Articles by Steven Schlozman, MD and Gene Beresin

September 19, 2013

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Can My Teen Be My Confidant?

It’s awfully hard to figure out if your teenager is grown up.  That’s largely because it’s awfully hard for your teen to decide.  Is your high school junior old enough to know about family finances?  Is your 15-year-old mature enough to understand difficulties that you’re having with your boss at work?  These questions come up […]

September 18, 2013

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

When Parents Have an Argument

My parents argued with each other. Most parents do. In fact, we worry more about the parents who never argue. If parents don’t argue, we worry that they’ve lost some of the passion to discuss (albeit vociferously!) the difficulties in raising a family.  If nothing else, know that raising a family is perhaps the most […]

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

The Pre-School Is Worried About My Child’s Oppositionality

OK, let’s talk about oppositional behavior in young kids. Here’s a particularly unpleasant scenario. You go to pick little Timmy up from preschool, and the teacher asks to have a word with you.  Uh-oh. Feels like being called to meet with the principal. It turns out that Timmy is getting more oppositional. When it comes […]

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

My Child Hates The Thought Of Having A New Sibling

I recall sort of blowing off my concerns that my older daughter wouldn’t welcome her soon-to-be-born sibling.  After all, I have a sister, and we get along OK. Lots of people have siblings.  How bad can it be? One of my mentors helped me to think about this using a simple and telling thought experiment. […]

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Mental Illness And Society: Prisons, Rehabilitation And Prevention

Our prisons are loaded with teenagers and adults who suffer from psychiatric disorders. Kids who are incarcerated have a 60% or higher rate of psychiatric syndromes according to most studies—this is roughly three times higher than the 20% of kids with psychiatric illness who are currently not incarcerated. How can we understand these numbers? Psychiatrists, […]

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Does My Child Have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder? How Would I Know?

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Some kids just can’t seem to do what we expect of them, even the simplest of things—in school, at home and with other kids. It’s not hard to see why they get labeled: sloppy, lazy, disorganized, won’t listen; or worse—defiant, self-centered, impossible to manage. And, it’s pretty easy to understand why […]