Bryn Athyn College Alumni Magazine Winter 2015 | Page 24

THE LANGUAGE
OF TRANSITION
AN EXPLORATION OF FINAL WORDS
by Sasha Silverman

I

f you ask Bryn Athyn College students
about their most impactful classes and
favorite professors, you’ll no doubt hear
references to the College’s Psychology
Department Head, Dr. Erica Goldblatt Hyatt.
If you’ve met her, you understand. With her
bright eyes, engaging voice, and hair that
reflects her creative streak (purple at the time
of the interview) Goldblatt Hyatt exudes
a zest for life. Her warm approachability
balances her deep intellectual prowess, and
shatters the old stereotype of the “boring
professor.”

Goldblatt Hyatt’s passion involves exploring
the delicate transition between life and death, while
offering comfort and support to grieving families.
And it’s not just about research; this professor truly
practices what she preaches. In addition to earning
a doctorate and two master’s degrees (in bioethics
and social work) from the University of Pennsylvania,
Goldblatt Hyatt has offered counseling in a wide range
of clinical settings.
At Johns Hopkins Hospital, for example, she
worked with people who had brain tumors, as well
as with their families, helping them prepare for end
of life. At Children’s National Medical Center in
Washington, DC, as a clinical oncology social worker,
she held the hands of dozens of young cancer patients,
and spoke words of comfort to their grief-stricken
families. She worked in the division of fetal surgery at

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