Tamara Goldman Sher is a native of Chicago's suburbs who lives with her husband and two daughters in suburban Cook county. She is the sister of Abigail Helaine Goldman, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist for the LA Times, and Josh Goldman, an entrepreneur, investor, and venture capitalist who is currently a partner at in Palo Alto, California. Sher earned her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and B.A. from the University of Michigan. After completing her internship training at Rush University Medical Center she spent seven years on medical school faculty where she became head of the health psychology track of the internship program and director of the Couples and Health program. In 1994, Dr. Sher moved to the College of Psychology at Illinois Institute of Technology, where she taught for 17 years. In 2007 she became director of clinical training for the College of Psychology. In 2011, Sher left IIT as a full professor to join The Family Institute at Northwestern University as their vice president for research. In 2000, Sher co-authored a textbook entitled "The Psychology of Couples and Illness." She belongs to several professional societies including the American Psychological Association, the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, and the Society of Behavioral Medicine. Sher is regularly invited as a symposium discussant and presentation author to each of these professional societies annual conferences. In addition, she is on the editorial board of the APA , a member of the National Institute of Health's , and sits on the Clinical Oversight Committee for the .
Research description
The goal of Sher's NIH grant was to determine if improvement in a couple's interpersonal relationship would result in sustained changes in health behavior, improvement in the couple's quality of life, and health benefits specific to the cardiac patient. Working out of labs at both the Illinois Institute of Technology and Rush University Hospital, Sher's team recruited 160 participants in which one member suffered from a cardiovascular event. Using a short term couples intervention strategy designed to optimize relationships and reduce interpersonal stress, the team focused on three areas of change: exercise, weight management, and compliance with lipid-lowering medication. These areas were targeted because of the difficulty many cardiac patients face in maintaining long-term commitments to change. Currently, Sher is interested in applying what she has learned from previous work to a much wider population of patients through the use of the Internet and telephone. She is particularly interested in reaching patients who do not have the time or resources to participate in intensive out-patient groups.
Interviews
Sher discusses the difficulty of telling a new romantic relation about a preexisting STD
Sher discusses her NIH funded study for the Chicago Tribune
Sher discusses difficulties in doctor/patient communication based on her research findings
Selected works and publications
Books
Osterman, G. P.; Sher, T. G.; Hales, G.; Canar, W. J.; Singla, R.; & Tilton, T.. . In D. K. Snider & M. A. Whisman, Treating Difficult Couples: Helping Clients with Coexisting Mental and Relationship Disorders. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Schmaling, K.B. & Sher, T.G. . Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Books.
Schmaling, K.B. & Sher, T.G.. Physical health and relationships. In W. K. Halford & H. J. Markman, . Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Sher, T. G.. Courtship and marriage: Choosing a primary relationship. In N. Vanzetti & S. Duck, '. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole Publishing.
