Susan Nolen-Hoeksema


Susan Nolen-Hoeksema was an American professor of psychology at Yale University. Her research explored how mood regulation strategies could correlate to a person's vulnerability to depression, with special focus on a construct she called rumination as well as gender differences.

Biography

Education and employment

Nolen-Hoeksema was born in Springfield, Illinois. As an undergraduate, Susan Nolen-Hoeksema attended Yale University where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She graduated in 1982 summa cum laude. She then went on to University of Pennsylvania where she earned a Master of Arts and Ph.D in clinical psychology. As a graduate student, Susan's research focused primarily on understanding the predictors of depression among children and adolescents. Nolen-Hoeksema led the Depression and Cognition Program at Yale University.Though traditionally the focus of the lab was on depression, past and current work focused on Generalized anxiety disorder, Social anxiety disorder and other mood disorders.
From 1986 to 1995, she was a faculty member at Stanford University receiving tenure in 1993. From 1995 to 2004 she was a tenured professor at University of Michigan in the Personality Area. From 2004 to 2013, Nolen-Hoeksema was a professor and researcher at Yale, as well as the head of the Yale Depression and Cognition Program.
She was the founding editor of the Annual Review of Clinical Psychology from 2005 to 2013.
She died on January 2, 2013 of complications from heart surgery to repair damage caused by a blood infection.

Honors and awards

Nolen-Hoeksema published a dozen books, including scholarly books, textbooks, and three books for the general public on women's mental health.