Gerald G. Jampolsky
February 11, 1925 – December 29, 2020
Gerald “Jerry” Jampolsky, a Child and Adult Psychiatrist who was the Founder of Attitudinal Healing, died peacefully at his floating home surrounded by his family in Sausalito, CA. He was 95.
Dr. Jampolsky was born to Leo Jampolsky and Tillie Fellman Jampolsky in Long Beach , CA. on Feb. 11, 1925. He completed his pre-medical studies at the Stanford School of Medical Studies and a medical degree from Stanford University in 1950. He then interned at the U.S. Public Health Service Hospital in Boston and completed his residency at Langley Porter Neuropsychiatric Institute at UCSF.
During part of the Korean War he was the staff psychiatrist at Travis Air Force Base before working as a Child Psychiatrist fellow at Langley Porter and as an Assistant Clinical Professor at the USCF School of Medicine.
In 1975 Dr. Jampolsky embarked on a path of personal healing influenced by “A Course in Miracles.” Later that year he started the Center for Attitudinal Healing in Tiburon, CA with free services to help children facing life-threatening illnesses and death. It was the interactions inside a small waterfront building on Main St. in Tiburon that set him on a course to helping countless children and adults worldwide through the pioneering of Peer Support Groups and The Twelve Principles of Attitudinal Healing.
In 1981, he met his wife Diane Cirincione-Jampolsky, Ph.D. who worked side by side with him for 40 years and continues to this day as the Executive Director of Attitudinal Healing International, a network of independent Centers in 37 countries on six continents. The original Center moved to Sausalito in 1990 and in 2007, when the Sausalito School District needed to reclaim their space, the Center’s Groups moved into the Marin County community where they exist until this day. Attitudinal Healing has since been adapted and innovated into the fields of mental and physical health, education, community, business, hospitals, prisons, and more.
Dr. Jampolsky received recognition when he was invited by Phil Donahue to appear on his talk show with children from the Center in 1979 which resulted in the Peabody Award for its’ groundbreaking subject matter. Soon after he appeared on 60 Minutes, Oprah, and with Cirincione, Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNN and hundreds of other national and international television and radio shows.
He went on to author and co-author with Cirincione 20 books in 32 languages, including many classics like “Love is Letting Go of Fear,” “Teach Only Love,” “Forgiveness, The Greatest Healer of All,” “Goodbye To Guilt,” and “Aging With Attitude.”
Apart from the ongoing work of mentoring the ever growing number of independent Centers, Drs. Jampolsky and Cirincione worked with the staff of San Francisco General Hospital on HIV/AIDS beginning in 1983 and culminating in a joint conference on “AIDS, Attitudinal Healing, and Burnout.”
They both spearheaded a campaign in 1986 to lessen the stigma of people with AIDS and over the next 10 years, travelled to 30 countries to educate and address the psycho-social aspects of the pandemic. He worked with his wife to inspire Jack Keeler, a cartoonist and graphic artist, to create a poster of a child with open arms that read “I Have AIDS, Please Hug Me, I Can’t Make You Sick.” This award winning image was first distributed by the World Health Organization to 142 countries in their AIDS Education Campaign in 1987 and later adopted as their most effective global symbol for AIDS in 2005.
Over the last four decades, Dr. Jampolsky has received 20 international awards, most notably the American Medical Association’s “Excellence in Medicine - Pride of the Profession Award” as well as along with Cirincione, “The Ellis Island Medals of Honor.”
It is impossible to fully articulate how very beloved Jerry Jampolsky remains for positively impacting millions of people of all ages around the world during his long life. He is survived by his wife and life partner, Dr. Diane Cirincione-Jampolsky, his two sons from a previous marriage to Patricia Jampolsky, Gregory Jampolsky and Dr. Lee Jampolsky; his brother Dr. Arthur Jampolsky; his four adored grandchildren; and a niece and two nephews. A service will be held at a later date. For additional information www.ahinternational.org