Robert J. Waldinger
Born (1951-03-01) 1 March 1951 (age 73)
Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Occupation(s)Psychiatrist, psychoanalyst
Known forHarvard Study of Adult Development, Glueck Study, Grant Study, TED Talk, Zen teaching
SpouseJennifer A. Stone
Children
  • Daniel C.
  • David S.
Parents
  • David Waldinger (father)
  • Miriam Passman Waldinger (mother)
Academic background
EducationHarvard University (BA, MD)
Academic work
DisciplinePsychiatry, psychodynamic therapy
Institutions

Robert J. Waldinger (born 1951) is an American psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and Zen priest. He is a part-time professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and directs the Harvard Study of Adult Development, one of the longest-running studies of adult life ever conducted.[1]

Early life and education

Waldinger grew up in Des Moines, Iowa. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College in 1973.[2] He completed his M.D. at Harvard Medical School in 1978.[3]

Career

Waldinger directs the Harvard Study of Adult Development. The study tracked the lives of 724 men for nearly 80 years and now studies their baby boomer children[4] to understand how childhood experience reaches across decades to affect health and wellbeing in middle age (see Grant Study). He has also criticized the study for starting just with white male probands.[5]

Waldinger writes about scientific approaches to healthy human development and is the founding director of the Lifespan Research Foundation, which presents the insights of lifespan research to the general public.[6]

Waldinger is the author of numerous scientific papers[7] as well as two books.[8][9] He directs a teaching program in psychodynamic psychotherapy at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He has won awards for teaching and research from the American Psychiatric Association, Harvard Medical School, and Massachusetts Psychiatric Society.[citation needed]

Waldinger is also a Zen priest and sensei (transmitted teacher) in both Sōtō and Rinzai lineages, and teaches Zen in New England and internationally. His TED talk on lessons from the longest study of happiness has had over 40 million views and is the fastest spreading talk in the history of TEDx events.[10]  

On January 12, 2023, with Marc Schulz, Waldinger released The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness.

References

  1. ^ "Over nearly 80 years, Harvard study has been showing how to live a healthy and happy life". Harvard Gazette. April 11, 2017. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  2. ^ "ClassACT HR73 - Bob Waldinger '73 Publishes The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness". www.classacthr73.org. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  3. ^ "Dr. Robert Waldinger, MD – Boston, MA | Psychiatry on Doximity". Doximity. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  4. ^ "Harvard Second Generation Study". Harvard Second Generation Study. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  5. ^ Interview with Robert Waldinger by Mario Stäuble in Süddeutsche Zeitung from 21st/22nd January 2023, p. 51.
  6. ^ "About Us". Lifespan Research Foundation. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  7. ^ "Robert Waldinger | Harvard Catalyst Profiles | Harvard Catalyst". connects.catalyst.harvard.edu. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  8. ^ Frosch, William A. (May 1991). "Effective Therapy With Borderline Patients: Case Studies—by Robert J. Waldinger, M. D., and John G. Gunderson, M. D.; Washington, D. C., American Psychiatric Press, 1989, 232 pages, $27.50; originally published by Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987". Psychiatric Services. 42 (5): 543–543. doi:10.1176/ps.42.5.543. ISSN 1075-2730.
  9. ^ Waldinger, Robert J. (1997). Psychiatry for medical students. American Psychiatric Press. ISBN 0-88048-003-3. OCLC 758323245.
  10. ^ Waldinger, Robert (November 2015), TED Talk: What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness, retrieved December 27, 2021


Categories