Michael Thompson

Child & Family Psychologist

Michael Thompson

Child & Family Psychologist

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Biography

Michael Thompson, Ph.D., is a consultant, author, and psychologist specializing in children and families. He is the supervising psychologist for Belmont Hill School and has worked in more than 700 schools across the United States, as well as in international schools in South and Central America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Hill School and has worked in more than 700 schools across the United States, as well as in international schools in South and Central America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

He and co-author Dan Kindlon wrote the New York Times best-selling book Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys, which has been the bestselling book on the psychology of boys for sixteen years. He is also the author of Speaking of Boys: Answers to the Most-Asked Questions About Raising Sons and It’s a Boy!: Your Son’s Development from Birth to Eighteen. Along with Catherine O'Neill Grace and Larry Cohen, Ph.D., Dr. Thompson wrote Mom, They're Teasing Me: Helping Your Child Solve Social Problems and Best Friends/Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social Worlds of Children, about which Publishers Weekly declared, "Not since Dr. Spock and Penelope Leach has there been such a sensitive and practical guide to raising healthy children.” With Teresa Barker, Thompson wrote The Pressured Child: Helping Your Child Achieve Success in School and in Life to help parents understand children’s complex journey through school, from kindergarten through senior year. It focuses on the importance of undirected, free play in the lives of boys. In 2011, he published a book about child development and summer camps titled Homesick and Happy: How Time Away from Parents Can Help a Child Grow.

A dedicated speaker and traveler, Michael Thompson has appeared on The Today Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, ABC’s 20/20, CBS’s 60 Minutes, The Early Show, and Good Morning America. He has been quoted in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsweek, Time, and US 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 Rehm Show.” He wrote, narrated, and hosted a two-hour PBS documentary titled Raising Cain that was broadcast nationally in 2006.

Dr. Thompson has served on the board of the American Camping Association and is on the Advisory Board of Parent magazine.

Speech Topics

Best Friends, Worst Enemies: Friendship Development, Popularity & 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

Testimonials

"Michael is a wonderful person. His presentation to the students was well received. He did a great job and his message was right on target for what we wanted. Students kept coming up to him and thanking him. Michael is absolutely amazing with parents. His parent presentation was flawless. He is a master presenter with the parents. It was a full day but a wonderful day. I think Michael did everything we had hoped. We wanted our boys to be affirmed, challenged and provoked to think about what it means to a healthy young man in the 21st century. Michael was the perfect start to this weeklong conversation."

- St. Xavier High School

"You gave a very thought provoking presentation on the emotional development of boys. The session was well attended and the post-session conversations were profound. By impacting those in attendance, you impacted a Movement. Boys & Girls Clubs of America hopes you know how much we appreciate your contribution."

- Health and Life Skills Senior Director, Boys & Girls Clubs of America