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See Also

See Also:

Existential psychology;

Group therapy;

Groups;

Psychotherapy: Goals and techniques.

Psychology & Behavioral Health

Yalom, Irvin D.

by Elizabeth D. Schafer

Born: June 13, 1931

Birthplace: Washington, DC

Identity: American psychiatrist

Type of psychology: Psychotherapy

Yalom advanced the theory and practice of psychotherapy techniques for groups and existential therapy methods for individuals.

Irvin D. Yalom was born to Russian immigrants Benjamin Yalom and Ruth Yalom, who owned a Washington, DC, grocery. Yalom enrolled in George Washington University, receiving a bachelor's of art degree in 1952. He attended his alma mater's medical school for one year, then transferred to Boston University's medical program. Yalom married Marilyn Koenick in 1954 and earned an MD two years later.

Yalom completed a Mount Sinai Hospital internship in New York City in 1957 and began his residency at Johns Hopkins University's Henry Phipps Psychiatric Clinic in Baltimore, Maryland. His mentor, Jerome Frank, invited Yalom to watch group therapy, assisting him to establish a group. Rollo May's Existence: A New Dimension in Psychiatry and Psychology (1958; edited with Ernest Angel and Henri F. Ellenberger) influenced Yalom, who took philosophy classes to enhance his psychotherapy approaches.

In 1962, Yalom accepted a position at Stanford University's medical school in Palo Alto, California. He wrote The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy (1970), emphasizing what he called curative factors, including group cohesiveness and universality. That book has been translated into several languages and revised numerous times.

By 1973, Yalom had become a full professor and assistant director of Stanford's Adult Psychiatric Clinic. The Institute of Pennsylvania Hospital honored him with its 1974 Edward Strecker Award. He received the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Foundation's Fund Award in 1976. Yalom was a Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences fellow in 1977 and 1978. He wrote Existential Psychotherapy (1980), addressing four basic concepts related to human existence: death, freedom, isolation, and meaning.

In 1981, Yalom began directing medical services for Stanford University Hospital's Psychiatry Inpatient Unit. His book Inpatient Group Psychotherapy (1983) discussed treating patients in psychiatric wards. Reviewers praised Yalom's Love's Executioner and Other Tales of Psychotherapy (1989) for honestly depicting therapist-patient interactions, revealing failures associated with therapy, and acknowledging therapists' uncertainties.

Yalom's novels When Nietzsche Wept (1992), Lying on the Couch (1996), and The Schopenhauer Cure (2005) feature historical existential figures and situations. Yalom was general editor of the Jossey-Bass Library of Current Clinical Technique. In 2001, he received the APA's Oscar Pfister Award. In The Gift of Therapy: An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists and Their Patients (2002), Yalom offered insights and criticisms regarding the psychotherapy profession. His Staring at the Sun: Overcoming the Terror of Death (2008) focused on existentialism and mortality.

Yalom retired from Stanford in 1994 but continued with a part-time private practice. He has also written and produced several documentaries on therapeutic techniques.

Bibliography

1 

De Faoite, Aideen Taylor. Narrative Play Therapy: Theory and Practice. London: Jessica Kingsley, 2011. Print.

2 

Josselson, Ruthellen. Irvin D. Yalom: On Psychotherapy and the Human Condition. New York: Jorge Pinto Books, 2008. Print.

3 

Schuster, S. “A Philosophical Analysis and Critique of Dr. Irvin Yalom's Writings Concerning Philosophical Counseling”. International Journal of Applied Philosophy 27.1 (2013): 131–43. Print..

4 

Shaughnessy, Michael F., Douglas Main, and Judy Madewell. “An Interview with Irvin Yalom.” North American Journal of Psychology 9, no. 3 (December, 2007): 511–518. Print.

5 

Van Deurzen, Emmy, and Martin Adams. Skills in Existential Counselling and Psychotherapy. Los Angeles: Sage, 2011. Print.

6 

Yalom, Irvin D., ed. The Yalom Reader: Selections from the Work of a Master Therapist and Storyteller. New York: Basic Books, 1998. Print.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Schafer, Elizabeth D. "Yalom, Irvin D.." Psychology & Behavioral Health, edited by Paul Moglia, Salem Press, 2015. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=PBH_0681.
APA 7th
Schafer, E. D. (2015). Yalom, Irvin D.. In P. Moglia (Ed.), Psychology & Behavioral Health. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Schafer, Elizabeth D. "Yalom, Irvin D.." Edited by Paul Moglia. Psychology & Behavioral Health. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2015. Accessed September 17, 2025. online.salempress.com.