Articles by Gene Beresin and Khadijah Booth Watkins

September 24, 2026

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Back to School in 2026: Why this Year is Different

 Why does back to school feel so different this year? In this episode of Shrinking it Down: Mental Health Made Simple, Gene and Khadijah take on five worries shaping the 2026 school year: classmates missing amid immigration enforcement, the Meta–Instagram settlement and proposed limits on kids’ social media use, economic stress and uncertainty about life after high school, measles outbreaks and vaccine misinformation, and climate anxiety. They share how parents can start honest, age-appropriate conversations — asking what kids are noticing, listening without judgment, and being genuine about what they can and can’t promise — and why family stories can help build resilience. Practical guidance for any parent, caregiver, or educator helping kids carry worries they can’t always put into words. Tune in now! Media List How to Help Kids Cope With Situational Anxiety (MGH Clay Center) Common Sense Media Measles: Choosing Not to Vaccinate (MGH Clay Center) Measles Vaccination (CDC) Anxiety to Agency: Empowering Kids to Address Climate Change (MGH Clay Center) Storm Anxiety: 11 Tips to Help Your Child Cope (MGH Clay Center) Climate Anxiety and Kids, featuring Elizabeth Pinsky, MD (Shrinking It Down) What to Look for, When to Worry, What to Do (MGH Clay Center)   Episode music by Gene Beresin Episode produced by Masha Mesyef Back to School 2026 — Episode Transcript Shrinking It Down: Mental Health Made Simple SPEAKERS: Gene Beresin, MD, MA; Khadijah Booth Watkins, MD, MPH [01:00:29:03 – 01:00:32:18] Gene Beresin Welcome back to “Shrinking It Down, Mental Health Made […]

September 14, 2026

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Secure Attachment Its Role in Preventing Loneliness and Misuse of Social Media

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director All the lonely people/Where do they all come from/All the lonely people/Where do they all belong                                                                                                             Lennon and McCartney With Gen Z now reporting the highest rates of loneliness of any generation, and parents more concerned than ever about the perils of social media amid recent suits against META, […]

August 20, 2026

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Cyberbullying: Where There’s No Place to Hide – A Guide For Parents and Young People

  In this episode of Shrinking it Down: Mental Health Made Simple, Gene and Khadijah take a hard look at cyberbullying — how it differs from the schoolyard bullying of decades past, why it’s harder to escape, and which kids face the highest risk. They walk through the Clay Center’s three W’s: what to look for, […]

July 28, 2026

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

The Emotional Power of Grandparenting: Dr. Gene Beresin on PlanMember

Dr. Gene Beresin, Executive Director of the MGH Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds, sits down with Ash Bennington on PlanMember to talk about a topic close to home for a lot of families: the role grandparents play in kids’ emotional development. As a grandfather of nine himself, Gene shares what the research (and his […]

June 18, 2026

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Parent and Caregiver Support of LGBTQ+ Youth

  In this Pride Month episode of Shrinking it Down: Mental Health Made Simple, Gene and Khadijah are joined by Dr. Alex Keuroghlian for a wide-ranging, candid conversation about supporting LGBTQ+ youth. As Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at MaineHealth and former founding director of the MGH Psychiatry Gender Identity Program, Dr. Keuroghlian draws […]

June 15, 2026

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Cyberbullying: A Serious, Often Dangerous Form of Harm and Ways to Support Your Teen

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director When I was in 6th grade, a small group of bullies from my class frequently hid in bushes I walked past to go home from school. Each encounter was clearly the same: One big kid, Burt (I still remember his name) grabbed me from behind and held me back while […]

May 21, 2026

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Community, Connection, and the Mental Health of Young Black Men

How can parents, mentors, and communities help young Black men feel safe, seen, and supported in today’s world? In this powerful episode of Shrinking it Down: Mental Health Made Simple, Gene and Khadijah are joined by Dr. Nadia Ward for an important conversation about the mental health and well-being of young Black men. Together, they […]

May 18, 2026

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

What is Looksmaxxing? A mental health expert explains

Have you heard of looksmaxxing? It’s a growing online trend that defines boys and young men by the mathematical metrics of their appearance — jaw shape, eye angle, muscularity, and what’s called “hunter eyes.” And it’s spreading fast through streaming video. In this video, Dr. Gene Beresin — Executive Director of the Clay Center for […]

May 1, 2026

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

The Perils of Looksmaxxing for Young Men: A Guide for Parents and Caregivers

Of all the times that I’ve been burned/By now you’d think I’d have learned/That it’s who you look like, not who you are/You all keep that in mind – Jackson Browne (1977) Social pressures on physical appearance are not new. Girls and young women have sustained a thinness imperative from the Flappers in the 1920s, […]

April 23, 2026

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

The ADHD Stimulant Shortage: What Parents and Caregivers Can Do

ADHD stimulant medication shortages are affecting more people than ever. In this episode of, Shrinking it Down: Mental Health Made Simple, Gene and Khadijah take a closer look at the ongoing shortage of ADHD stimulant medications and the real impact it is having on children and adults. Joined by Dr. Tony Rostain, they explore the […]