Bernie S. Siegel

Last updated
Bernie Siegel
Born (1932-10-14) October 14, 1932 (age 91)
NationalityAmerican
EducationColgate University, Cornell University
Occupation(s)Surgeon, author, New Age speaker
EmployerYale University
SpouseBobbie
Parent(s)Simon B. Siegel and Rose Siegel

Bernie Siegel (born October 14, 1932) is an American writer and retired pediatric surgeon, who writes on the relationship between the patient and the healing process. He is known for his best-selling [1] book Love, Medicine and Miracles.

Contents

Early life and education

Siegel was born on October 14, 1932, in Brooklyn, New York. [2] He received a B.A. from Colgate University and his M.D. from Cornell University Medical College, [1] graduating with Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Omega Alpha honors. [3] He was trained in surgery at Yale–New Haven Hospital, West Haven Veteran's Hospital and the UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.

Career

Physician

Siegel practiced general medicine and pediatric surgery until 1989, when he retired from Yale as an Assistant Clinical Professor of General and Pediatric Surgery. [3]

Medical research and advocacy

Psychosocial support therapy

Exceptional Cancer Patients (ECP) is a non-profit organization founded by Siegel [1] in 1978. As described in a 1989 article in The New York Times , patients "with cancer and such other serious illnesses as AIDS and multiple sclerosis use group and individual psychotherapy, imagery exercises and dream work to try to unravel their emotional distress, which, Siegel says, strongly contributes to their physical maladies." [4] The ECP was created to provide resources, professional training programs and interdisciplinary retreats that help people facing the challenges of cancer and other chronic illnesses. In the fall of 1999, the Mind-Body Wellness Center (owned and operated by Meadville Medical Center and MMC Health Systems, Inc., a non-profit organization) acquired and assumed operations of the ECaP. [3] [5]

In 2008, Jerome Groopman, reviewing Anne Harrington's The Cure Within: A History of Mind-Body Medicine, noted that a study by David Spiegel which (Harrington wrote) appeared to support Siegel's claims that breast cancer was partly caused by emotional turmoil, and that "dramatic remissions could occur if patients simply gave up their emotional repression, without chemotherapy or radiation." [6] However, Groopman noted that later trials failed to show any significant beneficial effects.

Siegel's theories concerning the purported benefits of psychosocial support therapy remain unproven. He has stated: "a vigorous immune system can overcome cancer if it is not interfered with, and emotional growth toward greater self-acceptance and fulfillment helps keep the immune system strong", [7] but Stephen Barret argues that Siegel has published no scientific study supporting these claims. [8]

Siegel is an Academic Director of the Experiential Health and Healing program at The Graduate Institute in Bethany, Connecticut. [9]

Literary reviews

Literary critic Anatole Broyard, writing in The New York Times , describes him as "a sort of Donald Trump of critical illness" and "not a gifted writer"; and while agreeing that Siegel is a surgeon, writes that he "might sometimes be mistaken for a pop psychiatrist." Broyard is critical of some of Siegel's practices, such as "imaging", where cancer patients imagine their good cells defeating their bad cells. Yet, Broyard concludes, Siegel does bring "an element of camaraderie" and offers patients hope, which is "a godsend to many people who are too sick to object to his style." [10]

Los Angeles Times reviewer Joan Borysenko described Siegel's first book, Love, Medicine and Miracles, as "incredibly inspiring and sure to be controversial". She commented, "Excellent research is reviewed side-by-side with uncontrolled, highly questionable studies." Describing Siegel as an "extremist" who "views cancer and nearly all diseases as psychosomatic", the review concluded that "his message distills down to one that the head may question, but in which the heart delights". [11] A second Los Angeles Times review of the same book said, "The book works best as a passionate exhortation to care for yourself, emotionally as well as physically. As a treatise on disease, it's trendy but ultimately oppressive." [12]

