About Harold Lief
Lived 1917 – 2007 (aged 89–90). Harold Lief was an American psychiatrist, sex educator and psychologist.
Harold I. Lief (1917–2007) was an American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. He was famous as an advocate of sex education. Lief is credited with the introduction in the DSM of the "inhibited sexual desire".
Early life and education Lief, who was born in Brooklyn, attended the University of Michigan and graduated from the New York University School of Medicine in 1942. Lief's psychoanalytic training was at Columbia University.
Career
While a professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, Lief started organizing the Center for the Study of Sex Education in Medicine In 1960. At the time, there were only three other medical schools with separate programs in sexology.
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Important facts
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Contemporaries
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Frequently asked questions
Who was Harold Lief?
American psychiatrist (1917–2007)
When was Harold Lief born?
Harold Lief was born in 1917.
When did Harold Lief die?
Harold Lief died on 15 March 2007.
What was Harold Lief's occupation?
Harold Lief was a psychiatrist, sex educator and psychologist.
What nationality was Harold Lief?
Harold Lief was American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Harold Lief. https://biography.guide/harold-lief/
MLA: "Harold Lief." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/harold-lief/.
Chicago: "Harold Lief." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/harold-lief/.
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