Publications
“From Detached Concern to Empathy may be rightly viewed as a seminal work in developing a scholarly understanding of the subject of empathy.” Sharon Hull, MD, MPH, PCC,Journal of American Medical Association
“This is an important book…it is a serious essay on subjectivity, a topic about which we will be seeing more in the coming years.” Eric Cassell,The New England Journal of Medicine
“This lovely volume fixes on a profound truth in medicine: to the degree we are moved by our patients suffering we are better able to help them. The age of proteomics and genomics is the age of ‘objective reality’, yet for the patient it is all about humane empathetic care. Halpern in this scholarly and wonderful, readable volume shows us that empathy is just as critical for the physician and without it healing cannot begin. This book is a must read for all of us with an interest in medical practice.” Abraham Verghese, physician, professor, and author of,Cutting for Stone
“This is a beautifully written and beautifully reasoned book. Physician-ethicist Jodi Halpern crafts one of the finest descriptions available of psychiatry’s advance towards empathic involvement with patients. Intertwining psychiatry and ethics is no easy task. However, in Halpern’s hands, a blend of formal research, philosophical modeling and straight talk shows how neatly psychiatry and ethics work together.” Philip Candilis,Psychiatric Services
Books
Halpern, J., From Detached Concern to Empathy: Humanizing Medical Practice. Oxford University Press. 2011.
Halpern, J., Remaking the Self in the Wake of Illness. This manuscript brings narratives, psychology, and philosophy together to develop a theory of what it means to “adapt” or experience value change in the face of illness and disability. Expected completion late 2023.
Journal Articles
2022
Portacolone, E., Byers, A., Halpern, J., Barnes, D., Addressing suicide risk in patients living with dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, The Gerontologist, 2022;, gnac042, https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnac042
Dmowska, A., Prata, N., Halpern, J., Prasad, P. “The Intersection of Traumatic Childbirth and Obstetric Racism” Birth, in press.
2021
Halpern, J., S. E. O’Hara, A. L. Owen, and D. Paolo, “How Scientists Perceive CRISPR’s Translational Promise and the Implications for Individuals with Genetic Conditions,” Ethics & Human Research 43, no. 6; 2021.
Brown, J., Halpern J., “AI chatbots cannot replace human interactions in the pursuit of more inclusive mental healthcare.” Social Science and Medicine_Mental Health, December 2021. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666560321000177
Montemayor, C., Halpern, J. & Fairweather, A. In principle obstacles for empathic AI: why we can’t replace human empathy in healthcare. AI & Society 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-021-01230-z
Anzaldua, A., Halpern, J. “Can Clinical Empathy Survive? Distress, Burnout, and Malignant Duty in the Age of COVID-19” Hastings Center Report, February 2021.
Benner, P., Halpern, J., Chesla, K., Kelley, P. “Enemy Combatants” in the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan: Meeting an Involuntary Ethical Demand,” Journal of Health and Human Experience. October 2021.
Gregory McInnes, Andrew G. Sharo, Megan L. Koleske, Julia E.H. Brown, Matthew Norstad, Aashish N. Adhikari, Sheng Wang, Steven E. Brenner, Jodi Halpern, Barbara A. Koenig, David C. Magnus, Renata C. Gallagher, Kathleen M. Giacomini, Russ B. Altman, “Opportunities and challenges for the computational interpretation of rare variation in clinically important genes.” The American Journal of Human Genetics, vol 108, Issue 4, 2021.
Portacolone, E., Chodos, A., Halpern, J., Covinsky, K., Keiser, S, Fung, J., Rivera, E., Tran, T., Byhovsky, C., Johnson, J. “The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lived experience of diverse older adults living alone with cognitive impairment.” The Gerontologist, January 2021.
2020
Jodi Halpern & David Paolo. “Upstream Ethical Mapping of Germline Genome Editing.” The American Journal of Bioethics, 20:8, 1-4, August 2020.
Portacolone, E., Johnson, J. K., Halpern, J., & Kotwal, “Seeking a sense of belonging: Becoming an integral part of a community is a better solution for social isolation than many volunteer programs.” Generations-Journal of the American Society on Aging, Fall 2020.
Howick J, Mittoo S, Abel L, Halpern J, Mercer SW. “A Price Tag on Clinical Empathy? Factors Influencing it’s Cost-Effectiveness.” Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, Fall 2020.
Dean, S., McAllister, M., Halpern, J. “Virtual Reality and Nursing Education: Are There Limitations for Building Empathic Nurse-Patient Relationships?” Nursing Open, July 2020.
Portacolone, E., Johnson, J., Covinsky, K., Halpern, J. “Expectations and Concerns of Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment About their Relationship with Medical Providers: A Call for Therapeutic Alliances.” Qualitative Health Research, June 2020.
Portacolone, E., Halpern, J., Luxenberg, J., Harrison, K., Covinsky, K., “Ethical Issues Raised by the Introduction of Artificial Companions to Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment: A Call for Interdisciplinary Collaboration.” Journal of Alzheimers Disease, 2020.
