Remembering Emily Loeb, longtime Berkeley psychotherapist

"Emily Malsin Loeb of Berkeley passed away peacefully on Oct. 30 in hospice care at her daughter's home at age 85. She died from pulmonary complications following a fall at home. Born to Margery and Theodore Malsin on Oct. 25, 1940, in New York City, Emily grew up on Sleepy Hollow Road in Briarcliff Manor, New York, with her sister Nancy and her brother Donald (d. 1958)."

"She graduated with a degree in English from Swarthmore College, where she found her first intellectual home and formed relationships that lasted throughout her life. Emily went on to study psychology at Columbia University. While working on her Ph.D., she met and married a Columbia law student, Peter Sitkin (d. 2017). They moved to California in 1966 to work as VISTA volunteers in San Jose. After their service, they settled in Berkeley, where they raised their two daughters, Lisa (b. 1967) and Jennifer (b. 1970)."

"Though Emily and Peter later divorced, they remained dedicated co-parents until Peter's passing. In 1977, Emily married Dan Loeb, an attorney and financial planner she met through mutual friends. Their son, Sam, was born in 1978. Emily loved being a mother. She and Dan enjoyed spending time with their kids, hosting friends and family, eating out, attending plays and musical performances, and traveling in the U.S. and abroad."

Emily Malsin Loeb was born Oct. 25, 1940, in New York City and raised in Briarcliff Manor. She earned an English degree from Swarthmore College and studied psychology at Columbia University. She married Peter Sitkin while working on her Ph.D.; they moved to California in 1966 as VISTA volunteers and later settled in Berkeley, where they raised daughters Lisa and Jennifer. She later married Dan Loeb and had son Sam. After completing her Ph.D., she practiced psychotherapy privately for over 55 years, taught clinical psychology at multiple Bay Area institutes, supervised trainees, and published articles on clinical practice, therapeutic restraint and aging in psychotherapy. She died Oct. 30 at 85 from pulmonary complications after a fall.

Read at www.berkeleyside.org