About

Current Positions

Psychologist in private practice of psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, Los Angeles, CA.

Teaching Faculty and Supervising Analyst, Los Angeles Institute for Psychoanalytic Studies.

Teaching and Supervisory Faculty, Wright Institute Los Angeles Postgraduate Center and Clinic.

Michael J. Diamond is a psychoanalyst and clinical psychologist. He is a Fellow of the International Psychoanalytic Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Academy of Clinical Psychology.

He has written five books and has published over one hundred journal articles and book chapters across wide-ranging topics, including psychoanalytic technique and analytic mindedness; trauma and dissociation; masculinity, femininity, and gender theory; fathering and the paternal function; hypnosis and altered states; and group processes and social action. He is well known for national and international presentations and is the honored recipient of numerous awards for his teaching, writing, and clinical contributions. His five books are:

Ruptures in the American Psyche: Containing Destructive Populism in Perilous Times (Phoenix Publishing House 2022)
Masculinity and Its Discontents: The Male Psyche and the Inherent Tensions of Maturing Manhood (Routledge 2021)
The Second Century of Psychoanalysis: Evolving Perspectives on Therapeutic Action (Karnac 2011)
My Father Before Me: How Fathers and Sons Influence Each Other Throughout Their Lives (Norton 2007)
Becoming a Father: Contemporary Social, Developmental, and Clinical Perspectives (Springer 1995)

Several of his publications have been translated into other languages, including German, Portuguese, Korean, Arabic, Mandarin, and French. After graduating Summa Cum Laude from the University of California at Los Angeles, he received his doctorate in psychology from Stanford University and completed his psychoanalytic training at the Los Angeles Institute and Society for Psychoanalytic Studies, where he is currently a Training and Supervising Analyst. He has a full-time clinical practice in Los Angeles, California, where he is active in teaching, supervising, and writing.

Professional History

Dr. Michael J. Diamond received his Ph.D. from Stanford University where his graduate training was in both social-personality and clinical psychology. His primary graduate school interests and research were in the areas of social issues and attitude change, community social psychology, existential-humanistic and behavioral psychology, and hypnosis and consciousness.

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Acreditations and Licensure

Training and Supervising Analyst, Los Angeles Institute for Psychoanalytic Studies.

Board Certification in Psychoanalysis (Board Certified Psychoanalyst), Confederation of Independent Psychoanalytic Societies.

Diplomate in Clinical Psychology (#4131), American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP); Fellow, American Academy of Clinical Psychology (FAACP).

Member & Fellow, International Psychoanalytical Association.

Member, American Psychoanalytic Association.

Member and Fellow, American Psychological Association.

Member, Psychologist-Psychoanalyst Practitioners (Section 1), Division of Psychoanalysis (Division 39), American Psychological Association.

Diplomate in Clinical Hypnosis (#198), American Board of Psychological Hypnosis (ABPH).

Licensed Psychologist, State of California (PSY 4655).

Health Service Provider (#19058), National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology.

Honors and Awards

Distinguished Clinician of 2005, Award Presented to the “Outstanding Psychoanalyst of the Year” by the Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research (IPTAR), New York City, New York.

Fellow, American Psychological Association (elected in 1984) - Divisions 12 (Clinical Psychology), 29 (Psychotherapy), 30 (Psychological Hypnosis), 39 (Psychoanalysis), 42 (Independent Practice), and 51 (Men and Masculinity).

Jean L. Sanville Award for Best Original Paper in Psychoanalysis presented by the Los Angeles Institute and Society for Psychoanalytic Studies, 1998.

Book of the Year Award (Becoming A Father) presented by the American Journal of Nursing (Professional Journal of the American Nurses' Association), 1996.

Roy M. Dorcus Award for Best Clinical Paper in Hypnosis presented by the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 1988.

Milton H. Erickson Award of Scientific Excellence for Writing in Hypnosis presented by the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, awarded consecutively in 1986 and 1987.

Fellow, American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (elected in 1987), Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis (elected in 1982).

Winner, the University of Hawaii Regents Award for Excellence in Teaching, 1972: First Alternate, Frances Davis Memorial Award for "Dedicated and Innovative Undergraduate Teaching" 1972: and, named for excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, Associated Students of Psychology, University of Hawaii, 1971.

Recipient of Postgraduate Center Advanced Training Program Fellowship, Wright Institute Los Angeles (1980); National Institute of Mental Health Pre-Doctoral Traineeship (1968-1970); Veterans Administration Pre-Doctoral Traineeship (1967-1968); United States Public Health Traineeship (1966-1967); Two (2) National Science Foundation Research Fellowships (1965-1966); and Flint Fellowship at the University of California at Los Angeles (1965).

Graduate with Highest Honors, University of California at Los Angeles (1966); Deans Honor List, University of California at Los Angeles (1964-1966).

Member, Phi Beta Kappa (elected in 1966); Phi Eta Sigma (elected in 1964); and Society of the Sigma Xi (elected in 1971).