2019
Halpern, J., O’Hara, S., Doxzen, K., Witkowsky, L., Owen, Lex. “Societal and Ethical Impacts of Germline Genome Editing: How Can We Secure Human Rights?” The CRISPR Journal, vol2, no.5. DOI: 10.1089/crispr.2019.0042.
Halpern, J. and Doxzen, K. “Germline Gene Editing and International Human Rights.” Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 2019.
Halpern, J., Paolo, D. Huang, A. “Informed Consent for Early-Phase Clinical Trials: Therapeutic Mis-estimation, Unrealistic Optimism and Appreciation.” Journal of Medical Ethics, 2019.
Berridge, C., Levy, K., Halpern, J. “Cameras on beds: The ethics of surveillance in nursing homes.” American Journal of Bioethics, 2019.
Kung, A., Cheung, T., Knox, M.Willard-Grace, R., Halpern, J., Olayiwola, N., Gottlieb,L. “Burnout and Capacity to Address Patients’ Social Needs in Primary Care: A Qualitative Study.” American Journal of Family Medicine, 2019.
Portacolone, E., Covinsky, K. E., Johnson, J. K., Rubinstein, R. L., & Halpern, J. “Walking the Tightrope Between Study Participant Autonomy and Researcher Integrity: The Case Study of a Research Participant With Alzheimer’s Disease Pursuing Euthanasia in Switzerland.” Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics, 2019.
Perry, J., Wohlke, S., Metselaar, S., Halpern, J. “Dealing with Misconception in Biomedical Research” Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics, in press, 2019.
2018
Halpern, J. “Jorge’s Decision” Special Issue on Shared Decision-Making, Pediatrics, 2018.
Ramstein, J., Tsai, K., Mehta, A., Dupree, J., Nangia, M., Halpern, J., P. Rosen, M., Smith, J. “Access to Fertility Preservation for Cancer Patients on Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors.” Fertility and Sterility, 2018
Wilson L., Cocohoba,, J..,Chyorny, A., Halpern, J., Auerswald, C., Myers, J. “Perspectives on Integrated HIV and Hepatitis C Virus Testing Among Persons Entering a Northern California Jail: A Pilot Study.” JAIDS Volume 78, Number 2, June 2018.
Portacolone, E., Covinsky,K., Halpern, J., Rubinstein, R., Johnson, J. “The Precarity of Living Alone in Older Age with Cognitive Impairment.” The Gerontologist, January 2018.
2017
Halpern, J. “ The Therapeutic Effects of Empathy in Healthcare.” Emotion Researcher, International Society for Research on Emotion, Summer 2017.
Main, A., Walle, E., Kho, C. Halpern, J. “The Interpersonal Functions of Empathy: A Relational Perspective,” Emotion Review, May, 2017, 1754-0739, DOI: 10.1177/1754073916669440
Benner, P., Halpern, J., Gordon, D., Poppell, C., Kelley, P. “Beyond Pathologizing Harm: Understanding PTSD in the Context of War Experience.” Journal of Medical Humanities, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10912-017-9484-y
Ramstein, J. J., Halpern, J., Gadzinski, A. J., Brannigan, R. E. and Smith, J. F. (2017), Ethical, moral, and theological insights into advances in male pediatric and adolescent fertility preservation. Andrology 2017. doi:10.1111/andr.12371
2016
Colley, A., Halpern, J., Paul, S., Miaskowski, C., Dunn, L. “Factors Associated with Oncology Patients Involvement in Shared Decision-Making During Chemotherapy.” Psycho-Oncology, October 2016.
Harris, L., Williams, J., Gerrdts, C., Urbano, L., Velez, A., Halpern, J., Prata, N., Baffoe, P. “Development of a conceptual model and survey instrument to measure conscientious objection to abortion provision.” PLOS ONE, 2016.
Harris, L., Halpern, J., Prata, N., Chavka, W., Gerrdts, C. “Conscientious Objection to Abortion Provision: Why Context Matters,” Global Pubic Health, 2016.
2015
O’Keefe, M., Perrault, S., Halpern, J., Ikemoto, L., Yarborough, M. ‘Editing’ Genes: A Case Study About How Language Matters in Bioethics.“ American Journal of Bioethics, December 2015.
Ekman, E.,Halpern, J. “Professional Distress and Well-being among Human Service Care Providers: Professional Empathy Can Help.” Social Work in Mental Health, August 2015.
Lantos, J., Halpern, J. “Bullying, Social Hierarchies, Poverty and Health Outcomes.” Pediatrics Mar 2015, 135 (Supplement 2) S21-S23.
Halpern, J., Jutte, D., Colby, J. and Boyce, W.T. “Social Dominance, School Bullying, and Child Health: What Are Our Ethical Obligations to the Very Young? Pediatrics Mar 2015, 135 (Supplement 2) S24-S30
2014
Portacolone, E., Halpern, J. “Move or Suffer”: Is Age Segregation the New Norm for Older Americans Living Alone? Journal of Applied Gerontology, November 2014.
