Meaning
About the host
Curiosity is
part of the work.
Meet the psychiatrist behind Developing Meaning.
Meet Dirk
Questions worth
living into.
Dr. Dirk Winter is a board-certified adult and child psychiatrist, cell biologist, amateur mycologist, interviewer, and lifelong student of the inner life.
Subscribe to Developing Meaning ↗Hi, I’m Dirk! I’m a child psychiatrist who interviews colleagues about meaning, purpose, and the inner life—and I’m here to share what I’m learning with you.
I review books, podcasts, and journal articles, and speak with people about how we can build more meaning and purpose into our lives. Subscribe to Developing Meaning for a behind-the-scenes look at how therapists and psychiatrists engage with existential questions—both in their own lives and in the lives of their patients.
The podcast
Where the
conversation began.
Developing Meaning began with a simple curiosity: what have mental health professionals learned—not only from training and research, but from the people they sit with, the lives they lead, and the questions that continue to stay with them?
In each conversation, Dirk invites colleagues beyond quick answers and professional shorthand. Together they explore healing, trauma, connection, community, and the experiences that help a life feel coherent and deeply lived.
Early questions
Biology, psychology, and the origins of life
At Columbia College, Dirk studied biology and psychology, including undergraduate work focused on the origins of life.Episode 1 ↗Research years
From cell biology to rainforest mycology
He earned a PhD in cellular and developmental biology at Harvard Medical School, then worked as a fungal field biologist in Puerto Rico’s El Yunque rainforest.Credentials ↗2006 onward
Medical school and psychiatry training
After earning his MD from the University of Minnesota in 2006, Dirk completed adult psychiatry residency at Columbia and NYSPI, followed by child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at Columbia and Cornell.Columbia Psychiatry ↗Clinical practice
Dual board certification and academic practice
Dirk is board certified in Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, licensed to practice medicine in New York and Massachusetts, and serves on the Columbia psychiatry faculty.Columbia Psychiatry ↗August 2023
Developing Meaning begins
In Episode 1, Dirk turned a long-running personal question into a public conversation: what have therapists, psychiatrists, and healers learned about building meaning and purpose?Listen to Episode 1 ↗Recent
A broader, body-aware approach to healing
His training has expanded across EMDR, hypnosis, Breath-Body-Mind, ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, and Internal Family Systems—including completion of Level 3 IFS training with senior trainer Chris Burris.About Level 3 IFS training ↗
Connect with me
Have a thought,
a question, or
a guest idea?
Dirk welcomes questions, comments, and ideas for future conversations.