This article was prepared by John H. Krystal, MD, Chair of the Yale Department of Psychiatry.
The Department of Psychiatry mourns the passing of Ruth Westheimer, EdD, on July 12, 2024, at the age of 94. At the time of her death, she held the rank of Lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry.
The public knows “Dr. Ruth” as the acclaimed sex therapist, author, and media icon whose distinctive voice, candid language, and charm were both visible and impactful on radio and TV in the 1980s.
Fewer are aware of her Yale connection. The late Dr. William Sledge, then the George D. and Esther S. Gross Professor and Deputy Chair of Psychiatry for Clinical Affairs also served as Head of what was then known as Calhoun College. Dr. Sledge invited Dr. Ruth to Yale to meet with undergraduates in a seminar series about human sexuality. This seminar was repeated annually over a number of years, during which time, Dr. Ruth also met with faculty and trainees in the Department of Psychiatry. These roles led to her appointment as a lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry.
Dr. Ruth’s kindly demeanor belied her resilience, which was tested by the hardships she faced earlier in her life. Born Karola Ruth Siegel in Germany, she was sent to a Swiss boarding school after her father was captured by the Nazis. Sadly, both of her parents were murdered by the Nazis. After the war, she emigrated to Palestine where she served as a sniper in the Haganah, an underground para-military group that evolved into the Israeli army.
Later, she laid the foundation for her career as a sex therapist. She studied psychology at the Sorbonne in Paris before immigrating to the United States in 1956. There, she worked as a maid while she pursued a master’s degree in sociology at the New School and earned a Doctor of Education from Columbia University’s Teacher’s College.
During a lecture September 2011 to faculty and psychiatry alumni at the Yale Club in New York City, Dr. Ruth attributed her ability to overcome these challenges to a solid social network in childhood; education; an optimistic outlook; cognitive flexibility; coping skills; and pursuit of a worthwhile mission.
For her remarkable impact in opening dialogue about the importance of sexual health and as a role model and advocate for human resilience, Dr. Ruth was awarded the Yale Department of Psychiatry’s Mental Health Advocacy Award in 2012.
She was a remarkable person, someone who conveyed both compassion and gravity. When around her, you came to expect very direct questions that could sometimes be quite personal. These exchanges rapidly created a special feeling of connection. I along with her students and fans feel a great loss in her passing.