Patricia M. Bricklin, 78, college psychologist

Patricia McIntosh Bricklin, 78, of Wayne, a professor of psychology at Widener University for 20 years and a former radio and television personality, died of interstitial lung disease Tuesday, Dec. 21, at the Wayne Center nursing home.

For four years in the 1960s, Dr. Bricklin and her husband, Barry, also a psychologist, hosted a WCAU-AM show that was one of the first call-in programs dealing with psychology, her husband said. The couple also hosted a program on Channel 29 from 1969 to 1970 and were frequent guests in the early 1970s on the Channel 10 program Betty Hughes and Friends. From 1976 to 1981, they hosted a weekly program, Pinpoint Psychology, on WCAU-FM.

Dr. Bricklin published numerous articles in professional publications, and she and her husband cowrote several articles for Youth Magazine, including the 1971 article "Why Adults Go Ape Over Your Clothes and Your Hair."

In 1967, they wrote the book Bright Child-Poor Grades: The Psychology of Underachievement. A second book, Strong Family-Strong Child, was published in 1970 and appeared in nine installments in The Inquirer.

In the first installment, the Bricklins, who had four children, explained that "a strong family is one that is organized, not chaotic. Organization means each person knows his duties and discharges them. Patterns of communications are relatively clear. A strong family is one in which each member maintains a feeling of emotional togetherness."

In 55 years of marriage, her husband said, Dr. Bricklin never raised her voice to him or their children. She was "quiet and effective," he said, and was very unassuming despite her many professional accomplishments.

Dr. Bricklin was a past president of the Pennsylvania Psychological Association and former chair of the American Psychological Association Insurance Trust. She received the 2007 Gold Medal for Life Achievement in the Practice of Psychology from the American Psychological Foundation.

In 1989, she joined the faculty at Widener. She stopped teaching last year when she became ill.

"Dr. Bricklin was a superb teacher, scholar, academic citizen, and a role model to which other faculty aspired to emulate," Widener president James T. Harris III said. "She inspired many students to pursue careers in psychology."

Her major areas of expertise were school psychology and ethical issues in her field, said a Widener colleague, Dennis Debiak. For 28 years, Dr. Bricklin served on the Pennsylvania State Board of Psychology, which regulates the practice and licensure of psychologists. She chaired the board from 1988 to 1997, and in 1995 she received an award for her service from the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards.

Before joining the faculty at Widener, she was on the faculty of Hahnemann University for 22 years and had taught at Johns Hopkins University. She also maintained an independent practice for many years and was a psychological-educational consultant at several schools for children with learning disabilities.

Dr. Bricklin was born in Colorado and grew up in Toledo, Ohio. She earned a bachelor's degree from St. Joseph College in Maryland and a master's degree in clinical psychology and a doctorate in psychology from Temple University, where she met her future husband.

Dr. Bricklin, whose grandfather was choral director at the National Cathedral and whose mother was a noted coloratura, performed as a child on radio in Toledo and later sang in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. Two of her children, Brian and Scott, are professional musicians. She and her husband enjoyed travel abroad, especially to Paris.

In addition to her husband and sons, Dr. Bricklin is survived by daughters Carol and Alisa Sigler.

A life celebration was held Wednesday, Jan. 5.

Memorial donations may be made to the Pat Bricklin Scholarship, Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology, Widener University, Bruce Hall, 1604 Walnut St., Chester, Pa. 19013.