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Dr. F. Paul Pearsall plans his day at the clinic.
"Most of the programs for
specific treatment at the clinic were
developed by Paul," says psychiatric
department head Rosenzweig. "Even
those treatments derived from other
places have been improved upon. I
call that a significant contribution.
He has been able to design them in
a format to be taught to others, like
the interns, residents and medical
staff."
Dr. Leonard Portner, a holistic
physician and WXYT radio talk
show host, thinks Pearsall can cure
anything. "The clinic is far and
above any clinic of its kind in the
Midwest and it's because of Paul,
who is a good therapist with a com-
mon sense approach."
An obstetrician-gynecologist
who often refers patients to Pearsall
is Dr. Michael Salesin. "He never
lets me down and I have sent a
variety of problems to him," says
Salesin. He helped a patient who
was afraid to have blood drawn and
couldn't get married without the
test."
Media psychologist Sonya
Friedman labels Paul Pearsall
"wonderful" and adds, "We had him
on the Sonya Show anytime we
could get him." It was also advanta-
geous for the clinic, whose phones
were swamped with requests by
people who saw him on the show.
"I've referred people to him
often and he does a good job. (On the
air) he's - very funny," Friedman says,
"like (sex therapist) Ruth Westh-
heimer without the accent."
As an educator who delivers
over 100 lectures a year — the only
state he's missed is Idaho — humor
is a strong component of Pearsall's
presentation. One physician who has
attended many of his friend's pre-
sentations, says, "Paul gets people
dancing in their seats. Even the
most skeptical person comes away
feeling better."
Laughter, a Pearsall prescript-
ive which he defines as "jogging for
the ,intestines," is heard at all of his
lectures. "It's as if God said: To all
those of you who laugh, I promise
you a strong immune system," ex-
plains Pearsall, who considers rela-
xation, fun and humor requisites for
good health.
His practice is wellness, not
sickness, and he is a strong propo-
nent of "thrival," a word not found
in any dictionary. It means, Pearsall
says, "experiencing joy in everyday
living."
Outspoken to the core, Pearsall
accuses psychology of "becoming the
study of the id by the odd. It has be-
come trapped into being the new
emerging priesthood with answers to
everything when really, if we're sci-
entists, we should be looking to the
limits of our education. We are far
from having all the answers."
Pearsall, who has been married
to his wife Celest for 22 years, has
two teenage sons. Extremely devoted
to his family, he says his wife and
sons are his respite and mean every-
thing to him. He also admits being a
patient is hardly a day at the beach.
"Kids are the worst things that
ever happen to you, potentially the
best, but you've got to be ready to
work. They are my biggest worry in
life." Then, "I'm gonna get flack for
this (statement) but parenting is-
tough. It is to know the meaning of
failure daily, and being a psychol-
ogist is no protection."
Pearsall is known by colleagues
as a man who speaks his mind and
as a man who loves his work. But he
has his own definition:
"Work," he tells you, is doing
what you don't want to do ... like
tax forms, that's work. Writing the
book was fun. Sitting with a client
isn't work. That's the greatest
high." ri
Dr. Pearsall will speak at the
combined annual meeting of Jewish
Family Service and Resettlement
Service 7:45 p.m. Wednesday at
Cong. Shaarey Zedek.
The clinic focuses
on*transitional
crises: marriage,
divorce,
pregnancy,
children, sexual
dysfunction .. .