William S. Breitbart, FAPM (born 1951), is an American psychiatrist in Psychosomatic Medicine, Psycho-oncology, and Palliative Care.
William Breitbart was born in 1951 and raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan with his younger brother, Sheldon.
Breitbart has been the chief of psychiatry at MSKCC since 1996,[6] and was the director of the ACGME Accredited Fellowship Training Program in Psychosomatic Medicine there.
He has been vice-chairman of the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at MSKCC since 2009, and was named interim chairman in June 2012.
In October 2014 Breitbart was appointed chairman of the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, and holds the Jimmie C Holland Chair in Psychiatric Oncology at MSKCC.
Much of his early research focused on the neuropsychiatric problems of HIV-infected patients, including pain, fatigue, delirium and other symptoms that impact quality of life.
Breitbart and his colleagues began to reframe the concept of despair at the end of life, expanding the concerns of palliative and supportive care beyond symptom management.
In addition to constructs such as depression and anxiety, they found that factors such as hopelessness, loss of meaning, and decreased spiritual well-being contributed greatly to the dying patients’ sense of suffering.
Breitbart's most recent research efforts involve the development of novel psychotherapeutic interventions, which he has named "Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy", aimed at sustaining meaning and improving spiritual well-being in the terminally ill.
In an interview for the international journal Innovations in End-of-Life Care, Breitbart refers to the works of existential theorists/philosophers, particularly Viktor Frankl.
[10] Breitbart and colleagues have developed both an individual and group model of "Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy", inspired by Frankl's work.
In addition, Breitbart has been recognized as one of New York Magazine's "Best Doctors" every year since 2002,[12] and is the recipient of the 2009 Willet F. Whitmore Award for Clinical Excellence from Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
[14] He serves on the Editorial/Review Boards for various international peer reviewed journals and books, including: Breitbart was a child of Holocaust survivors, "Moishe" and Rose.
Palliative and Supportive Care, William Breitbart, M.D., Editor-in-Chief, Cambridge University Press, 2003 to Present.
Jacox A, Carr DB, Payne R, Berde C, Breitbart W, Cain JM, Chapman CR, Cleeland CS, Ferrell BR, Finley RS, Hester NO, Stratton Hill Jr. C. Leak DW.
Lipman AG, Logan CL, McGarvey CL, Miaskowski CA, Mulder CS, Paice JA, Shapiro BS, Silberstein EB, Smith RS, Stover J, Park S, Tsou CV, Veccheriarelli L, Weissman DE.