Ronald Douglas Siegel is an American clinical psychologist, author, and educator known for his work in mindfulness and psychotherapy. He is an assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School; has written and edited many books for professional and lay readers; developed self-treatment programs for chronic pain; and lectures on integrating mindfulness and compassion practices into clinical practice.
Early life and education Siegel was born on March 10, 1954, in New York City, completed a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in religion from Wesleyan University in 1975, and a Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) from Rutgers University in 1983.
Career Siegel worked at Cambridge Youth Guidance Center (CYGC) from 1983 to 2006.
In the mid-1980s, he joined Harvard Medical School, researching how meditative traditions could inform psychotherapeutic theory, research, and practice. In 1996, they created the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy, a ground breaking organization dedicated to integrating contemplative practices into psychotherapy, where he continues to serve as faculty and on the Board of Directors.
Siegel developed a chronic back pain treatment program following a personal experience with back pain in 1988.
In 2014, Siegel helped to establish the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion at the Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School, dedicated to research, training, and community service, where he serves as a supervisor and senior faculty advisor; and from 2014 to 2025 served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School.
Siegel co-directs the annual Harvard Medical School conferences on Meditation, Psychotherapy, and Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy. He has developed programs for clinicians to understand research into psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and its potential impact on clinical practice.
Siegel has also produced lectures and writing for non-academic audiences.
Siegel has a clinical practice in Lincoln, Massachusetts.
Selected publications
References