Family Psychology

Every strong relationship is rooted in good conversation, and that's true for your relationship with yourself, too. In How Am I Doing?, Dr. Corey Yeager guides you through a series of reflective questions to help you gain the self-compassion, personal awareness, and healing you seek. So let's check in: How are you doing?

A veteran clinical psychologist exposes why doctors, teachers, and parents incorrectly diagnose healthy American children with serious psychiatric conditions. In recent years there has been an alarming rise in the number of American children and youth assigned a mental health diagnosis. Current data from the Centers for Disease Control reveal a 41 percent increase in rates of ADHD diagnoses over the past decade and a forty-fold spike in bipolar disorder diagnoses. Similarly, diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder has increased by 78 percent since 2002.

For kids and students, parents and teachers alike, How to Teach Kids Anything takes what academics know about education and pedagogy and translates it all into real-world skills and techniques. The learning brain works in very predictable ways, and we can use this to our advantage. Whether you are a student, tutor, professor, teacher, or even TA, understand how information takes hold and becomes useful.

I have a close friend who suffers from anxiety from time to time. In this book, Helping Someone with an Anxiety Disorder, I will share with you some very important information on how to deal with the mood swings that close friends, family members or spouses may encounter while interacting with someone who battles with anxiety.

Your mom and her emotional absence has a lot to do with your current state in life. The Emotionally Absent Mother will delve into your mother's apathy, and why such a lack of compassion may not be her fault. This audiobook will also help you find ways to cope with the pain that you suffered as a child, as well as look past the scars to see a better future.

Most parents understand that free, unstructured playtime is great for children’s development. What they may not know is that playful interaction with parents is also a powerful way for kids to cultivate healthy emotional development and resilience. Kids often want their parents to play with them, but many parents don’t know how to play or see it only as an (often boring) way to kill time. Playing with your kids doesn’t have to mean enrolling in countless parent-and-me classes or getting on all fours and making toy car sounds; the little daily moments together can make the most impact.

A leading clinical expert in the fields of child cognitive behavior therapy and anxiety disorders, Dr. Tamar Chansky frequently counsels children (and their parents) whose negative thinking creates chronic or occasional emotional hurdles and impedes optimism, flexibility, and happiness. Freeing Your Child from Negative Thinking provides parents, caregivers, and clinicians the same clear, concise, and compassionate guidance that Dr. Chansky employed in her previous guides to relieving children from anxiety and obsessive compulsive symptoms.

An experiential guide to reorienting our understanding of late adulthood as one of life's most meaningful and transformative stages.

In Ungifted, cognitive psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman - who was relegated to special education as a child - sets out to show that the way we interpret traditional metrics of intelligence is misguided. Kaufman explores the latest research in genetics and neuroscience, as well as evolutionary, developmental, social, positive, and cognitive psychology, to challenge the conventional wisdom about the childhood predictors of adult success. He reveals that there are many paths to greatness, and argues for a more holistic approach to achievement that takes into account each young person’s personal goals, individual psychology, and developmental trajectory.

Since its publication in 1993, this groundbreaking book has persuaded countless parents, teachers, and managers that attempts to manipulate people with incentives may seem to work in the short run, but they ultimately fail and even do lasting harm. Drawing from hundreds of studies, Kohn demonstrates that we actually do inferior work when we are enticed with money, grades, or other incentives—and are apt to lose interest in whatever we were bribed to do. Rewards and punishments are two sides of the same coin—and the coin doesn't buy much.

Ms. Walker writes warmly and compassionately about the long journey of mental illness she and her family have endured for decades. She also discusses various related issues and offers tangible suggestions for self-care—all easily accomplished by anyone. Families like hers often find themselves in a constant vortex of unforeseen circumstances, and her practical suggestions encourage others so they might begin to thrive despite the chaos.

This book is a wake-up call to those impacted by adoption and to those who interact with them. Adoption and Suicidality will speak to anyone with direct experience of adoption and suicide or suicidal ideation, plus anyone who wants to know how to better help adopted people (and others in the adoption constellation) who are struggling.

Parenting just got tougher. As your child's brain rewires, hormones kick in, and independence beckons, a perfect storm for family conflict emerges. But help is at hand. Divided into two sections—aged 8 to 10 and aged 10 to 12—this practical parenting book is grounded in evidence-based psychology, exploring the science at work during this period of your child's development. Taking 75 everyday scenarios, the book tackles real-world issues head-on, from sibling clashes and sulks to more serious concerns as your child edges towards their teenage years.

Heather Shumaker has sparked much discussion with her "renegade rules for raising competent and compassionate kids". In this follow-up book, she takes on new hot-button issues like banning homework, technology use, and skipping kindergarten. Shumaker offers broader guidance on how parents can control their own anger and move from an overscheduled life to one of more free play.

Middle childhood, the period for those aged 8–12 years old, is often the most overlooked phase of a child’s development, but it’s the age where play continues to serve an important role in their emotional growth. It’s also an age where we are most likely to stop playing with our children. With over 20 years of clinical expertise and neuroscientific research, psychotherapist and parenting expert Joanna Fortune shares her proven techniques that will enable you to better understand your relationship with your children as they grow.

Dame Sue Bagshaw, MD, and psychologist Michael Hempseed are here to tell you: There is hope! Tantrums and anger are common behaviors, but instead of blaming poor parenting or too much screen time, Calming Your Child looks at the root causes, including anxiety, depression, sensory issues, and other psychological factors, explaining the research and helpful techniques in a simple, accessible way.

When your mother abused you, bullied you, neglected you, and used you for her selfish gain, it was not your fault. When she made you feel trapped and like there was nowhere else for you to go, it was not your fault. And when you realized your toxic relationship with her ruined other relationships in your life, it was not your fault. Daughters of narcissistic mothers often find themselves growing up feeling massive amounts of pain, confusion, and fear in their lives.

“Pat, we need to kill the dog.” When a sudden mental illness struck his wife, Patrick Dylan found himself living with an eerie stranger. Scared and unprepared, he began a desperate battle to protect her from a mysterious disease, shelter their children from her bizarre behavior, and recover the woman he loved. Within weeks, she had been admitted to the emergency room, the hospital, and the local crisis facility, but none of the experts could provide an answer. As her illness eluded diagnosis, the family’s struggle was only beginning.

A compelling memoir by ABC News correspondent James Longman in which he discusses mental illness and trauma in families, what the latest genetic science is telling us, and how to not only persevere but thrive.

Just as you prepared your home to welcome a new child, it is important to prepare your heart and mind - especially if the child has suffered from a background of trauma. Perhaps your invitation for love is met with hostility and you find that this new member of your family rejects connection. It’s critical to acknowledge the effects of trauma on a child’s ability to attach. Mike and Kristin Berry realized this when they became adoptive and foster parents. They now offer guidance from their own journey to others parenting a child who has experienced past trauma.