In 1988, Siegel's Love, Medicine and Miracles ranked #9 on The New York Times Best Seller list of hardcover nonfiction books. [13] The book remained on the Times bestseller list for more than a year. [14] [15] The paperback version was on The New York Times Best Seller list from 1988 to 1994. [16] It was also included in Sheldon Zerden's The Best of Health: The 100 Best Health Books. [17] His book Peace, Love and Healing hit The New York Times Best Seller list (paperback) in 1989. [18]

Mind Body Spirit magazine ranked him #25 on their 2012 list, "The Spiritual 100". [19]

Appearances in films and television

Siegel was a "key figure" in the 1988 television movie Leap of Faith, later rendered Question of Faith in VHS, written by Bruce Hart. [20]

1n 1992, Frank Perry's autobiographical film On the Bridge shows Perry, with prostate cancer, going to a weekend seminar led by Siegel. [21]

Bernie Siegel appears in the 2012 film "The Cure Is", alongside Bruce H. Lipton, Joel Fuhrman, Fabrizio Mancini, Marianne Williamson, Gregg Braden, Sue Morter, Paul Chek.

Personal life

Siegel lived with his wife Bobbie in Connecticut until she died in her sleep in 2018. They have five adult children. [22] He has said that he reads the Bible often and uses it for inspiration. [23]

Works

Books

Recordings

Films

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faith healing</span> Prayer and gestures that are perceived to bring divine intervention in physical healing

Faith healing is the practice of prayer and gestures that are believed by some to elicit divine intervention in spiritual and physical healing, especially the Christian practice. Believers assert that the healing of disease and disability can be brought about by religious faith through prayer or other rituals that, according to adherents, can stimulate a divine presence and power. Religious belief in divine intervention does not depend on empirical evidence of an evidence-based outcome achieved via faith healing. Virtually all scientists and philosophers dismiss faith healing as pseudoscience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Sacks</span> British neurologist and writer (1933–2015)

Oliver Wolf Sacks was a British neurologist, naturalist, historian of science, and writer. Born in London, Sacks received his medical degree in 1958 from The Queen's College, Oxford, before moving to the United States, where he spent most of his career. He interned at Mount Zion Hospital in San Francisco and completed his residency in neurology and neuropathology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Later, he served as neurologist at Beth Abraham Hospital's chronic-care facility in the Bronx, where he worked with a group of survivors of the 1920s sleeping sickness encephalitis lethargica, who had been unable to move on their own for decades. His treatment of those patients became the basis of his 1973 book Awakenings, which was adapted into an Academy Award-nominated feature film, in 1990, starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deepak Chopra</span> Indian-American alternative medicine advocate

Deepak Chopra is an Indian-American author, new age guru, and alternative medicine advocate. A prominent figure in the New Age movement, his books and videos have made him one of the best-known and wealthiest figures in alternative medicine. In the 1990s, Chopra, a physician by education, became a popular proponent of holistic approach to well-being that includes yoga, meditation, and nutrition, among other new-age therapies.

William A. Nolen was a surgeon and author who resided in Litchfield, Minnesota. He wrote a syndicated medical advice column that appeared in McCall's magazine for many years, and was the author of several books. He died on December 20, 1986, at the University of Minnesota Medical Center from heart disease.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psychic surgery</span> Pseudoscientific medical fraud

Psychic surgery is a pseudoscientific medical fraud in which practitioners create the illusion of performing surgery with their bare hands and use sleight of hand, fake blood, and animal parts to convince the patient that diseased lesions have been removed and that the incision has spontaneously healed.

Caroline Myss is an American author of 10 books and many audio recordings about mysticism and wellness. She is most well known for publishing Anatomy of the Spirit (1996). She also co-published The Creation of Health with Dr C Norman Shealy MD - ex Harvard professor of neurology. Her most recent book, Archetypes: Who Are You? was published in 2013. Myss describes herself as a medical intuitive and a mystic.

Louise Lynn Hay was an American motivational author, professional speaker and AIDS advocate. She authored several New Thought self-help books, including the 1984 book You Can Heal Your Life, and founded Hay House publishing.