Decety, J., Smith, K., Norman, G., Halpern, J. “Clinical Empathy: What can we learn from social and affective neuroscience?” World Psychiatry, April 2014. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4219055/
Schicktanz S., Schweda,M., Ballenger, J., Fox, P., Halpern, J., Kramer, J., Micco, G. Post, S., Thompson, C., Knight, R., Jagust. “Before it is too late: professional responsibilities in late-onset Alzheimer’s research and pre-symptomatic prediction.” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 20 November 2014.
Halpern, J. “Narratives Hold Open the Future.” Special Issue on Narrative Ethics, Hastings Center Report, January/February 2014.
Halpern, J. “From idealized clinical empathy to empathic communication in medical care.” Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy. Summer, 2013.
2013
Halpern, J., “Empowering Patients: Motivational Interviewing and Rethinking the Relational Basis of Autonomy.” Journal of Philosophy, Psychiatry and Psychology. Summer, 2013.
Halpern, J. and Jutte, D. “The Ethics of Pay for Success.” Community Development Investment Review, April, 2013.
Halpern, J. and Kravitz, Rl. “Authority, Health Advocacy Organizations and Scientific Evidence.” AMA Journal of Ethics- Virtual Mentor. January 2013, 1;15(1):18-22.
2012
Halpern, J. “When concretized emotion-belief complexes derail decision-making capacity.” Bioethics, doi: 10.1111/j-1467-8519.2010.01817.x. February, 2012.
Halpern, J. “Clinical Wisdom is Practical Wisdom,” Journal of Clinical Ethics, Spring, 2012.
Halpern, J. “Gathering the Patient’s Story,” The Permanente Journal; January, 2012.
2011
Martinson, M. and Halpern, J. “Ethical implications of the promotion of elder volunteerism: A critical perspective.” Journal of Aging Studies, 2011. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2011.04.003.
Halpern, J. Emotions, “Autonomy and Decision-Making Capacity.” American Journal of Bioethics Neuroscience, 2011, August.
Halpern, J. “Publishing Clinical Cases: Who Owns the Story? Is the Patient’s Consent Needed? “ Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, July 2011; vol 3(7).
2009 and earlier
Halpern, J. “Groupthink and Caregivers’ Projections: Addressing Barriers to Empathy,” Journal of Clinical Ethics, Spring 2009.
Halpern, J. “Affective Forecasting: An Unrecognized Challenge in Making Serious Health Decisions,” Journal of General Internal Medicine, October 2008
Halpern, J. “Let’s Value But Not Idealize Emotions,” Journal of Clinical Ethics, Fall 2007.
Dhawaan, N., Steinbach, A., Halpern, J. “Physician Empathy and Compassion for Inmate Patients,” Journal of Correctional Health, Fall 2007.
Shoeb, M., Weinstein, H. and Halpern, J. “Living in Religious Time and Space: Iraqi Refugees in Dearborn, Michigan” Journal of Refugee Studies, September 2007.
Halpern, J. “Empathy and Patient-Physician Conflicts,” Journal of General Internal Medicine, May 2007(17): 696-700.
Kravitz RL and Jodi Halpern. “Direct-to-consumer drug ads, patient autonomy and the responsible exercise of power.” Virtual Mentor-AMA Journal of Ethics. 2006; 8:407-411.
Beach, M.C., Meredith, L., Halpern, J., Wells, K., Ford, D. “Physician Conceptions of Loyalty to Patients and Social Justice in Healthcare.” Annals of Family Medicine. January 2005.
Halpern, J. and Weinstein, H. “Rehumanizing the Other: Empathy and Social Reconciliation,” Human Rights Quarterly. August 2004. 26 (3): 561-583
Halpern, J., Johnson, M., Miranda, J. & Wells, K. “The Partners in Care Approach: Ethics Outcomes in Quality Improvement Programs for Depression,” Psychiatric Services. May 2004; 55(5): 532-39.
Halpern, J. “What is Clinical Empathy?” Journal of General Internal Medicine, 2003. 18: 670-674.
Halpern, J. “Responding to the Need Behind the Question, ‘Doctor, if This Were Your Child, What Would You Do?’” The Journal of Clinical Ethics. Spring-Summer 2003; 14(1/2): 71-78.
Halpern, J. “Beyond Wishful Thinking: Facing the Harm that Psychotherapists Can Do by Writing About Their Patients” The Journal of Clinical Ethics. Spring-Summer 2003. 14(1/2): 118-136.
Halpern, J. “Reluctant Patients: Autonomy and Delegating Medical Decisions.” The Journal of Clinical Ethics. Spring 2003; 13(1): 78-84.
Halpern, J. “Can the Development of Practice Guidelines Safeguard Patient Values” The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics. Spring 1995; 23: 75-81.
Wenger, N. and J. Halpern. “The Physician’s Role in Advance Directive Completion.” The Journal of Clinical Ethics. Winter 1994; 5(4): 320-3
Wenger, N. and J. Halpern. “Can a Patient Refuse a Psychiatric Consultation?” The Journal of Clinical Ethics. Fall 1994; 5(3): 230-4