Dr. Kriegman, a psychologist and evolutionary biologist is the co-author of "The Adaptive Design of the Human Psyche: Psychoanalysis, Evolutionary Biology, and the Therapeutic Process," an acclaimed "brilliantly argued book. The treatment of the biology is expert" (Robert Trivers, renowned Crafoord Prize winning biologist) and which has been considered "essential reading for anyone interested in the psychodynamics of the mind" (Irv DeVore, Chair, Dept. of Anthropology, Harvard University). Using cutting-edge, modern evolutionary biology, Dr. Kriegman presents the first complete answer to the conundrum of human inhumanity. "The Book of War" explains how we were designed by millions of years of natural selection to join together in groups that use ethnocentric racism, religious, and quasi-religious systems of belief to guide organized, intergroup violence.

Dr. Kriegman is a founder of the Psychoanalytic Couple and Family Institute of New England, a faculty member at the Massachusetts Institute for Psychoanalysis, and has taught psychology at the SUNY at Buffalo, Massasoit College, Lesley College, and Boston University.

In addition to his published books and many articles in peer reviewed, academic, professional journals (see below), he has served as a peer reviewer for major journals such as the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association and the International Journal of Psychoanalysis. As the Chief Psychologist for the Treatment Center for Sexually Dangerous Offenders, he evaluated and treated rapists, child molesters, and murderers. On many, many hundreds of occasions in various courts (e.g., Massachusetts, New York, Iowa, New Hampshire, and the Federal Circuit), he has been deemed an "expert witness" regarding the risks posed by men and women facing involuntary commitment due to mental illness. He has supervised the evaluations and/or testified in the trials of thousands of people facing "one day to life" commitment as a "sexually dangerous person." He has been an invited, plenary speaker at international conferences on psychoanalytic treatment.

Dr. Kriegman was the creative consultant for the acclaimed Edgeline Films (Showtime) docu-series "Couples Therapy" (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/05/arts/television/couples-therapy-showtime-review.html).

PUBLICATIONS

Books

• The Adaptive Design of the Human Psyche: Psychoanalysis, Evolutionary Biology, and the Therapeutic Process, with Malcolm Slavin (Guilford Press, 1992). (http://cogweb.ucla.edu/Abstracts/Slavin_Kriegman_92.html)

• Trauma, Repetition, & Affect Regulation: The Work of Paul Russell. Teicholz, J. G. & Kriegman, D. (Eds.), 1998. The Other Press.

• The Book of War: The Evolutionary Biology of Racism, Religious Hatred, Nationalism, Terrorism, and Genocide. 2023. Natural Selections.

• The Book of Monogamy: A Tantric Guide for Men Revealing the Techniques for Having Perfect Orgasms with One Woman for the Rest of Your Life (and for Women, the Operating Manual Your Husband Didn't Come With). 2024. Natural Selections.

• The First Book of Yo: Meditations on Godhood, An Exploration of Mystical Experience, and Proof of the Existence of God. 2024. Natural Selections.

