentorship made unique and lasting contributions to cognitive-behavioral therapy across the globe. He will be fondly remembered by many colleagues who had the privilege of working alongside him, not only for his brilliant mind but for his fundamental kindness and decency.

Yet, Norman's most cherished roles were those of husband and father. He met Carolyn Smith in 1982 while living in the Philadelphia area. Their first date of Chinese food (which Carolyn had never encountered before) and seeing the movie E.T. proved a success, and the two dated despite becoming long distance when he moved to Maryland for his job at UMD. They married in 1985 and welcomed their two daughters, Meredith and Christine, in 1986 and 1990.

Norman will always be remembered as a loving daddy who was all at once protective, serious, silly, and sweet – the epitome of a "girl dad," long before the term even existed. He was a curator of experiences and, together with Carolyn, exposed them to a beautiful diversity of art, food, film, and culture. This included his daughters' best friends, for whom he was like another father. A UCLA Bruins and Maryland Terrapins fan to the core, Norm introduced his girls to college basketball and March Madness. He made weekends fun with things like adventures to Dupont Circle bookstores, sampling cuisines from all over the world, berry picking, Indie and folk concerts, and cooking dinner while records spun, followed by movie nights at home. In fact, he cooked dinner for the family every single night and taught the girls to cook well. Summers afforded him the opportunity to plan extremely detailed itineraries to travel with Carolyn and the girls all over the country and the world. Favorite family traditions were carried through his daughters' adulthood, and they delighted in watching him create magical moments for his three grandchildren.

Norman's retirement in 2019 afforded him more time to do what he loved, though anyone who knew him knew that he would never truly stop working. In fact, he still worked a lot - continuing his private practice, serving on thesis committees, reviewing manuscripts, contributing to research projects, and publishing. But he also found more time to enjoy his favorite things, especially going on adventures with Carolyn. Those adventures could simply be trying a new restaurant with friends, annual returns to California beaches, or grand excursions to international destinations. He took the very best care of her, no matter what.

It makes no sense that he is suddenly gone. Norman loved life, and he wasn't done yet. He had so many more places to travel, so many more foods to try, so many more bottles of wine to enjoy, so many more books to read, so many more pages to write, and so many more fun things to do with his family. We will continue his adventures for him, and we will love him forever.

A private funeral will be held for the immediate family, and a memorial celebration open to others will be announced at a later date.

The family will be establishing an endowed scholarship fund in Norman's name and requests that those who would like to send gifts direct their funds there. More information about how to make a contribution to the fund will be coming soon.