Dr. Michael Thompson
Dr. Michael Thompson Speaker Biography
Michael G. Thompson, Ph.D. is a consultant, author, and psychologist specializing in children and families. He is the supervising psychologist for the Belmont Hill School and has worked in more than seven hundred schools across the United States, as well as in international schools in Central America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.
He and his co-author, Dan Kindlon, wrote the New York Times best-selling book, Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys (Ballantine Books, 1999). He is the author of Speaking of Boys: Answers to the Most-Asked Questions about Raising Sons Ballantine, 2000), and co-author (with Catherine O’Neill Grace and Larry Cohen, Ph.D.) of Best Friends/Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social Lives of Children (Ballantine, 2001) and Mom, They’re Teasing Me: Helping Your Child Solve Social Problems (Ballantine, 2002.) About Best Friends, Worst Enemies the Publishers Weekly review declared, “Not since Dr. Spock and Penelope Leach has there been such a sensitive and practical guide to raising healthy children.” The Pressured Child: Helping Your Child Achieve Success in School and in Life (with Teresa Barker, Ballantine, 2004) was written to help parents understand the complex journey of children through school, from Kindergarten through senior year. His third book on the psychology of boys, entitled, It’s a Boy!: Understanding Your Son’s Development from Birth to Eighteen, was published in 2008. It focuses on the importance of undirected, free play in the lives of boys. Dr. Thompson’s newest book, Homesick and Happy: How Time Away From Parents Can Help a Child Grow, was published by Ballantine Books in May of 2012.
A dedicated speaker and traveler, Michael Thompson has appeared on The Today Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, ABC 20/20, CBS 60 Minutes, The Early Show and Good Morning America. He has been quoted in the New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsweek, Time and U.S. News and World Report and has been a guest on NPR’s “Morning Edition” with Susan Stamberg, “Talk of the Nation” with Ray Suarez and the Diane Rhem Show. He wrote, narrated and hosted a two-hour PBS documentary entitled “Raising Cain” that was broadcast nationally in 2006.
Dr. Thompson is a past member of the American Camping Association and is on the Advisory Board of Parent Magazine. Dr. Thompson lives in Arlington, Massachusetts. He is married to Dr. Theresa McNally, a psychotherapist, is the father of two grown children and the grandfather to Aubrey, Brynlee and Kalen.
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Speech Topics
Parenting in a Pandemic
The Covid-19 pandemic has hit families. For seven months families have been forced to think about death and safety and to talk to their very young children about it. They are dealing with the loss of regular school, remote learning from home all the while facing threats to employment, and the loss of social supports. Many parents are worried that their children will emerge traumatized from this long disruption. In this talk, Dr. Thompson will address the issues and fears affecting families and will offer psychologically sound suggestions for steadying their children and themselves in this difficult time.
Other Topics Include:
- Best Friends, Worst Enemies: Friendship Development, Popularity and Social Cruelty in Childhood
- Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Lives of Boys
- It’s a Boy! Understanding Your Son’s Development from Birth to Eighteen.
- Eight Things You Wish You Cannot Do for Your Children (but wish you could).
- Homesick and Happy: Child Development in Summer Camps
- The Pressured Child: Helping Your Child to Achieve Success in School and in Life
- College Craziness
