Allan Fromme, 87; Psychologist, Writer Broadcast His Advice

Allan Fromme, 87, a psychologist and writer who dispensed advice on radio and television, died of natural causes Thursday in Sarasota, Fla.

A native New Yorker educated at Columbia University, Fromme taught at Columbia, Sarah Lawrence and City College of New York, and maintained a New York City therapy practice for 50 years.

But he was better known as the common-sense advisor who paid house calls through radio, television and the articles and books he wrote, including “The Book of Normal Neurotics.”

One of his most popular books was “ABC of Child Care,” in which he encouraged parents, not only to stress love and patience in rearing children, but also to provide discipline.

His writing also addressed the problems of the individual, such as the book “Our Troubled Selves: A New and Positive Approach.”

Fromme’s advice was based in science but also linked to popular culture, and sometimes detoured from regular clinical prescriptions. He advised bored married couples, for example, to add zest to their lives with simple changes in routine, such as having lunch before breakfast.