I am a clinical psychologist. The term clinical psychologist arose in 1896 from Lightner Witmer who ran the first clinic whose purpose was to apply scientific psychological principles to the problem of children. From these early efforts to systematically apply psychological science to remediating human problems, clinical psychology was born. Clinical psychology then, is that branch of psychology that is devoted to the investigation of individual differences in psychological functioning for the express purpose of the prevention and cure of mild and serious mental illness. It is that link between the findings of psychological science and their application to human problems that has always interested me.

On this page I will talk about aspects of psychological science that interest me. I follow psychological research and will use this page to highlight my own interests. My responsibilities as Director of the CIC make it impossible for me to work full time as a teacher, researcher, author, therapist; but my training and interest in psychology continues as I apply my psychological knowledge to my work as a priest in synthesizing faith and medicine in areas such as depression, anxiety and the spiritual life of boys. But you can check that out on the Faith and Science page.

As a clinical psychologist I am interested in adolescence, the effect of trauma on mood and affect in children and adolescence, the function and pathology of emotion, personality and psychological assessment, classical psychotherapy and the selection of other targeted therapies for specific distinct issues. I am going to present information on all those issues from time to time.

Let me begin with adolescence. . I have a keen interest in that second decade of life in which so much human development takes place. I have worked with teens who have suffered a good deal of trauma and illness, as well as teens who are intellectually, artistically or athletically gifted. I’ll present specific information in those areas, but for now, Parents of teenagers often ask me for good information they can read. For that, I strongly recommend the PBS special, Inside the Teenage Brain, for a good introduction to contemporary issues in adolescent development.

Parents of teenagers often ask me what books I recommend to help them understand their teenagers. I am a huge fan of the work of Dr. David Elkind and recommend his books.

• Children and Adolescents
• A Sympathetic Understanding of the Child: Birth to Sixteen
• All Grown Up and No Place to Go: Teenagers in Crisis
• The Hurried Child: Growing Up Too Fast Too Soon
• Ties That Stress: The New Family Imbalance
• Parenting Your Teenager
• Parents have also enjoyed Dr. Chaim Ginott’s book:
• Between Parent and Teenager