Articles

• Kriegman, D. & Biederman, I. (1980). How many letters in Bidwell's ghost? An investigation of the upper limits of full report from a brief visual stimulus. Journal of Perception and Psychophysics, 28, 82-84. Featured in Scientific American, 252, 2, 126-127, 1985.
• Kriegman, D. & Solomon, L. (1985a). Cult groups and the narcissistic personality: The offer to heal defects in the self. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 35, 2, 239-261.
• Kriegman, D. & Solomon, L. (1985b). Psychotherapy and the "new religions": Are they the same? Cultic Studies Journal, 2, 1, 2-16.
• Kriegman, D. (1988). Self psychology from the perspective of evolutionary biology: Toward a biological foundation for self psychology. In A. Goldberg (Ed.), Progress in Self Psychology, Vol. 3, (pp. 253–274). Hillsdale, New Jersey: The Analytic Press.
• Slavin, M. O. & Kriegman, D. (1988). Freud, biology, and sociobiology. American Psychologist, 43, 658-661.
• Kriegman, D. & Knight, C. (1988). Social evolution, psychoanalysis, and human nature. Social Policy, 19, 2, 49-55.
• Kriegman, D. & Slavin, M. O. (1989). The myth of the repetition compulsion and the negative therapeutic reaction: An evolutionary biological analysis. In A. Goldberg (Ed.), Progress in Self Psychology, Vol. 5 (pp. 209–253). Hillsdale, NJ: Analytic Press.
• Slavin, M. O. & Kriegman, D. (1990). Toward a new paradigm for psychoanalysis: An evolutionary biological perspective on the classical-relational dialectic. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 7, 5-31.
• Kriegman, D. & Slavin, M. O. (1990). On the resistance to self psychology: Clues from evolutionary biology. In A. Goldberg (Ed.), Progress in Self Psychology, Vol. 6, (pp. 217–250). Hillsdale, NJ: Analytic Press.
• Kriegman, D. (1990). Compassion and altruism in psychoanalytic theory: An evolutionary analysis of self psychology. Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis, 18, 2, 342-367.
• Slavin, M. O. & Kriegman, D. (1992). Psychoanalysis as a Darwinian depth psychology: Evolutionary biology and the classical-relational dialectic in psychoanalytic theory. In J. Barron, M. Eagle, and D. Wolitzky (Eds.), The Interface of Psychoanalysis and Psychology (pp. 37–76). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
• Kriegman, D. (1996). On the existential/subjectivism-scientific/objectivism dialectic in self psychology: A view from evolutionary biology. In A. Goldberg (Ed.), Progress in Self Psychology Vol. 12, (pp. 85–119). Hillsdale, NJ: Analytic Press.
• Kriegman, D. (1996). The effectiveness of medication: The Consumer Reports study. American Psychologist, 51, 10, 881.
• Kriegman, D. (1998). Interpretation, the unconscious, and psychoanalytic authority: Toward an evolutionary, biological integration of the empirical/scientific method with the field-defining, empathic stance. In R.F. Bornstein & J.M. Masling (Eds.), Empirical Perspectives on the Psychoanalytic Unconscious (pp. 187–272). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
• Slavin, M. O. & Kriegman, D. (1998). An evolutionary biological perspective on psychoanalysis. In Robert Langs, (Ed.), Theories in Psychoanalysis (pp. 255–296). NY: International Universities Press.
• Slavin, M. O. & Kriegman, D. (1998). Why the analyst needs to change: Toward a theory of conflict, negotiation, and mutual influence in the therapeutic process. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 8, 2, 247-284.
• Slavin, M. O. & Kriegman, D. (1998). Bigger than both of us: Double binds, conflicting interests, and the inherent paradoxes of human relatedness. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 8, 2, 317-327.
• Slavin, M. O. & Kriegman, D. (1998). Paradox and conflict, meta-communication and negotiation in psychoanalysis: Response to Dr. Ringstrom's discussion. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 8, 2, 293-296.
• Slavin, M. O. & Kriegman, D. (1998, in press). Conflicting interests and the creation of a third space. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 8, 3.
• Kriegman, D. (1998). Evolutionary psychoanalysis: An advance in understanding the human psyche or a phylogenetic fantasy. Contemporary Psychology, 43, 2, 138-139.
• Kriegman, D. (1998). Of quantum leaps and oxymorons: A reply to Langs. Contemporary Psychology.
• Kriegman, D. (1999). Trauma, conflict, and countertransference: A discussion of Peter Thomson's paper. Canadian Journal of Psychoanalysis, 7, 1, 59-62.
• Kriegman, D. (1999). Parental investment, sexual selection, and evolved mating strategies: Implications for psychoanalysis. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 16, 4, 1-26.
• Kriegman, D. (2000). Evolutionary psychoanalysis: Toward an adaptive, biological perspective on the clinical process in psychoanalytic psychotherapy. In P. Gilbert and K. Bailey (Eds.), Genes on the Couch: Explorations in Evolutionary Psychology (pp. 71–92). East Sussex, England: Psychology Press.
• Kriegman, D. (2002). Interpreting & Negotiating Conflicts of Interests in the Analytic Relationship: A Discussion of Salee Jenkins's Clinical Case. In A. Goldberg (Ed.), Progress in Self Psychology, Vol. 18, (pp. 87–112). Hillsdale, NJ: Analytic Press.
• Kriegman, D. (2006). The reduction of sexual offense recidivism following commitment and psychodynamic treatment: A challenge to the dominant cognitive-behavioral model. The Journal of Sexual Offender Civil Commitment: Science and the Law, 1, 90-98.
• Kriegman, D. (2014). The New Salem Witch Trials: Evaluating bias in expert witness conclusions of “sexual dangerousness. Part One.” Sex Offender Law Report. 15(4) Jun./Jul.
• Kriegman, D. (2014). The New Salem Witch Trials: Evaluating bias in expert witness conclusions of “sexual dangerousness. Part Two.” Sex Offender Law Report. 15(5) Aug./Sep.
• Kriegman, D., Trivers, R. L., Slavin, M. O. (2020) Trump’s Tell: How Trump’s self-delusions make him stunningly effective at predatory deception.. Raw Story. Washington, D.C.: Raw Story Media, Inc.
• Kriegman, D. (2022). The Transmogrification of Harvey Weinstein: On the #MeToo Movement and a Rational Approach to Dealing with Male, Sexual Predators. Quillette, February 20. (https://quillette.com/2022/02/20/the-transmogrification-of-harvey-weinstein/)
• Kriegman, D. (2022). Guilty and Insane: Dissociative Identity Disorder and the Riddle of Human Responsibility. Quillette, July 29. (https://quillette.com/2022/07/29/guilty-and-insane/)
• Kriegman, D. (2022). Robert Trivers and the Riddle of Evolved Altruism: Survival of the fittest versus compassion and cooperation in evolutionary theory and politics. Quillette, October 7. (https://quillette.com/2022/10/07/on-evolved-altruism/)

“Psychologist Kriegman presents a case for an evolutionary basis for tribalistic aggression and religious belief. According to the author, it seems impossible to make sense of the 'monstrous history of organized human violence' that reaches its grim zenith in genocidal action. However, he aims to do precisely that in these pages, relying on an evolutionary perspective that analyzes the development of human behavior due to adaptive pressures. Over time, he asserts, humans ... used their superior cognitive abilities and verbal skills to 'enhance their tribal cohesion' with religious ideologies, moral belief systems, and extraordinary loyalty requirements. ... Kriegman's account distinguishes itself from the crowded field of evolutionary biology by refusing to reduce religious impulses to a particular gene, and by acknowledging that organized religion has persisted because it contributes not only to survival, but to a search for meaning. However, he avers that religion was an adaptation to facilitate conflict, making it a principal barrier to the 'elimination of divisive, antagonistic group identities and the false beliefs that facilitate warfare.' The best aspect of Kriegman's monumental effort is its expansive survey of relevant literature; he provides a fine synopsis of the debates among evolutionary biologists and psychologists regarding war and religious belief. ... Throughout, the book often takes for granted that religious belief is false ... and that 'in the most successful religious systems, belief without evidence is honored.' A magisterial ... work ... presented as a defense of science and enlightenment humanism.”
– Kirkus Reviews