Shirley Zussman

Zussman died on December 4, 2021, at the age of 107.

In her later years, in her practice Zussman often saw people much younger than herself; at age 99 she had patients in their twenties. She continued to practice as a sex therapist at 100 years old as of August 2014.

Zussman and her husband, Dr. Leon Zussman, a gynecologist, trained at the Masters and Johnson Institute in the 1960s. The two became directors of the Human Sexuality Center of the Jewish-Hillside Medical Center on Long Island in New York. Their practice centered on communication and developed physical and psychological exercises for their patients. In 1979, they wrote Getting Together: A Guide to Sexual Enrichment for Couples which was wide-ranging and compassionate. She later had a practice on East 79th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

Zussman received a bachelor's degree in psychology at Smith College in 1934, and a masters in social work in 1937 from the New York School of Social Work at Columbia University. She received her doctorate in education in 1969 from Teachers College, Columbia University. Zussman was supervised through her graduate dissertation by Margaret Mead.

Shirley Edith Zussman (née Dlugasch; July 23, 1914 – December 4, 2021) was an American sex therapist based in New York City. She was Jewish.

Zussman was born Shirley Edit Dlugasch on July 23, 1914, in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Zussman's father, Louis Dlugasch, was a doctor, and her mother, Sara, was a surgical nurse. She was raised in Brooklyn, and attended Girls High School.

Shirley was married to Leon Zussman (1909–1980). They had two children, a son, Marc Zussman, and a daughter, Carol Sun.