Current Lectures

(based on the upcoming book, Childhood Narcissism)

  • Learning to Love:

    Building a Model of Healthy Relationships

  • Mastering Feelings:

    Gaining Emotional Control with Maturity

  • Perspective Shifting:

    Growing to See the World from Different Points of View

  • Loving Yourself:

    Building a Healthy Self-Concept and Positive Self-Esteem

  • “Being Special” and other Slippery Slopes:

    The Danger of Childhood Narcissism

  • Cracking the Code:

    Raising Kids who Feel Good about Themselves without Feeling Superior

  • Parenting with a Purpose:

    Strategies to Raise Unselfish, Unentitled, and Empathetic Children

  • The Narcissistic Continuum:

    The Trouble with “Too Much” and “Too Little”

  • The Components of Healthy Parenting:

    Essential Elements in the Parent’s View of the Child and the Parent’s Treatment of the Child

  • Healthy Development is a Four-Legged Stool:

    Understanding the Key Personality Structures that Enable Childhood Health and Happiness

  • Warning Signs of Narcissistic Development:

    Steps to Address Narcissistic Tendencies and Traits in Children

  • Growing Healthy Kids:

    Recognizing Risky Parenting Styles including Hovering/Directive, Indulgent/Permissive, Inattentive/Disengaged, and Critical/Harsh

Prior lectures (available by request):

  • Pressing to be Perfect:  The Problem of Perfectionism 

  • Developmental Discipline:  Parenting Based on the Age and Stage of the Child (A Model for Therapists and Families)

  • Rescuing Narcissus: The Dangers of Selfishness and Entitlement

  • Competent Kids: A Strategy for Child Rearing

  • The Case for Non-Superstars: Development Over Years

  • Making Marriage Work: Strategies to Build Connection in Couples

  • Raising Average Children: The Benefits of Being Stuck-in-the-Middle

  • Meaningful Connections: “Making Meaning” in Relationships

  • What Makes a Bully? Management Strategies in the School and Home

  • Developing Cooperation in your Child: Partnering with Others

  • Perspective Shifting: Developing Empathy in the Child

  • Insights from Santa: Interpreting your Child's Christmas Wish List

  • Disconnected Children: The Vulnerability of Isolation in Adolescence 

  • Instilling Family Values: Strategies and Opportunities

  • Understanding Children's Temper Tantrums: Growing Up is Noisy

  • The Effect of Tragedy on Children: Pressing Forward into Headwinds

  • The Challenge of Being Gifted: Strengths and Vulnerabilities

  • Forgiveness in the Family: Working Together Over Time

  • Infant Development: Building the Foundation

  • Raising Responsible and Independent Children: Competencies that Make a Difference

  • Setting Limits: Learning How to Say No to Kids

  • Learning Disabilities in Children: Costs and Benefits of Thinking Differently

  • On Loving and Leaving: Issues in Divorce

  • The Magic Years: Parenting Preschool Children

  • Reasoning with a Pre-logical Child: Perils and Possibilities

  • Developing Responsibility in Children: Learning about Persistence and Problem Solving

  • Adoption: The Risks and Benefits

  • Changing Gears: The Challenge of Parenting Adolescents

  • Taking to Your Child About Sex: Functions, Feelings, and Relationships