Dr. Erica Komisar

We prioritize our work, our careers, our material success, our personal desires and pleasures, but what we're not prioritizing is children. And, you know, that's a problem because if we don't prioritize them, they break down. They may break down at three, they may break down at eight, or they may not break down until they're in adolescence. But eventually they break down.

We prioritize our work, our careers, our material success, our personal desires and pleasures, but what we're not prioritizing is children. And, you know, that's a problem because if we don't prioritize them, they break down. They may break down at three, they may break down at eight, or they may not break down until they're in adolescence. But eventually they break down.

And prevention, there's so much that we can do. We have a mental health crisis now in the world. It varies to a certain degree in America. One in five children will not leave childhood without breaking down at some point, without developing a serious mental illness, anxiety, depression. ADHD, behavioral problems, suicidal thoughts. So we have a problem. In the UK, it's one in six.

And prevention, there's so much that we can do. We have a mental health crisis now in the world. It varies to a certain degree in America. One in five children will not leave childhood without breaking down at some point, without developing a serious mental illness, anxiety, depression. ADHD, behavioral problems, suicidal thoughts. So we have a problem. In the UK, it's one in six.

In America, it's one in five. Around the world, it's about one in five. That is a shocking figure. And the truth is we can do a great deal to prevent that. The idea that we are trying to put out fires without talking about What is the origin of these issues? The way that the mental health care system works now, it's like what I call cutting the grass.

In America, it's one in five. Around the world, it's about one in five. That is a shocking figure. And the truth is we can do a great deal to prevent that. The idea that we are trying to put out fires without talking about What is the origin of these issues? The way that the mental health care system works now, it's like what I call cutting the grass.

Children are medicated, which is basically just pain management. They're given CBT therapy, which again is just pain management. But why aren't we asking the important questions, which is where does emotional regulation originate? Where does it come from? When does it start? How do we foster development in children from a very young age to promote resilience to stress and adversity in the future?

Children are medicated, which is basically just pain management. They're given CBT therapy, which again is just pain management. But why aren't we asking the important questions, which is where does emotional regulation originate? Where does it come from? When does it start? How do we foster development in children from a very young age to promote resilience to stress and adversity in the future?

And so those are my three missions.

And so those are my three missions.

So I'm a psychoanalyst. I'm also a social worker. I started out as a social worker and then became a psychoanalyst. I'm also an author of books on parent guidance and parent education. And I've been in practice seeing patients. So the majority of my work is still seeing patients. I have a full time job of seeing patients. And as someone who is also a parent, I have three children of my own.

So I'm a psychoanalyst. I'm also a social worker. I started out as a social worker and then became a psychoanalyst. I'm also an author of books on parent guidance and parent education. And I've been in practice seeing patients. So the majority of my work is still seeing patients. I have a full time job of seeing patients. And as someone who is also a parent, I have three children of my own.

And so as a parent, as a clinician, as an author who has for the past 20 years been researching, and what I did is I collected research in epigenetics and and attachment theory and neuroscience and wrote my first book, Being There, because what happened is I was seeing this uptick in mental illness in children, and this is really how I got into it, about 30 years ago.

And so as a parent, as a clinician, as an author who has for the past 20 years been researching, and what I did is I collected research in epigenetics and and attachment theory and neuroscience and wrote my first book, Being There, because what happened is I was seeing this uptick in mental illness in children, and this is really how I got into it, about 30 years ago.

I started practicing about 36 years ago, but I was probably five years into my practice, and I was seeing that the families that were coming to see me had younger and younger children that were being diagnosed with very serious mental illnesses and being medicated at a very young age, basically silencing their pain

I started practicing about 36 years ago, but I was probably five years into my practice, and I was seeing that the families that were coming to see me had younger and younger children that were being diagnosed with very serious mental illnesses and being medicated at a very young age, basically silencing their pain

And what I was observing in my practice is that those children who were doing the least well were the ones whose mothers were the least present in their lives. So their primary attachment figures were the least present in their lives. And so then I started looking at the research. I looked at all the neuroscience research since the 90s and all of the new, new research that had come out.

And what I was observing in my practice is that those children who were doing the least well were the ones whose mothers were the least present in their lives. So their primary attachment figures were the least present in their lives. And so then I started looking at the research. I looked at all the neuroscience research since the 90s and all of the new, new research that had come out.

I looked at the old detachment theories, which have been around since the 60s, and I looked at the epigenetic research, which was rather new too. And I saw this trend. I saw that we were abandoning our children for our own desires, for our careers, for material success. And there was a great deal of misunderstanding about the irreducible emotional needs of children.

I looked at the old detachment theories, which have been around since the 60s, and I looked at the epigenetic research, which was rather new too. And I saw this trend. I saw that we were abandoning our children for our own desires, for our careers, for material success. And there was a great deal of misunderstanding about the irreducible emotional needs of children.