Michael Thompson

Michael Thompson, Ph.D., is a consultant, author, and psychologist specializing in children and families. He is the supervising psychologist for Belmont Hill School and has worked in more than 500 schools across the United States, as well as in international schools in Central America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

He and co-author Dan Kindlon wrote the New York Times best-selling book Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys. He is also the author of Speaking of Boys: Answers to the Most-Asked Questions About Raising Sons and, along with Catherine O'Neill Grace and Larry Cohen, Ph.D., is co-author of Mom, They're Teasing Me: Helping Your Child Solve Social Problems and Best Friends/Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social Worlds of Children, about which Publishers Weekly declared, "Not since Dr. Spock and Penelope Leach has there been such a sensitive and practical guide to raising healthy children." Along with Teresa Barker, Thompson wrote The Pressured Child: Helping Your Child Achieve Success in School and in Life to help parents understand children's complex journey through school, from kindergarten through senior year. His third book on the psychology of boys, titled 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 currently writing a new book about summer camps and school trips titled 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's 20/20, CBS's 60 Minutes, The Early Show, and Good Morning America. He has been quoted in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsweek, Time, and US 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 Rehm Show." He wrote, narrated, and hosted a two-hour PBS documentary titled 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.