The Unlikely Art of Parental Pressure: A Conversation with Christopher Thurber & Hendrie Weisinger

Many experts agree that parental pressure contributes to anxiety, depression, and even addiction among children. But according to renowned psychologists Chris Thurber, PhD and Hendrie Weisinger, PhD, pressure itself isn’t bad – the issue is how pressure is applied. Their new book, THE UNLIKELY ART OF PARENTAL PRESSURE: A Positive  Approach To Pushing Your Child To Be Their Best Self (Hachette Books; July 2021), is the first to provide in-depth solutions for creating healthy pressure, offering step-by-step advice that parents and care-givers can begin to use immediately with profound long-term results. 

“Parents apply pressure because they care, but they hinder progress and create problems because of how they apply it,” Thurber and Weisinger write. “Our goal is to give parents a healthy road map and practical tools to ensure that the instinctive pressure they apply to their children promotes development, not distress.”

Chris Thurber, Ph.D. is a board-certified clinical psychologist, educator, author, and father with a BA from Harvard and a PhD in child and adolescent psychology from UCLA. An acclaimed keynote speaker, he serves as a clinician and instructor at Phillips Exeter Academy.

Hendrie Weisinger, Ph.D. is a world-renowned psychologist and pioneer in the field of pressure management, as well as the author of a number of bestselling books. He has consulted with and developed programs for dozens of Fortune 500 companies and government agencies.