<i>A Return to Love</i> 1992 book by Marianne Williamson

A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles (1992) is the first book by Marianne Williamson, and concerns the 1976 book A Course in Miracles by Helen Schucman. A Return to Love was a New York Times Best seller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Energy medicine</span> Pseudo-scientific alternative medicine

Energy medicine is a branch of alternative medicine based on a pseudo-scientific belief that healers can channel "healing energy" into a patient and effect positive results. The field is defined by shared beliefs and practices relating to mysticism and esotericism in the wider alternative medicine sphere rather than any sort of unified terminology, leading to terms such as energy healing or vibrational medicine being used as synonymous or alternative names. In most cases there is no empirically measurable energy involved: the term refers instead to so-called subtle energy. Practitioners may classify the practice as hands-on, hands-off, and distant where the patient and healer are in different locations. Many schools of energy healing exist using many names: for example, biofield energy healing, spiritual healing, contact healing, distant healing, therapeutic touch, Reiki or Qigong.

Jerome E. Groopman has been a staff writer in medicine and biology for The New Yorker since 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Amen</span> American celebrity doctor

Daniel Gregory Amen is an American celebrity doctor who practices as a psychiatrist and brain disorder specialist. He is the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Amen Clinics. He is also the founder of Change Your Brain Foundation, BrainMD, and Amen University. Discover Magazine recognized Amen's research on PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) as one of the top 100 science stories of 2015. He is a twelve-time New York Times best-selling author as of 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman E. Rosenthal</span> Psychiatrist, researcher, and author

Norman E. Rosenthal is an American author, psychiatrist and scientist who first described seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and developed light therapy as a treatment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry G. Bieler</span> American physician (1893–1975)

Henry G. Bieler was an American physician and germ theory denialist, best known for his book Food is Your Best Medicine, which advocated the treatment of disease with foods. He is widely recognized as a pioneer in alternative medicine who used non-pharmaceutical, diet-based therapies to treat his patients. Bieler opposed the use of any drugs, including aspirin.

Cameron L. Stauth is an American author and journalist who is best known for his narrative nonfiction accounts of true stories, and for his medical books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Weiss</span> American psychiatrist

Brian Leslie Weiss is an American psychiatrist, hypnotherapist, and author who specializes in past life regression. His writings include reincarnation, past life regression, future life progression, and survival of the soul after death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Agus</span> English scientist, American physician, Professor of Medicine and Engineering and author

David B. Agus is an American physician, cancer researcher and author who serves as a professor of medicine and engineering at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine and Viterbi School of Engineering and the Founding Director and CEO of the Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine. He is also the cofounder of several personalized medicine companies and a contributor to CBS News on health topics. He is also the author of four books.

The American Meditation Institute (AMI) was founded by Leonard Perlmutter and Jenness Cortez Perlmutter in 1996. The Perlmutters were influenced by Eknath Easwaran and Nisargadatta Maharaj; they were direct disciples of Swami Rama of the Himalaya Mountains, the man who, in laboratory conditions and under the observation of research scientists at the Menninger Clinic, demonstrated that blood pressure, heart rate, and the autonomic nervous system can be voluntarily controlled. These research demonstrations have been one of the major cornerstones of the mind-body movement since the 1970s.

Marc K. Siegel is an American physician, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center, author, and contributor to The Hill, The Wall Street Journal, Slate, Fox News, and member of the board of contributors at USA Today. He is the medical director of NYU's Doctor Radio on Sirius XM.

Rachel Naomi Remen although trained as a pediatrician gained fame as an author and teacher of alternative medicine in the form of integrative medicine. She is a professor at the Osher Center of Integrative Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Together with Michael Lerner, she is a founder of the Commonweal Cancer Help Program, a cornerstone program at Commonweal. She is the founder of the Institute for the Study of Health & Illness. She has been featured on the PBS television series, Thinking Allowed.

