Norman E. Rosenthal is a South African author, psychiatrist and scientist who in the 1980s first described

seasonal affective disorder Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a mood disorder subset, in which people who have normal mental health throughout most of the year exhibit depressive symptoms at the same time each year. Common symptoms include sleeping too much, having li ...

(SAD), and pioneered the use of

light therapy Light therapy, also called phototherapy or bright light therapy is intentional daily exposure to direct sunlight or similar-intensity artificial light in order to treat medical disorders, especially seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and circad ...

for its treatment. Rosenthal was born and educated in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

but moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

to complete his medical training. He established a private practice and conducted research at the

National Institute of Mental Health The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is one of 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH, in turn, is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the prima ...

(NIMH) as a researcher and senior researcher for more than twenty years. It was here that he studied disorders of mood, sleep, and biological rhythms and was the first psychiatrist to describe and diagnose

(SAD). Rosenthal's research with SAD led him to write ''Winter Blues'' and two other books on the topic. More recently Rosenthal has written two books on the

Transcendental Meditation technique The Transcendental Meditation technique (abbreviated as TM) is the technique associated with the practice of Transcendental Meditation developed by the Indian spiritual figure Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The practice involves the use of a private m ...

(''Transcendence and Super Mind'') and conducted research on its potential influence on

posttraumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats ...

(PTSD). He has also written a memoir (''The Gift of Adversity'') and a book on therapeutic effects of poetry (''Poetry RX''). In total, he has written ten books and published over 200 scholarly papers.Rosenthal, Norman. Self Published Bi

retrieved July 2011

Early life and education

Rosenthal was born and raised in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

, South Africa. He attended King David High School and graduated in 1963 with "top marks" among the Transvaal Province students in his class who spoke English. He received his M.B. B.Ch. (equivalent of an M.D.) from the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...

in Johannesburg and graduated cum laude. He completed an internship in Internal Medicine and Surgery at Johannesburg General Hospital. He moved to the United States to further his education as a resident, and then became Chief Resident in psychiatry at the

New York State Psychiatric Institute The New York State Psychiatric Institute, located at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, was established in 1895 as one of the first institutions in the United States t ...

and

Columbia Presbyterian Hospital The NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is a nonprofit academic medical center in New York City affiliated with two Ivy League medical schools, Cornell University and Columbia University. The hospital comprises seven distinct campuses located in the New Y ...

.Rosenthal, Norman. Penguin Group. (2011). ''Transcendence: Healing and Transformation through Transcendental Meditation'', liner notes and pp 3-7

Career

Rosenthal began a private practice in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. in 1979. At the same time, he began a research fellowship with Frederick Goodwin at the

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

. This was the beginning of a 20-year career with the NIMH as a Researcher, Research Fellow, and Senior Researcher.Rosenthal, Norman. May 29, 2011. ''Could Transcendental Meditation Help Veterans Suffering From Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?'' Fox New

Retrieved October 2011 Rosenthal became the director of seasonal studies at the institute and in 1985, led research with 662 participants on the effects of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and later studied the psycho-physiological phenomena of "spring fever".Dullea, Geoirgia. December 19, 1985. ''Shedding Light on the Dark Day Blues'' New York Time

Retrieved October 2011 Rosenthal co-authored the book, ''How to Beat

Jet Lag Jet lag is a physiological condition that results from alterations to the body's circadian rhythms caused by rapid long-distance trans-meridian (east–west or west–east) travel. For example, someone flying from New York to London, i.e. from ...

'' in 1993 and in 1998, he was named clinical professor of psychiatry at Georgetown Medical School. He became Medical Director and CEO of a clinical trial organization ''Capital Clinical Research Associates'' in Rockville, Maryland in 2001 until 2012. He received a special recognition award from the Society for Light Treatment & Biological Rhythms (SLBTR) in 1999 and published the book ''The Emotional Revolution: How the New Science of Feeling Can Transform Your Life'' in 2002. Early in his career, Rosenthal learned the

while in South Africa, but found that as a medical student and a medical resident he didn't have time to practice. Then 35 years later, after one of his patients had a dramatic improvement as a result of TM, he began practicing again and then began recommending it to his patients. In 2011, he published '' Transcendence: Healing and Transformation Through Transcendental Meditation'', which was listed on the New York Times' Best Sellers: Hardcover Advice, How-To And Miscellaneous list. Earlier that year, Rosenthal published preliminary research on the potential influence of TM on

