Parenting in a Time of Insecurity

The health and well-being of families, classrooms, and communities today is increasingly affected by the insecurity, intolerance, and injustice we see in the world around us. Gene Beresin and Khadijah Booth Watkins from Mass General Hospital's Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds will help us understand the link between local and global events, social and cultural norms, and the confusion and uncertainty we and the children in our lives feel—and they will offer advice on how parents can care for themselves first, in order to successfully navigate the conversations that help children feel agency, safety, and security in uncertain times. 

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Gene Beresin, MD, MA, is executive director of The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a full professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School (HMS), and senior educator in child and adolescent psychiatry at MGH. As a clinician and educator with 40 years of experience in working with youth, Dr. Beresin has focused on prevention, early intervention and treatment of teens and young adults. He has been a keynote speaker at local and international conferences, and is often called upon by media to weigh in on issues relevant to this vulnerable population and the unique impact of societal issues.

Khadijah Booth Watkins, MD, MPH, is associate director of the Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and the Interim Director of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Training Program of Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital. In addition, she provides clinical care to children, adolescents, and families in the MGH Child Outpatient Clinic, and teaches and supervises fellows, residents, and medical students. Areas of particular interest include Anxiety Disorders, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, student and college mental health, mental health within schools, diversity, inclusion, and suicide prevention.