Elena Lister, MD and Michael Schwartzman, Ph.D., ABPP

About

Elena Lister, MD, is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical Center, a Senior Consulting Analyst for Grief at Columbia Psychoanalytic Center, and a sought-after grief specialist who guides schools and organizations across the U.S. in navigating loss in their communities. In her therapy practice, Lister works with people of all ages facing life challenges, and specializes in supporting people through the illness, dying, and death of loved ones. Since the death of her six-year-old daughter from leukemia in 1996, Lister has devoted her life’s work to helping people navigate the emotional pain and loneliness of loss and grief.

Michael Schwartzman, Ph.D., ABPP, is a senior psychologist and board-certified psychoanalyst who has worked with children, adolescents, adults, and families for more than 40 years. In addition to his private practice, Schwartzman is the consulting psychologist at two independent schools for children and lectures regularly to parents and professional colleagues on child development, parenting, and school-related issues. He is the author of The Anxious Parent: Freeing Yourself from the Stresses and Fears of Parenting.

Lister and Schwartzman are the co-authors of Giving Hope: Conversations with Children About Illness, Death, and Loss.

Books by Elena Lister, MD and Michael Schwartzman, Ph.D., ABPP

Recent Posts

Victim or Bully: Talking With Your Child About Prejudice

Your child may witness, participate in, or be the victim of peer mistreatment. There are ways to talk with them and involve their teacher to create a supportive plan.

Your child may witness, participate in, or be the victim of peer mistreatment. There are ways to talk with them and involve their teacher to create a supportive plan.

What You Can Do When Your Family Is Not in the Holiday Mood

If you and your child are not feeling festive this year, you are not alone. Here are six tips to help you identify your family's needs and manage others' expectations.

If you and your child are not feeling festive this year, you are not alone. Here are six tips to help you identify your family's needs and manage others' expectations.

Tips for the Challenges of Parenting During the Holidays

We all have expectations of the holidays, yet sometimes, our children do not want to participate. Here are ways to talk with your child and help them to find ease.

We all have expectations of the holidays, yet sometimes, our children do not want to participate. Here are ways to talk with your child and help them to find ease.

How to Talk With a Child About War

It's hard to talk to a child about war. Here are tips on taking care of your own feelings and providing a sense of safety for your child.

It's hard to talk to a child about war. Here are tips on taking care of your own feelings and providing a sense of safety for your child.

What to Do When Your Child Has Difficulty at School

The school year has started and some children are having new or ongoing difficulties. Here are six tips for how to handle it with your partner, your child and the school.

The school year has started and some children are having new or ongoing difficulties. Here are six tips for how to handle it with your partner, your child and the school.

Helping Your Child Name Their Feelings

It's challenging for a parent when their child enacts feelings in a negative way.

It's challenging for a parent when their child enacts feelings in a negative way.

Beating the Back-To-School Blues

Are you and your child having sad or anxious feelings about the end of summer? There are ways to understand this and approaches to help that will make the transition easier.

Are you and your child having sad or anxious feelings about the end of summer? There are ways to understand this and approaches to help that will make the transition easier.

What Parents Can Do When a Child Isn't Who They Expected

What if your child is not who you envisioned they would be? Start here to understand these disappointments and welcome your child for who they are.

What if your child is not who you envisioned they would be? Start here to understand these disappointments and welcome your child for who they are.

Graduation Time: Your Emotions May Not Be What You Expect

A parent may feel mixed emotions, as a child's graduation marks an ending for them as well as for their child. There are ways to understand and grapple with the changes.

A parent may feel mixed emotions, as a child's graduation marks an ending for them as well as for their child. There are ways to understand and grapple with the changes.

Mother's Day: Helping a Child at a Time Laden With Memory

Is a child you know facing a Mother's Day after their mother has died? There are ways to make anticipating the day and the day itself manageable for you and them.

Is a child you know facing a Mother's Day after their mother has died? There are ways to make anticipating the day and the day itself manageable for you and them.