. Later he collaborated with Sanford Nidich and colleagues on a comparison of TM versus prolonged exposure in veterans with PTSD at the San Diego VA. Collaborating with Eric Finzi, Rosenthal found that botulinum toxin (botox) injected into the muscles of the forehead produced antidepressant effects in people with depression. Rosenthal has written more than 200 scholarly publications and his writings have been featured in the ''American Journal of Psychiatry'', ''Psychiatry Research'', ''Archives of General Psychiatry'', ''Biological Psychiatry'', ''Molecular Psychiatry'', and ''Journal of Affective Disorders''. He continues to treat patients with SAD and to coach executives and other professionals. He is often cited in mainstream media as an expert on the topic of SAD.

Awards and honors

Rosenthal has received the A.P.A. New York District Branch prize for paper written by a resident, the Psychiatric Institute Alumni Prize for best research performed by Psychiatric Institute Resident, the Public Health Service Commendation Medal, the Anna Monika Foundation Award for Depression Research, the Public Health Service Outstanding Service Award and the David Lynch Foundation lifetime achievement award for public health.

Seasonal affective disorder

Rosenthal is referred to as the pioneer of research into

. In 1984, he coined the term and began studying the use of

as a treatment.Brody, Jane E. Dec 29, 1993 ''NY Times, Health Scientists Find Ways to Reset Biological Clocks in Dim Winter''

Retrieved July 2011Sussman, Paul. November 25, 2007. ''Insiders Guide: Season Affective Disorder''. CNN Retrieved July 2011 Rosenthal's interest in studying the effects of the seasons on mood changes emerged when he emigrated from the mild climate of Johannesburg, South Africa, to the northeastern US. As a resident in the psychiatry program at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, he noticed that he was more energetic and productive during the long days of summer versus the shorter darker days of the winter.Rosenthal, Norman (2012). ''Winter Blues'': Fourth Edition. New York: Guilford Press In 1980, his team at NIMH admitted a patient with Major depressive disorder, depression who had observed seasonal changes within himself and thought previous research regarding melatonin release at night may be able to help him.Lewy A, Wehr TA, Goodwin FK, Newsome DA, Markey SP (1980) ''Light suppresses melatonin secretion in humans'' Science. Dec 12;210(4475):1267-9. Rosenthal and his colleagues treated the patient with bright lights, which helped to successfully manage the depression. They conducted a formal follow-up study to confirm the success. The results were published in 1984, officially describing SAD and pioneering light therapy as an effective treatment method.Rosenthal NE, Sack DA, Gillin JC, Lewy AJ, Goodwin FK, Davenport Y, Mueller PS, Newsome DA, Wehr TA (1984) ''Seasonal affective disorder: A description of the syndrome and preliminary findings with light therapy'' Archives of General Psychiatry, 41: 72-80 Although not all researchers agree with Rosenthal's conclusions on the effect of light therapy, the latest version of the ''Textbook of Mood Disorders'' published by the American Psychiatric Association includes a chapter on SAD and light therapy for mood disorders and light therapy for SAD. Light therapy for SAD is also endorsed by the National Institute for Mental Health.Kotz, Deborah. July 8, 2011 ''Dealing with summer depression'' Boston.com (Boston Globe

Retrieved Oct 2011 Rosenthal has written three books on the topic of SAD; ''Seasons of the Mind: Why You Get the Winter Blues and What You Can Do About It'' (1989), ''Winter Blues: Everything You Need to Know to Beat Seasonal Affective Disorder'' (1993) and ''Winter Blues Survival Guide: A Workbook For Overcoming SAD'' (2014). He has also co-edited the book ''Seasonal Affective Disorders and Phototherapy'' (1989). In 1984, he developed the

Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire The Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire, or SPAQ, is a simple, self-administered screening test for Seasonal Affective Disorder, first developed in 1984. Though some aspects of its accuracy have been questioned since then, it is widely used t ...

, a widely-used screening tool for seasonality. As a result of his research and publications, "it is now widely acknowledged that winter depression has a sound medical basis, involving changes in the body's mood centers" associated with exposure to light. With his colleague Thomas Wehr, Rosenthal later identified a form of reverse SAD which some experience in the summer season.

Books

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References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenthal, Norman E. 1950 births American psychiatrists American self-help writers Light therapy advocates Living people South African Jews South African psychiatrists University of the Witwatersrand alumni