Articles by Steven Schlozman, MD, Ellen Braaten, PhD and Gene Beresin

March 20, 2019

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Admissions Scandal, College Pressure, and Mental Health

You can also listen to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, SoundCloud, and most podcast apps – just search for “Shrinking It Down.” On today’s show, Dr. Ellen Braaten joins Gene and Steve to think deeper about our American culture that’s contributed to issues like the recent college admissions scandal, as well as less extreme (and less fraudulent) […]

March 7, 2019

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Cannabis and the Teen Brain, featuring Jodi Gilman, PhD – Shrinking It Down

Welcome to today’s “pot-cast”! Marijuana is on everyone’s mind, especially the parents of tweens and teens, as it becomes legal in more states – not just for medicinal use, but for recreation. We’ve learned from alcohol that teens are going to have easier access to cannabis the more state laws ease up, even when the […]

March 6, 2019

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

9 Tips to Help Toddlers to Sleep On Their Own (and Enjoy Being Alone)

Recently, I was teaching a seminar for child psychiatry fellows on the topic of Donald Winnicott’s Theory of Emotional Development. About a third of the group had young children. Winnicott is less known by many parents. As a pediatrician, and later a child developmentalist, he was the first to describe some things we all appreciate: […]

February 26, 2019

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Digital Media and Body Image

Este artículo está disponible en español. When it comes to social media and body image, there are a lot of questions. Gene Beresin and I have worked with individuals struggling with eating disorders, largely girls and young women and their families for years. As the psychiatric director of an inpatient medical stabilization unit for malnutrition, I […]

February 22, 2019

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Oscars Special – Shrinking It Down

You can also subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, SoundCloud, and most podcast apps – just search for “Shrinking It Down”.  Why on earth are two child psychiatrists talking about the 2019 Academy Awards? It’s not just for fun, even though it’s fun, too. But, rather, because there is so much in this year’s nominated films […]

February 8, 2019

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Another Shooting – An Important Moment to Comfort and Talk With Our Kids

Perhaps the hardest, certainly the saddest, and without question the most frustrating thing about sharing this blog post is that we have shared it now again and again over the past several years. Please do not allow the frequency of the recent, awful events to ever seem routine. The statistics that we share are still […]

February 7, 2019

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Intimacy and the Teenage Brain – Shrinking It Down

You can also subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, SoundCloud, and most podcast apps.  Intimacy. Is there anything else in the teenage brain? It’s a wonder they make it through school after adolescence hits! We’ll be honest, we didn’t know what direction this conversation would take, but it turned out a great example of how talking […]

January 23, 2019

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, featuring Susan Sprich, PhD – Shrinking It Down

You can also subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, SoundCloud, and most podcast apps.  Did you know that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the most evidence-based psychosocial treatments we have for mental health issues? Today, its use goes beyond treatment for anxiety disorders and depression to application for a wide range of challenges including psychosis, body […]

January 9, 2019

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

New Year’s Evolution – Shrinking It Down

You can also subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, SoundCloud, and most podcast apps.  What’s the difference between a “resolution” and an “evolution”? In the context of New Year’s, even though they begin with the best intentions, resolutions often come with a lot of pressure to follow through. But an evolution allows you to grow and […]

December 18, 2018

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Shrinking It Down: Home for the Holidays

You can also subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, SoundCloud, and most podcast apps.  Here we are, in the peak of the holiday season. Do you feel joyful? Do you feel down? Are you simply overwhelmed? Whatever it is you’re feeling, it’s okay, and we guarantee you’re not alone. The holidays mean different things for […]