The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You

Born in 1944, Elaine Aron is a psychologist and author best known for her study of highly sensitive persons (HSPs), a term that she coined. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California, Berkeley, Aron went on to earn an MA in clinical psychology at York University in Toronto, and a PhD in clinical depth psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute. Aron interned at the C. G. Jung Institute in San Francisco, a training program for mental health professionals specializing in the modes of psychology pioneered by early-20th-century Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung. Jungian influences are reflected in The Highly Sensitive Person, particularly in Aron’s emphasis on the tension between the “persona,” or the public-facing self, and the “shadow self,” or those aspects of the personality that are hidden or repressed.

In 1991, Aron began to study the trait of high sensitivity; her research gained wide notoriety and resulted in several books, including The Highly Sensitive Person, The Highly Sensitive Parent, The Highly Sensitive Person in Love, and The Undervalued Self. In addition, Aron has joined with her husband, Dr. Arthur Aron, in studying the psychology of love and relationships, often using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Originally appearing in 1996, and since revised and republished several times, The Highly Sensitive Person has become an international bestseller and a widely read resource on the psychology of sensitivity.