About Bernie Siegel

Bernie S. Siegel, MD, is a well-known proponent of integrative and holistic approaches to healing that heal not just the body but also the mind and soul.  Bernie, as his friends and patients call him, attended Colgate University and studied medicine at Cornell University Medical College.  His surgical training took place at Yale-New Haven Hospital, West Haven Veterans Hospital, and the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. 

In 1978 Bernie pioneered a new approach to group and individual cancer therapy called Exceptional Cancer Patients (ECaP), which utilized patients’ drawings, dreams, and feelings, and he broke new ground in facilitating important patient lifestyle changes and engaging the patient in the self-induced healing process. 

All along the way, Bernie’s wife, Barbara H. Siegel—or Bobbie—has been a mainstay at workshops on helping patients interpret their drawings and especially, with a talent for very funny one-liners, at workshops on the healing power of humor. Bobbie, a graduate of Oswego State Teachers College with a BS in Early Childhood Education, credits her academic work as the preparation she needed to educate and train Bernie. On his part, Bernie does say that her guidance has helped him become the person he is today. 

Bernie retired from his general and pediatric surgical practice in 1989.  Always a strong advocate for his patients, he has since dedicated himself to humanizing the medical establishment’s approach to patients and empowering patients to play a vital role in the process of self-induced healing to achieve their greatest potential. 

He continues to run support groups and is an active speaker, traveling around the world to address patient and caregiver groups.  As the author of 14 books – including Love, Medicine & Miracles; The Art of Healing; 365 Prescriptions for the Soul; Faith, Hope & Healing; A Book of Miracles; and his latest work, Love, Animals, and Miracles: Inspiring True Stories Celebrating the Healing Bond – Bernie has been at the forefront of the spiritual and medical ethics issues of our day. 

Bernie has been named one of the top 20 Spiritually Influential Living People by Watkins’ Mind Body Spirit magazine (London).  Bernie and his wife (and coauthor) Bobbie, live in a suburb of New Haven, Connecticut.  They have five children, eight grandchildren, four cats, two dogs, and much love.  To order any of Bernie's books and CDs, visit his website at