Articles by Steven Schlozman, MD and Gene Beresin

July 2, 2014

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Did The Black Box Warning For Antidepressants Risk Greater Depression & Suicidal Behavior In Youth?

Intro music written and performed by Dr. Gene Beresin. Outro music performed by Dr. Gene Beresin. In 2004, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made the difficult decision to apply a “black box” warning to virtually all antidepressant medications.  This action followed a similar warning issued a few months earlier by British health officials for […]

June 5, 2014

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

A 9-Year-Old Has No Remorse For Stealing But Always Lets Himself Get Caught: What Should Parents Do?

One morning in your daily rush to get them to the bus, you find your purse, left in its typical place on the kitchen table, wide open. The wallet is on the table, unzipped, with receipts scattered around it. That $10 bill you know was in the front is missing. Tommy sheepishly sits right next […]

May 29, 2014

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Concerts: A Survival Guide

Intro music written and performed by Dr. Gene Beresin. Outro music performed by Dr. Gene Beresin. Almost Famous, Cameron Crowe’s wonderful movie about sex, drugs and rock n’ roll, has many lovely and poignant moments. Indeed, the whole film can be seen as a carefully-written love letter, with just the right tincture of melancholic nostalgia, […]

May 20, 2014

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

The Senior Prom: A Joyous Rite Of Passage Or Nightmare For Parents?

Intro music written and performed by Dr. Gene Beresin. Outro music performed by Dr. Gene Beresin. It’s the weekend before your kid’s senior prom. You and your wife are having a typical evening at home, perhaps watching a movie with your youngest daughter. And, there’s a kind of tense silence you remember all too well. […]

May 9, 2014

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

One Man’s Brush With Being A Mother

I think we all take our moms for granted in some way, especially us men. Despite how much we love our mothers—how much we have always depended on them—as men, we not only take them for granted, we also have no clue what it’s like to be a mom. This came to me today, oddly […]

April 23, 2014

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Myths About the 12-Step Program: What Science Tells Us About Effective Treatment of Addiction

The 12-Step Program. Does it work? In recent years, there have been some questions raised about the effectiveness of 12-step mutual-help programs (such as Alcoholics Anonymous) and 12-step professional treatment plans, claiming that these approaches are almost completely ineffective and even harmful in treating substance use disorders. Tune in for more on what parents should […]

October 28, 2013

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Raising Resilient Children

This has been a tough year to be a parent. From deadly school shootings, tornadoes tearing through elementary schools, and bombings by homegrown terrorists, to the steady stream of discouraging news on the cost of higher education and the lack of good jobs awaiting young graduates, it has felt like there are more and more […]

October 23, 2013

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Kids at Risk for Violence: Warning Signs of Aggression

Some kids will become violent as adolescents. Many have a very short fuse, exploding over the smallest thing. Others, like a ticking time bomb, harbor pent up anger until something pops. And then there are the scariest kids—the ones who silently plan to harm others, and then don’t just fantasize, but really hurt others, verbally […]

September 23, 2013

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Over-Scheduled, Stressed-Out Families

You can also listen to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, SoundCloud, and most podcast apps – just search for “Shrinking It Down.” A contemporary belief is that it’s our job as parents to make our beloved children successful, and to do so we must start focusing on skill development as early as possible—if not by playing Mozart […]

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Is It Safe to Use Stimulants to Treat ADHD?

It’s not unusual for parents to bring their kid with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to a child psychiatrist and say: “We really want you to help, but do not want any medications.” What causes someone to say this? It’s not often we would go to a doctor and say, “Take care of me, doc, […]