About Michael
Biographical Note
Michael Thompson, Ph.D. is a consultant, author and psychologist specializing in children and families. He is the supervising psychologist for the Belmont Hill School and has worked in more than five hundred schools across the United States, as well as in international schools in Central America, Europe, Africa and Asia.
He and his co-author, Dan Kindlon, wrote the New York Times best-selling book, Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys (Ballantine Books, 1999). He is the author of Speaking of Boys: Answers to the Most-Asked Questions about Raising Sons Ballantine, 2000), and co-author (with Catherine O'Neill Grace and Larry Cohen, Ph.D.) of Best Friends/Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social Worlds of Children (Ballantine, 2001) and Mom, They're Teasing Me: Helping Your Child Solve Social Problems (Ballantine, 2002.) About Best Friends, Worst Enemies the Publishers Weekly review declared, "Not since Dr. Spock and Penelope Leach has there been such a sensitive and practical guide to raising healthy children." The Pressured Child: Helping Your Child Achieve Success in School and in Life (with Teresa Barker, Ballantine, 2004) was written to help parents understand the complex journey of children through school, from Kindergarten through senior year. His third book on the psychology of boys, entitled, It's a Boy!: Understanding Your Son's Development from Birth to Eighteen, was published in 2008. It focuses on the importance of undirected, free play in the lives of boys. He is presently writing a new book about summer camps and schools trips entitled, Homesick and Happy: How Children Change and Grow When They Are Away from Their Parents.
A dedicated speaker and traveler, Michael Thompson has appeared on The Today Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, ABC 20/20, CBS 60 Minutes, The Early Show and Good Morning America. He has been quoted in the New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsweek, Time and U.S. 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 Rhem Show. He wrote, narrated and hosted a two-hour PBS documentary entitled "Raising Cain" that was broadcast nationally in 2006.
Dr. Thompson serves on the board of the American Camping Association and is on the Advisory Board of Parent Magazine. Dr. Thompson lives in Arlington, Massachusetts. He is married to Dr. Theresa McNally, a psychotherapist, and is the father of Joanna, 26, and Will, 20.