David Spiegel

Clinical Focus

• Psychiatry
• Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent
• Medical Director, Stanford Center for Integrative Medicine

Administrative Appointments

• Jack, Lulu & Sam Willson Professor, Stanford School of Medicine. (2002 - present)
• Associate Chair, Stanford University School of Medicine - Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (2000 - present)
• Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, with tenure., Stanford University School of Medicine. (1991 - present)
• Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences., Stanford University School of Medicine. (1987 - 1991)
• Associate Research Psychiatrist., University of California, San Francisco. (1986 - 1991)
View All 6administrative appointments of David Spiegel

Honors and Awards

• Marmor Award for Advancement of the Biopsychosocial Model in Psychiatry., American Psychiatric Association. The American Psychological Association. (2004)
• The Division 30 Award for Distinguished Contributions to Professional Hypnosis., The American Psychological Association. (2003)
• Ernest R. Hilgard Award for Scientific Excellence for 2002., The International Society of Hypnosis. (2003)
• Distinguished Life Fellow,in recognition of significant contributions to Psychiatry., American Psychiatric Association. (2006)
• Best Paper on the Application of Hypnosis., American Psychological Association. (2002)

Professional Education

Web Site Links

• Center for Stress and Health

Industry Relationships

Stanford is committed to ethical and transparent interactions with our industry partners. It is our policy to disclose payments of $5,000 or more, equity valued at $5,000 or more in a publicly traded company, or any equity in a privately held company, to physicians and scientists employed by Stanford University from companies or other commercial entities with which they interact as part of their professional activities. View Full Information

Current Research Interests

Dr. Spiegel's research interests involve stress and health: cognitive control over somatic functions, including cancer progression, the response to traumatic stress, and the perception of pain and anxiety. He is currently conducting a large scale study of the relationships among sleep disturbance, diurnal stress hormone patterns, and breast cancer survival, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute. This work is based upon earlier evidence from his laboratory that loss of circadian variation in cortisol, indicative of HPA dysfunction, predicts early mortality with breast cancer.

Dr. Spiegel is also continuing study of the relationship between the acute response to trauma, including dissociative symptoms, and the development of post-traumatic stress disorder. He is also evaluating various methods of treating these symptoms.

Dr. Spiegel is carrying out studies of the neurophysiological components of hypnosis by studying brain correlates of hypnotic perceptual alteration, using PET, fMRI and diffusion tensor imaging. His research program is designed to examine neurophysiological and peripheral mechanisms through which psychological and social support may influence physical health.

Clinical Trials

• Sleep, Circadian Hormonal Dysregulation, and Breast Cancer Survival Recruiting
• Stress, Diurnal Cortisol, and Breast Cancer Survival No longer recruiting
• Intellectual Impairment in Women With Breast Cancer Not yet recruiting

Publications

• Letter to the Editor: The Cure Within Spiegel D., New York Times. Jan 27
• Sexual Adjustment and Body Image Scale (SABIS): a new measure for breast cancer patients. Dalton EJ, Rasmussen VN, Classen CC, Grumann M, Palesh OG, Zarcone J, Kraemer HC, Kirshner JJ, Colman LK, Morrow GR, Spiegel D. Breast J. 2009 May-Jun; 15 (3): 287-90
• Does improving mood in depressed patients alter factors that may affect cardiovascular disease risk? Taylor CB, Conrad A, Wilhelm FH, Strachowski D, Khaylis A, Neri E, Giese-Davis J, Roth WT, Cooke JP, Kraemer H, Spiegel D. J Psychiatr Res. 2009; 43 (16): 1246-52
• Shame, guilt, and posttraumatic stress disorder in adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse at risk for human immunodeficiency virus: outcomes of a randomized clinical trial of group psychotherapy treatment. Ginzburg K, Butler LD, Giese-Davis J, Cavanaugh CE, Neri E, Koopman C, Classen CC, Spiegel D. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2009; 197 (7): 536-42
• Regional brain activation during verbal declarative memory in metastatic breast cancer. Kesler SR, Bennett FC, Mahaffey ML, Spiegel D. Clin Cancer Res. 2009; 15 (21): 6665-73