Roy Coleman

COLEMAN ROY M. COLEMAN, M.D. (Age 78) Psychoanalyst, member and graduate of the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute and long-time member of the Washington Psychiatric Society Council, died at the Washington Home Hospice Center on November 4, 2008 of complications from renal failure. Dr. Coleman obtained his undergraduate degree from Harvard University, MD from the University Of Rochester Medical School, and he completed his psychiatric residency at McLean Hospital in Belmont, MA, where he then served as an Administrator until l967. At that time he took a faculty position in the Department of Psychiatry at the George Washington University Hospital in Washington D.C. where he remained until the mid 70‘s then continued as member of the Clinical Faculty. He was also adjunct professor at Georgetown University Medical School. Dr. Coleman was a major leader within the Washington Psychiatric Society, first as Ethics committee Chair, then in the Assembly where he became Area III representative. He was on the Board of Directors of the WPS for almost thirty years. He was lauded for his ability to draft positions that became enduring policy. As a member of the American Psychiatric Association's Assembly, he championed the preservation of psychotherapy as part of comprehensive psychiatric treatment. He served on the Washington Psychiatric Association‘s Board (Council) of Directors for more than 25 years and as Chair of the Washington Psychiatric Society‘s Ethics Committee. In that role his orientation was educational rather than punitive and he was seen as an excellent teacher. He was also a working member of the Center for Advanced Psychoanalytic Studies (CAPS). Dr. Coleman maintained a private practice in psychoanalysis for nearly three decades, retiring in 2004. In addition, he spent several years in the late '80's and early '90's working with the Central Intelligence Agency, where he prepared psychoanalytic profiles of hostile leaders, including Saddam Hussein. He also served the District of Columbia as a forensic psychiatrist at St. Elizabeth's Hospital, where his reports were highly regarded. Dr. Coleman was a long-time member of The Cosmos Club, and of the National Press Club. His friends and family will remember him for his unfailing -- although sometimes mischievous—hospitality, his incisive wit, engaging smile, and his love of fine food and wine. His 1956 marriage to Alice Modzelewski ended in divorce in 1990. Dr. Coleman is survived by his his long-time partner, Marian Burros of Bethesda, MD; two sons, David Coleman of Mountain View, CA and Robert Coleman of Portland, OR; and four grandchildren. A memorial service will be held 11 a.m. on March 21, 2009 at the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC.