Memorial Sloan Kettering Psychiatrist William S. Breitbart

William S. Breitbart, MD

Psychiatrist

Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Existential distress
  • Coping with cancer
  • Mood disorders

My Specialties

  • Psychiatry and psychiatric care
  • Psychopharmacologic treatment
  • Meaning-centered psychotherapy (MCP)
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Dr. Breitbart's Office Information
Languages: English
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Get to Know Me

I am a triple board-certified psychiatrist and psycho-oncologist whose expertise focuses on the psychiatric aspects of a cancer diagnosis. This includes:

I see patients, couples, and family members on an individual basis at MSK. As the psychiatric liaison to the hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) disease management team and the Supportive Care Service, I specialize in providing support to people affected by cancers of the pancreas, liver, and bile ducts, as well as other gastrointestinal cancers. I am also a member of the Brain Tumor Center faculty.

I have been at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) since I completed my fellowship training in consultation-liaison psychiatry/psycho-oncology from 1984-1986. I served as Chief of the Psychiatry Service at MSK from 1996-2017, and Vice Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences from 2009-2014. In 2014, I was appointed Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

Since 2002, I have led the Psychotherapy Laboratory within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. This laboratory offers novel counseling interventions to people with cancer of all types and stages, as well as to couples and families.

Most notably, I developed meaning-centered psychotherapy (MCP) for people with cancer. MCP is a brief, structured psychotherapeutic intervention to help patients experiencing loss of meaning around illness. It is designed to help reduce the feelings of despair that can come with a cancer diagnosis by helping people with cancer focus on the importance of creating, reconnecting with, experiencing, and sustaining meaning in the face of illness. The National Cancer Institute has recognized MCP as a research-tested intervention that benefits patients with cancer. MCP has been translated and used in more than 12 languages and countries.

Beyond MCP, my research interests have included:

  • Fatigue related to cancer and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)
  • Depression in terminally ill people with AIDS and cancer
  • Inflammatory depression in people with pancreatic cancer
  • MCP for people with advanced cancer
  • Delirium research

Outside of MSK, I helped to establish the American Psycho-Oncology Society (APOS). I also assisted in the foundation of the International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS) and served as its President. Additionally, I am the past President of the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine.

I am a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and was a faculty scholar of the Project on Death in America. I have authored more than 500 peer reviewed publications, chapters, and review papers, as well as 13 textbooks. I currently serve as Editor-in-Chief of Cambridge University Press’ international journal, Palliative & Supportive Care. 

What I Do at MSK

I'm a psychiatrist (sy-KY-uh-trist), which is a doctor with special training in mental, emotional, and behavioral health. I can prescribe medicine to help with these issues.

  • Attending Psychiatrist
  • Jimmie C. Holland Chair
Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Existential distress
  • Coping with cancer
  • Mood disorders
  • Depression
  • Fatigue
  • Delirium
  • Demoralization
  • Coping with pain
  • Coping with cancer treatment
  • Coping difficulties
  • Sleep problems

My Specialties

  • Psychiatry and psychiatric care
  • Psychopharmacologic treatment
  • Meaning-centered psychotherapy (MCP)
  • Psychotherapy
Education & Honors

Education

  • MD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Residencies

  • Bronx Municipal Hospital Center

Fellowships

  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Board Certifications

  • Internal Medicine
  • Psychiatry
  • Psychosomatic Medicine/Consultation – Liaison Psychiatry/Psycho-Oncology

Awards and Honors

  • Castle Connolly: America’s Top Doctor (2025)
  • Castle Connolly: America’s Top Doctor (2024)
  • Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Contributions to Palliative Care, MD Anderson Cancer Center (2023)
  • Jimmie Holland Award for lifetime contributions to psychiatric oncology, IPOS (2019)
  • Trish Greene Quality of Life Award, the American Cancer Society (ACS, 2017)
  • Distinguished Leadership Award, the American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS, 2013)
  • Hackett Lifetime Achievement Award, Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine (2011)
  • Sutherland Lifetime Achievement Award, International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS, 2009)
  • Willet F. Whitmore Award for Clinical Excellence, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (2009)
  • Top Doctors New York Metro Area, Castle Connolly (2001-2023)
  • Castle Connolly: America's Top Doctors (2001-2023)
  • Castle Connolly: New York Magazine Top Doctors (2001-2023)

Insurance Information

Understanding your insurance options is an important part of managing your cancer care. We have relationships with many common healthcare providers and plans.

Don't see your carrier or plan? We can help you understand your coverage.

If you don't have health insurance or are worried that your care may not be fully covered, our financial assistance programs may be able to help.

If you have questions about insurance, call us at 646-497-9176.

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Contact and Location

Office Phone
Location
New York, NY
Rockefeller Outpatient Pavilion
160 East 53rd Street New York NY 10022
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Colleagues

Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering work as teams, with specialists from all different areas. This allows us to consider all your needs together, and to give you the best possible care.

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Clinical Trials

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Find a Clinical Trial for You

Memorial Sloan Kettering's doctors and scientists are constantly developing new treatments for cancer. MSK is typically running hundreds of clinical trials at a given time.

You may be able to participate in a clinical trial even if you are new to MSK. Search our online directory to find trial information and see more about who can participate.

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Research and Publications

Dr. Breitbart has authored 13 textbooks, including:

  • Psycho-oncology - 1st , 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Editions
  • Psychosocial Palliative Care; Handbook of Psychiatry in Palliative Medicine – 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Editions
  • Treatment manuals for:
    • Meaning-Centered Group Psychotherapy in Advanced Cancer Patients
    • Individual Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Advanced Cancer Patients
    • Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy in the Cancer Setting from Oxford University Press
Publications on PubMed

Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Breitbart’s journal articles. Pubmed is an online index of research papers and other articles from the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

See all on PubMed

Disclosures

Members of the MSK Community often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community. These activities outside of MSK further our mission, provide productive collaborations, and promote the practical application of scientific discoveries.

MSK requires doctors, faculty members, and leaders to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public. Not all disclosed interests and relationships present conflicts of interest. MSK reviews all disclosed interests and relationships to assess whether a conflict of interest exists and whether formal COI management is needed.

William S. Breitbart discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

  • Blue Note Therapeutics, Inc.
    Intellectual Property Rights; Professional Services and Activities (Uncompensated)
  • Cambridge University Press
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Oxford University Press
    Intellectual Property Rights
  • Reunion Neuroscience USA Inc.
    Professional Services and Activities

If you’re a patient at MSK and would like more information about your doctor’s external relationships, please talk with your doctor.

The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.

This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2024 through disclosure submission in spring 2025). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at ecoi@mskcc.org.


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