Helping Struggling Students: Resiliency Strategies for Parents, Teachers, and Clinicians
How can clinicians, educators, and caregivers remain resilient when their students are struggling? Drawing from decades of experience as a child psychiatrist, Dr. Nancy Rappaport shares stories of “phantom patients,” chaos in children’s lives, and the importance of creativity, humor, and empathy. Presented during Harvard Medical School’s “School Mental Health: Treating Students K-12” course, this talk covers:
- Strategies for working with high-risk or disengaged patients
- How to reframe mistakes, setbacks, and detours in learning
- Using creativity and humor as survival skills in tough work
- Patient stories that show how empathy and persistence can save lives
- Practical tools like gratitude lists, supportive colleagues, and narrative writing
