Dr. Goin was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She attended Middlebury College in Vermont, receiving a B.A. (1954) and her medical degree came from the Yale School of Medicine (1958). She received a Ph.D. from the Southern California Psychoanalytic Institute (1972) and an honorary D.Sc. from Middlebury College in 2004. She interned at the University of California Medical Center in San Francisco (1958–59) and took her residency at the University of Southern California (1959–62). She has been a member of the faculty there since 1980, rising through the ranks to become Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, with special interests in teaching psychotherapy and supervision. She completed psychoanalytic training at the Southern California Institute of Psychoanalysis (1962–72).
Dr. Goin was married to a plastic surgeon, John Goin, M.D. (1960–95), and together, they published a book on the psychological effects of plastic surgery. She has published numerous articles on the subject as well as other psychiatric subjects. She and her husband served as volunteer physicians in Vietnam in 1964.
Dr. Goin has received a number of awards for her community and psychiatric contributions, including a Certificate of Humanitarian Service from the American Medical Association (1964), a Certificate of Merit from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (1985), an Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (2005), an Exceptional Mentoring Award from the University of Southern California (2005) and a Distinguished Service Award from the Southern California Psychiatric Society (1991).
Dr. Goin represented the Southern California Psychatric Society at the Assembly (1984–92), served on the Board of Trustees (1997–2000), and was elected Vice President (2000–2002).
Dr. Goin served as President of the American Psychiatric Association (2003-04).