David Perlmutter is an American celebrity doctor, author, low-carbohydrate diet advocate and promoter of functional medicine.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Kahn, Ada P.; Fawcett, Jan (2008). "Bernie Siegel". The Encyclopedia of Mental Health. Facts on File Library of Health and Living (3rd ed.). Infobase Publishing. p. 411. ISBN   978-0-8160-6454-0.
  2. Scott, Willard (2004). The Older the Fiddle, the Better the Tune: The Joys of Reaching a Certain Age. Hyperion Books. p. 115. ISBN   978-0-7868-9039-2. Excerpts available at Google Books.
  3. 1 2 3 Siegel B (2008). "Helping people live between office visits: An interview with Bernie Siegel, MD. Interview by Sheldon Lewis". Adv Mind Body Med. 23 (1): 24–7. PMID   20664138.
  4. Bass, Sharon (August 6, 1989). "Connecticut Q&A: Bernie S. Siegel; 'If You Enjoy Living, You Live Longer'". The New York Times . Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  5. "About Us: Background". ecap-online.org. Meadville Medical Center. Archived from the original on March 14, 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2012.
  6. Groopman, Jerome (January 27, 2008). "New York Times Sunday Book Review". Faith and Healing. New York Times. pp. Page 2 (of 2 web pages in review). Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  7. Siegel, Bernie S. (1986). Love, Medicine & Miracles, HarperCollins Publishers, ISBN   978-0-06-091406-6. p.77.
  8. Stephen Barrett, M.D. (17 December 2018). "Questionable Cancer Therapies". QuackWatch.
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-02-15. Retrieved 2012-04-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) The Graduate Institute: Faculty and Administrative Staff
  10. Broyard, Anatole (April 1, 1990). "New York Times Books". Good Books Ab[o]ut Being Sick. New York Times. pp. Page 2, 3 of 5 web pages. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  11. Borysenko, Joan (May 18, 1986). "Love, Medicine and Miracles by Bernie S. Siegel". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  12. Oppenheim, Mike (August 31, 1986). "Nonfiction: Love, Medicine & Miracles by Bernie S. Siegel MD". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  13. McDowell, Edwin (February 2, 1989). "New York Times Top-Selling Books of 1988". Books. New York Times. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  14. McDowell, Edwin (July 29, 1989). "New York Times Books". Book Notes. New York Times. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  15. Matsumoto, Nancy (September 5, 1994). "The Burgeoning Art of Healing With the Head : Mind/body books are big business. And it's not just New Agers who are lapping them up. Aging boomers are also opening up to the notion that attitude can cure". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2012-03-17. Former Yale Medical School surgeon Bernie Siegel's 1986 book, "Love, Medicine & Miracles," reappeared on the list this spring after spending more than 52 weeks on the bestseller list in the late 1980s and selling more than a million copies.
  16. "Paperback Best Sellers, May 7, 1989". The New York Times . May 7, 1989. Retrieved March 17, 2012.
  17. Zerden, Sheldon (2004). The Best of Health: The 100 Best Health Books. Warren H. Green, Inc. pp. 401–405. ISBN   0-87527-537-0.
  18. "Best Sellers, June 18, 1989". The New York Times . June 18, 1989. Retrieved March 17, 2012.
  19. "The Spiritual 100". The Watkins Review: Mind Body Spirit (29). February 2012.
  20. O'Connor, John J. (October 6, 1988). "Review/Television; Will Power vs. Disease". The New York Times . Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  21. Maslin, Janet (October 8, 1993). "New York Times Movie Review: On the Bridge". Reviews/Film. New York Times. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  22. "Dr. Bernie Siegel's Prescription for Cancer Victims (and a Best-Seller): 'Patient, Heal Thyself'". PEOPLE.com. 1987-09-21. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
  23. Holeman, Daniel B. "An Interview with Bernie Siegel". Randy Peyser, Expert Book Editor, Writer, Home Page. Retrieved 2018-02-03.

Further reading