Read Dr. Beresin’s interview with The Boston Globe.

Today's teens are lonelier than any other age group, which can have a devastating impact on their mental health.

Whether you need strategies to support a teen who is struggling, or you want to help a younger child build healthy relationships early on, this guide is for you. Dr. Beresin elaborates on each of the Surgeon General’s 7 recommendations for parents, and provides actionable, practical advice to help families embrace them as part of everyday life.

        Loneliness can have a devastating impact on our health. In May 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General released an Advisory on an epidemic of loneliness and isolation, including 7 high-level recommendations for parents and caregivers. While these recommendations are universal, what do they look like in practice?

        This new guide from the Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital by Gene Beresin, MD, MA addresses how caregivers can embrace each Surgeon General recommendation to prevent and combat loneliness in our children and teens as part of everyday life.

WHAT EXPERTS ARE SAYING:

     “Isolation and loneliness feed on each other and make everything worse, including life itself. The younger you are, the deeper the hurt. Fortunately human connection and healing are also a package deal and Gene Beresin has some wisdom for how parents, friends, teachers and others can help adolescents and young adults be together and not get stuck. We are surrounded by ways to be alone. Dr. Beresin gives us practical steps and advice about how we and our children can stay connected and thrive.”
     – Mark Vonnegut, MD, Pediatrician, Author of 'The Eden Express', 'Just Like Someone Without Mental Illness Only More So: A Memoir', and 'The Heart of Caring: A Life in Pediatrics'

     “This book is a must read for all parents and caregivers of young people today. In clear and accessible language, Dr. Beresin helps us to understand the escalating crisis of loneliness among our youth, and the associated negative mental health impacts. Most importantly, he provides concrete, practical and evidence-based strategies for preventing and combatting loneliness among children, teens, and young adults. This book is a call to action and arms us with tools with which to respond.”
     – Annie Brewster, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Founder and Executive Director, Health Story Collaborative

     “This is the book for all those concerned for our lonely young people. Such an accessible, no-nonsense guide should be on every breakfast table, next to the coffee pot and pancakes. Inspired by hope and the belief in actions not just words, it packs a punch. After reading it, you will know how to make a difference, how to notice and tackle loneliness as early as possible. I can only imagine Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy will keep a copy handy.”
     – Professor Paul Crawford, Director, Centre for Social Futures, Institute of Mental Health, United Kingdom, Project Lead, 'What’s Up With Everyone?' Mental Health Campaign

     “A sense of loneliness is dramatically increasing in teenagers which compounds the inevitable loneliness every teenager faces on their emotional path to leaving the comforts of home and becoming an adult. Dr. Beresin offers an outstanding, practical guide for parents to assess and address their teenager’s loneliness while encouraging their evolving autonomy.”
     – Michael S. Jellinek, MD, Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Former Chief of Child Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital

Gene Beresin, MD, MA, a child and adolescent psychiatrist and clinical educator with more than 40 years of experience working with youth, has focused his career on prevention, early intervention, and treatment of teens and young adults. Dr. Beresin is often called upon by news media to weigh in on societal issues relevant to this vulnerable population, and has published numerous papers and chapters on a variety of topics, including mental health and media, eating disorders, personality disorders, and child and adolescent psychiatric treatments. Among his publications, Dr. Beresin is a regular contributing author to Psychology Today, and in 2022 released authored the book Music (Arts for Health) on the healing power of music as a fundamental aspect of individual identity and personal well-being.

As a clinician with a passion for the power of arts to reach diverse audiences on various aspects of youth mental health, Dr. Beresin is well-versed in speaking with the media and has contributed to many reputable news outlets including The New York Times, BBC News, Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and NPR. Dr. Beresin has consulted to a variety of television shows including ER and Law & Order: SVU. He was Consultant to the Emmy Award winning HBO children's specials Goodnight Moon and Other Sleepytime Tales (2000), Through a Child's Eyes: September 11, 2001 (2003), and Classical Baby (2005). He was script consultant, expert, and actor in Brains on Trial with Alan Alda, produced by Chedd-Angier, a PBS broadcast (2013). His Clay Center short films Looking for Luke and Bipolar Disorder and the Arts: Mark Vonnegut's Story have been nationally recognized as official selections of several film festivals, including the 2023 NYC Mental Health Film Festival.

Dr. Beresin has served as a leader of many national organizations and has won a number of local and national teaching awards. He is currently serving a term as President of the American College of Psychiatrists, and previously served as President of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training. Past awards include the Vestermark Award for Outstanding Teaching by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and the National Institute of Mental Health; the Parker Palmer Courage to Teach Award by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education; and The Nancy Roeske Award for Outstanding Medical Student Teaching by the APA. He is Distinguished Life Fellow of the APA, and Distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Dr. Beresin is executive director for the Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a full Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and the Director of Education for the Division of Professional and Public Education in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is co-host of the Clay Center podcast Shrinking It Down: Mental Health Made Simple.