Dr. Masserman was born in Chudkov, Poland. He received his education in the Detroit public schools and received his M.D. (1930) from Wayne State University. He interned at San Diego County General Hospital, spent the following year at Stanford University as a resident in psychiatry and neurology, and later became a resident in psychiatry at Johns Hopkins (1932–35). In 1936, he joined the faculty of the University of Chicago and also undertook psychoanalysis at the Chicago Institute. He served as co-chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at Northwestern University for nearly 20 years.
Dr. Masserman was a consultant to numerous organizations, including the Chicago Court of Domestic Relations; Naval Hospital at Great Lakes, and the Chairman of the Dean’s Committee at Veterans Administration Hospital in Downey, Illinois. He was Director of Professional Training at the Illinois State Psychiatric Institute (1959–61).
His organizational memberships led to numerous presidencies, including the American Academy of Psychoanalysis (1959); the International Association for Social Psychiatry (1969–70); the American Association for Social Psychiatry (life president); the American Group Psychotherapy Association (1957); and the Association for Biological Psychiatry (1955). Dr. Masserman’s awards included the Lasker Award (1946) and the Taylor Manor Award (71). He was President of the Illinois Psychiatric Society (1940–41), Chairman of the APA Program Committee (1962–67), and Secretary of the American Psychiatric Museum Committee.
Dr. Masserman contributed to the psychiatric literature. According to the 1989 APA Biographical Directory, he authored 14 books, 410 articles, and 22 book chapters.
Dr. Masserman was elected Vice President (1974–75) and served as President of the American Psychiatric Association (1978–79).