Wendy Mogel (born March 23, 1951) is an American

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

and author, whose first book, ''The Blessing of a Skinned Knee'', identified the problems faced by middle class children at a time of social anxiety. Her second book, ''The Blessing of a B Minus'', focused on counseling parents whose children face destructive pressures as they prepare for college. ''Voice Lessons for Parents'', her latest book, addresses the skills needed to converse while being surrounded by digital distractions.

Biography

Mogel was raised in a secular Jewish family. She studied art history at

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

in Vermont, where she graduated

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

. She spent her summers as a counselor at a summer camp for children with emotional problems, where she met her future husband, the filmmaker and writer

Michael Tolkin Michael L. Tolkin (born October 17, 1950) is an American filmmaker and novelist. He has written numerous screenplays, including ''The Player (1992 film), The Player'' (1992), which he adapted from his own 1988 novel of the same name,Tolkin, Micha ...

. After the wedding the couple moved to California. Mogel received a master's degree from the

New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

in New York City and her PhD at the

Wright Institute The Wright Institute is a private graduate school focused on psychology and located in Berkeley, California. History The institute was founded by Nevitt Sanford in 1968 when he left Stanford. Dr. Sanford first gained prominence as a co-author of ...

of Los Angeles. She continued her training during an internship and post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry at

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over 2 ...

. As a clinical psychologist, she has a practice as an adolescent and family therapist. In the 1990s, Mogel and her husband began attending Jewish services. She took a year off to study the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

and

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

full-time. When she returned from her sabbatical, she applied what she studied to her practice. She also began teaching child-rearing classes and working with families using traditional Jewish teachings, particularly from

Hasidic Judaism Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Judaism, Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory ...

, as a guide to raising "good people," regardless of their religious background. Her research and its application in her practice became the foundation of ''The Blessing of a Skinned Knee'' and her subsequent books. Mogel is an active author and public speaker on the topic of effective parenting and has spoken at the annual conferences of the

National Association of Independent Schools The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) is a U.S.-based membership organization for private, nonprofit, K-12 schools. Founded in 1962, NAIS represents independent schools and associations in the United States, including day, boar ...

, the

American Camp Association The American Camp Association (ACA), formerly known as the American Camping Association, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that serves the United States. It is an association for camp owners, camp professionals and others interested in summer camps and si ...

, and the National Association of Episcopal Schools. She has appeared on The Today Show and is consulted frequently by national and international media as a parenting expert. Mogel has two daughters and lives in Los Angeles.

Books

*''The Blessings of a Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children''. Scribner. (2008) *''The Blessing of a B Minus: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Resilient Teenagers''. Scribner. (2011) *''Voice Lessons for Parents: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Listen''. Scribner. (2018)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mogel, Wendy 21st-century American psychologists American women psychologists American women writers 20th-century American Jews Middlebury College alumni The New School alumni Wright Institute alumni 1951 births Living people 21st-century American Jews 20th-century American women 21st-century American women 20th-century American psychologists