Dr. Gottdiener is a clinical psychologist with over 30 years of clinical experience helping people with substance use disorders, which includes working in inpatient, outpatient, and private practice settings. His expertise is in the use of empirically supported psychodynamic therapy for people with substance use disorders.

Dr. Gottdiener is a licensed clinical psychologist and tenured full professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). He is the co-director of the college’s addiction studies program and was previously the director of training of the college’s American Psychological Association (APA) accredited clinical psychology doctoral program that is affiliated with the CUNY Graduate Center. Dr. Gottdiener received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from The New School for Social Research in New York and subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship in substance abuse research funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. He is an OASAS Certified Provider for the Impaired Drivers Program. Dr. Gottdiener has published over 40 articles and book chapters and is the recipient of research grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, CUNY, and the Far Fund. He is on the editorial boards of the journals Addiction Research and Theory and Psychoanalytic Psychology. He is also the recipient of awards for teaching excellence and student mentoring. He is an APA Fellow in the divisions of addiction, clinical psychology, psychoanalysis, and general psychology and is a Fellow of the International Psychoanalytic Association. His research focuses on the personality processes relevant to the development, maintenance, and treatment of substance use disorders. His work was recognized by Division 39 (psychoanalysis) of the APA, which honored him with its prestigious Research and Scholarship Award in 2015. Dr. Gottdiener lives with his family in New York City.