Shirley Zussman

Shirley Edith Zussman ( Dlugasch; July 23, 1914 – December 4, 2021) was an American sex therapist based in New York City. She was Jewish.

Early life and education Zussman was born Shirley Edit Dlugasch on July 23, 1914, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Zussman's father, Louis Dlugasch, was a doctor, and her mother, Sara, was a surgical nurse. She was raised in Brooklyn, and attended Girls High School.

She was a two-term President of the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists, and co-director of the Human Sexuality Center of Zucker Hillside Hospital. Zussman was also past Director of the Association for Male Sexual Dysfunction.

Ruth Westheimer, the German-American sex therapist and talk show host known popularly as Dr. Ruth, studied under Zussman when she taught at Columbia University.

In her later years, in her practice Zussman often saw people much younger than herself; at age 99 she had patients in their twenties. She continued to practice as a sex therapist until she was 105 years old.

Personal life Shirley was married to Leon Zussman (1909–1980). They had two children, a son, Marc Zussman, and a daughter, Carol Sun.

Books and articles Zussman, Leon, Shirley Zussman, and Jeremy Brecher. Getting Together: A Guide to Sexual Enrichment for Couples. New York: Morrow, 1979. Zussman, Leon, and Shirley Zussman. "The treatment of sexual dysfunction: Some theoretical considerations." Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy: On the Cutting Edge of Modern Developments in Psychotherapy (1976). Whitehead, E. D., Klyde, B. J., Zussman, S., & Salkin, P. (1990). Diagnostic evaluation of impotence. Postgraduate medicine, 88(2), 123–136. Zussman, L., Zussman, S., Sunley, R., & Bjornson, E. (1981). Sexual response after hysterectomy-oophorectomy: recent studies and reconsideration of psychogenesis. American journal of obstetrics and gynecology, 140(7), 725–729.