Henri Parens, 93, a celebrated professor of psychiatry at Thomas Jefferson University, research professor of psychiatry at the Medical College of Pennsylvania, analyst at the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia, prolific author, and Holocaust survivor, died Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, of congestive heart failure.
Dr. Parens escaped alone from a detention camp in France when he was 12, made his way to the United States at 13, and never again saw his parents, older brother, or other relatives. Motivated by his horrific experiences as a child during the Holocaust, and inspired by the bravery and selflessness of his mother, who encouraged his escape, and those who aided him along the way, he dedicated the rest of his life to helping children, parents, and others understand and manage despair, prejudice, aggression, and other destructive behavior.
As a private psychiatrist and psychoanalyst for more than 50 years, he specialized in treating children with psychological trauma and was known by many as “the father of parenting education.” He lectured, held workshops, and directed research groups on family relationships and other issues around the world and served with the United Nations and other global organizations to stymie what he called the “malignant prejudice” of ethnic hatred and genocide.
As director of the infant psychiatry section at the Medical College of Pennsylvania, now the Drexel College of Medicine, Dr. Parens counseled parents to “keep telling [your children] and showing them that you love them, but give them the space they want. Don’t push too hard. They’ll make the move when they’re ready.”
Born Henri Pruszinowski in Lodz, Poland, in 1928, Dr. Parens lived with two families in Pittsburgh after he arrived in the United States in 1942. A singer and pianist as a young man, he earned a bachelor’s degree in music at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Tech, now Carnegie Mellon University, in 1952.
He served two years in the Army as a medic in Germany after college, and, thinking that medicine would be more reliable than music to support the family he wanted, he obtained his medical degree at Tulane University Medical School in 1959.
He met Rachel Anto through mutual friends, and they married in 1955. They had sons Erik, Karl, and Joshua, and he completed his residency in Cincinnati before joining the Medical College of Pennsylvania as a research professor of psychiatry in 1969.
He moved to Jefferson as a professor of psychiatry in 1992 and retired in 2017. Colleagues called him “a mensch in the literal sense of the word,” and said in a tribute: “His ideas frequently provided the capstone in the arch of human understanding.”
He spoke French, accompanied himself on the piano and sang often at home. He liked to wear vests and hats indoors because he was sensitive to cold, and painstakingly named all the researchers who collaborated with him over the years when asked about his success.
He moved to Jefferson as a professor of psychiatry in 1992 and retired in 2017. Colleagues called him “a mensch in the literal sense of the word,” and said in a tribute: “His ideas frequently provided the capstone in the arch of human understanding.”
He spoke French, accompanied himself on the piano and sang often at home. He liked to wear vests and hats indoors because he was sensitive to cold, and painstakingly named all the researchers who collaborated with him over the years when asked about his success.
In addition to his wife and sons, Dr. Parens is survived by eight grandchildren and other relatives. May his memory be a blessing.