Jennifer P. Schneider

Jennifer P. Schneider, M.D., Ph.D., is a physician certified in Internal Medicine, Addiction Medicine and Pain Management. She is the author of more than a dozen books as well as numerous articles in professional journals. She is a nationally recognized expert in two addiction-related fields: addictive sexual disorders and the management of chronic pain with opioids (narcotics). In addition, she has a long-standing interest in the couple relationship. She has appeared on hundreds of radio and television programs. For more information about Jennifer’s articles and additional books, visit www.jenniferschneider.com and www.recoveryresourcespress.com. Dr. Schneider’s career has taken several interesting and unexpected turns. As a child, she wanted to become a doctor. However, while at Cornell majoring in Genetics, she was persuaded by her academic adviser, a geneticist, that she shouldn’t “waste her brains on a medical career where she would be a technician” [the old M.D. versus Ph.D. competition!], and instead she should head for a career in genetic research. She let herself be persuaded to change her goals. After getting a Ph.D. degree in Molecular Genetics at the University of Michigan, Jennifer spent several years doing research in this exciting field, first at the University of Michigan and then at Yale University. Dr. Schneider comes from a long line of scholars and authors. Her knowledge of human genetics led her father, noted cultural anthropologist Raphael Patai, to suggest they collaborate on a book, The Myth of the Jewish Race, which was published in 1974. It was a historic and genetic analysis of Jewish populations, and it confirmed conclusively that they are not a “race.” This award-winning book is still being sold on amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0684139065/002-3845744-2752054?v=glance&n=283155] Jennifer’s father coached her through the entire process of writing book, and she has subsequently done the same for several of her collaborators. Marriage and the birth of two children gave Jennifer a break from academics and a chance to rethink her career. Around that time her husband was offered a job in Tucson, Arizona, and she was accepted to the University of Arizona College of Medicine. After graduation she obtained specialty training in Internal Medicine and began working as an Internist in 1980. Several years later, in a new marriage, she experienced a family addiction crisis which led her to a decision to become more informed about addictions. When she learned that very little information had been published for spouses of sex addicts, she used her academic experience to begin researching various aspects of this problem and wrote her first book in this field, Back From Betrayal: Recovering From his Affairs. It was originally published in 1988 by Hazelden, a well-known addiction publisher. Since then, this book has twice been updated and expanded, reflecting the results of new research carried out by Dr. Schneider and her colleagues.. Dr. Schneider has continued her research in sex addiction topics, typically through the use of anonymous surveys that resulted in first-person accounts of how various people experienced and recovered from problems of compulsive sexual behavior. With her husband, Dr. Schneider wrote a research-based book for couples, Sex, Lies, & Forgiveness: Couples Speak on Healing From Sex Addiction. When in the 1990’s the Internet became a major venue for compulsive sexual behavior, Dr. Schneider researched the effect on spouses and children. Together with Robert Weiss (see www.sexualrecovery.com) a Los Angeles-based therapist who specializes in sex addiction, she wrote Cybersex Exposed: Simple Fantasy or Obsession, followed by Untangling the Web: Breaking Free from Sex, Porn, and Fantasy Addiction. Weiss and Schneider now have a new book in press, Always Turned on: Facing Sex Addiction in the Digital Age, to be published by Gentle Path Press in 2014. Her book The Wounded Healer: Addiction-Oriented Approach to the Sexually Exploitative Professional, written with the late Richard Irons, M.D., described the results of Dr. Irons’ assessment and treatment of numerous physicians and clergymen who had allegations of sexual misconduct with patients and parishioners. Dr. Irons, Deborah Corley, Ph.D. and Dr. Schneider collaborated on another research project in an important area, that of how addicts can best disclose to their spouse and family the secrets they hold about their sexual acting out. Information was gathered from a large number of couples who had been through the crisis of disclosure. We learned that the way this is done can strongly influence whether the couple can rebuild their relationship. The results led to the book Disclosing Secrets: What, How Much, and When to Reveal Addiction Secret. In 2012,Drs.Corley and Schneider updated the material and wrote two books, Disclosing Secrets: An Addict’s Guide to Whom, When, and How Much to Reveal and Surviving Disclosure: A Partner’s Guide for Healing the Betrayal of Intimate Trust. As an addiction medicine specialist, Dr. Schneider began receiving referrals from other physicians of patients who were seeking treatment for their chronic pain, and who had found that narcotics (opioids) worked best for them. These other doctors were concerned that the patients might be, or might become, drug addicts. Dr. Schneider soon found herself developing expertise in the appropriate treatment of such patients with opioids. She also wrote a book, Living With Chronic Pain, that defuses the myths and mysteries surrounding the use of narcotics in pain treatment. She also lectures to physicians, pharmacists, and nurses on this subject, and serves as a legal consultant and expert witness in this area. Finally, Dr. Schneider’s interest in helping couples to improve their relationships led to her 2013 research-based reference book, co-authored with therapist Ron Corn, called Understand Yourself, Understand Your Partner: The Essential Enneagram Guide to a Better Relationship.