Lisbeth F.K. Holter Brudal (19 September 1935 – 20 December 2025) was a Norwegian psychologist, particularly known for her pioneer work in the areas of birth psychology and communication.
Biography Brudal is the granddaughter of Anathon Aall, an internationally known philosopher and psychologist. He was one of the founders of Institute of Psychology in Oslo in 1909. Aall was professor and leader of Institute of Psychology for nearly 30 years.
Brudal graduated as a psychologist in 1964. She had a Doctor of Philosophy degreePsykiske reaksjoner hos kvinner og menn i tilknytning til fødsel, del I, II og III. Doctor thesis. University of Oslo 1981. Lisbeth F. Brudal. . from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Oslo (PhD.), specialising in clinical psychology. She was married to psychologist Paul Jan Brudal, a specialist in clinical psychology and an author. They had two children and five grandchildren.
Brudal died on 20 December 2025, at the age of 90.
Work For several years, Brudal was a lecturer and assistant professor at the Institute of Psychology at the University of Oslo. In 1985 she founded the Institute of Tocology (the study of birth) and Family Psychology"Fortjenestemedalje i gull til psykolog", Tidsskrift for Norsk Psykologforening Vol. 48, no. 7, 2011. Halvorsen, Per. which is a private institute, and she remained head of the institute until 2011. The institute has at times had four affiliated psychologists, focusing especially on the treatment of people in crisis. For many years the institute collaborated with the university's Institute of Psychology in the areas of guidance and teaching of students.
In 2016, Brudal, together with colleagues, co-founded the Institute of Empathic Communication (IEC). She was known for having developed a separate area within psychology: Birth Psychology. In the context of this pioneering work she did research on men's psychological reactions associated with pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal care.«Paternity Blues» and Father-Child Relationship. Call, J.D., Galenson, E., Tyson, R.L., (Eds.): Frontiers of Infant Psychiatry, Vol. II, Basic Books, Inc., New York 1984. Lisbeth F. Brudal. She taught for many years, held courses and supervised health workers in birth psychology and crisis intervention in Sweden.
Brudal was a pioneer in the field of communication, having developed a tool for communication - Empathic Communication (EC).Empatisk Kommunikasjon , Tidsskrift for jordmødre 8/05, s. 19 – 21. 01.01.2005. Vendil, ÅseEnkelt og instruktivt om kommunikasjon, Tidsskrift for den Norske Legeforening Vol. 8 2015. Roksund, G.Empatisk Kommunikasjon – et verdifullt verktøy Sykepleien, NSFS faggruppe for ledere Vol. 2 2016, p. 20–22. She published a series of films about this tool and its usage. 2013. Lisbeth Holter Brudal.
Brudal was known for her versatile professional profile and has published 18 books and several articles on subjects such as birth psychology, psychological crises, psychopathy, dreams, consciousness, positive psychology and empathy. The books have been translated into several languages, including Russian.Psykiske kriser i et nytt perspektiv. Tano 1989 (Russisk utgave 1998). Lisbeth F. Brudal. She has also written a novel.Mannen fra Ur. Abrahams reise fra Ur til Det hellige land. Solum forlag 2001. Lisbeth Fanny Brudal.
In 2015, Brudal launched her book: Empathic Communication: The Missing Link. In January 2015, the book was no. 1 on the best seller list on Amazon in three categories: Emotions & Feelings, Parenting, Professional Development. Empathic Communication: The Missing Link. Best Seller Publishing, 2015, ebook, Lisbeth Holter Brudal. In 2017, she published her article: Dialogic Moments and Empathic Communication.Dialogic Moments and Empathic Communication. empatisk.no, 2017, article, Lisbeth Holter Brudal. In 2018, she launched her book: Hva er Empatisk Kommunikasjon?, a handbook supplement to Empathic Communication: The Missing Link.Hva er Empatisk Kommunikasjon?. self-published on empatisk.no, 2018, ebook, Lisbeth Holter Brudal.
Awards 2015:- Amazon Bestseller - Lisbeth Holter Brudal - «Empathic Communication: The Missing Link»
Brudal was awarded the King's Medal of Merit in Gold in 2011.Kongens Fortjenestemedalje i gull, Det norske kongehus, 9 June 2011 She won the media prize from The Norwegian Psychological Association in 2007 and won the prize from "Birth in Focus" in 1995.
Bibliography Doctoral Thesis Psykiske reaksjoner hos kvinner og menn i tilknytning til fødsel, del I, II og lll. Det medisinske fakultet. Universitet i Oslo (1981);
Textbooks Fødselens psykologi. Lærebok i forebyggende arbeid. Aschehoug 1983. Psykiske reaksjoner i et nytt perspektiv. Tano 1989. Helsepsykologi. Aktivering av psykiske ressurser ved sykdom. Tano 1993. Drømmepsykologi. Om drøm, bevissthet og kreativitet. Co-Author: Jan Brudal. Universitetsforlaget 1996. Psykiske reaksjoner ved svangerskap, fødsel og barseltid. 3. opplag. Fagbokforlaget 2008. Drømmens psykologi. Ny forståelse og praktisk bruk av drøm. Co-Author: Paul Jan Brudal. Fagbokforlaget 2008. Positiv psykologi. 3. opplag. Fagbokforlaget 2010. Empatisk Kommunikasjon. Et verktøy for menneskemøter. 2. opplag. Gyldendal Akademisk 2016.
Popular Science Å få barn. Fødselspsykologi for foreldre. 4. opplag. Aschehoug 1979. En reise i rommet. Vårt ytre og indre univers. Aschehoug 1987. Dødsbevissthet. Om å velge livet eller døden. Universitetsforlaget 1989. Ventetiden. Universitetsforlaget 1996. Kunsten å være foreldre. 2. opplag. Fagbokforlaget 2004. Psykopat? Historier fra virkeligheten. 2. opplag. Fagbokforlaget 2008. Mot. Psykologi i hverdagen. Fagbokforlaget 2010. Om bevissthet. Psykologi. Mindfulness. Science fiction. Nær-døden-erfaringer. Kosmisk bevissthet. Fagbokforlaget 2011.
Novels Mannen fra Ur. Abrahams reise fra Ur til Det hellige land. Solum forlag 2001.
E-Books Hva er empatisk Kommunikasjon? 8 essay med eksempler på implementering og bruk av Empatisk Kommunikasjon på tvers av områder, som ledelse, pasient arbeid, rådgivning, veiledning og i vår hverdag. Håndboken er et supplement til læreboken Empatisk Kommunikasjon. Et verktøy for menneskemøter. 2016.
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