Brian Leslie Weiss (born November 6, 1944) is an American

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

hypnotherapist Hypnotherapy is a type of mind–body intervention in which hypnosis is used to create a state of focused attention and increased suggestibility in the treatment of a medical or psychological disorder or concern. Popularized by 17th and 18th ce ...

, and author who specializes in

past life regression Past life regression is a method that uses hypnosis to recover what practitioners believe are memories of past lives or incarnations. The practice is widely considered discredited and unscientific by medical practitioners, and experts generally re ...

. His writings include

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrectio ...

, future life progression, and survival of the

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

after death.

Education and medical career

Weiss graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1966, and later graduated from the

Yale University School of Medicine The Yale School of Medicine is the graduate medical school at Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1810 as the Medical Institution of Yale College and formally opened in 1813. The primary te ...

in 1970, completing an internship in internal medicine at the

New York University Medical Center NYU Langone Health is an academic medical center located in New York City, New York, United States. The health system consists of NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NYU Long Island School of Medicine, both part of New York University (NYU), and m ...

, then returning to Yale for a two-year

residency Residency may refer to: * Domicile (law), the act of establishing or maintaining a residence in a given place ** Permanent residency, indefinite residence within a country despite not having citizenship * Residency (medicine), a stage of postgrad ...

in psychiatry. He went on to become Head of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami.

Past life regression and future life progression

According to Weiss, in 1980, one of his patients, "Catherine", began discussing past-life experiences under

hypnosis Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychologica ...

. Weiss did not believe in reincarnation at the time, but after confirming elements of Catherine's stories through public records, came to be convinced of the survival of an element of the human personality after death.Breakfast with Brian Weiss
''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the Alle ...

'', August 5, 2002, Accessed April 25, 2009. Dr. Weiss was astonished and skeptical when Catherine began recalling past-life traumas that seemed to hold the key to her recurring nightmares and anxiety attacks. His skepticism was eroded, however, when she began to channel messages from her spirit guide/Master who made remarkable revelations about Dr. Weiss’s family and his dead son. Weiss claims he has regressed more than 4,000 patients since 1980.Weinstein-Moser, Edie
"Interview with Brian Weiss"
''Wisdom'' magazine. ''Wisdom-Magazine.com''. 2008. Retrieved June 18, 2015. Weiss advocates

hypnotic regression Age regression in therapy is a psycho-therapeutic process that aims to facilitate access to childhood memories, thoughts, and feelings. Age regression can be induced by hypnotherapy, which is a process where patients move their focus to memorie ...

as therapy, claiming that many phobias and ailments are rooted in past-life experiences whose acknowledgement by the patient can have a curative effect. Weiss also writes about messages received from the "Masters", or "super-evolved, nonphysical souls", he claims to have communicated with through his subjects. Weiss holds workshops and seminars across the United States that explain and teach self-regression meditation techniques.

Personal life

Weiss lives with his wife Carole in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, Florida, where he writes and conducts public seminars and workshops on the subject of reincarnation. His daughter Amy E. Weiss is the co-author of his 2012 book ''Miracles Happen: The Transformational Healing Power of Past-Life Memories''.

Bibliography

* ''Many Lives, Many Masters: The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient, and the Past-Life Therapy That Changed Both Their Lives'' (1988) * ''Through Time into Healing: Discovering the Power of Regression Therapy to Erase Trauma and Transform Mind, Body and Relationships '' (1993) * ''Only Love Is Real: A Story of Soulmates Reunited'' (1997) * ''Messages From the Masters: Tapping into the Power of Love'' (2001) * ''Same Soul, Many Bodies: Discover the Healing Power of Future Lives through Progression Therapy'' (2005) * ''Miracles Happen: The Transformational Healing Power of Past Life Memories'' (2012)

CD Included

* ''Mirrors of Time: Using Regression for Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Healing'' (2002) * ''Meditation: Achiving Inner Peace and Tranquility In Your Life'' (2002) * ''Eliminating Stress, Finding Inner Peace'' (2003)

Card Deck

* ''Healing the Mind and Spirit Cards'' (2003) * ''Past Life Oracle Cards'' (2014, Co-authored with Doreen Virtue)

References

External links

Brian Weiss, website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weiss, Brian American psychiatrists Reincarnation researchers Yale School of Medicine alumni Columbia College (New York) alumni New Age writers Living people 1944 births American non-fiction writers Hypnotherapists Parapsychologists