Michael Ungar

Michael Ungar, Ph.D., is both a family therapist and a Killam Professor of Social Work at Dalhousie University. He is currently the Network Director of the Children and Youth in Challenging Contexts Network and founder and Co-Director of the Resilience Research Centre that coordinates more than five million dollars in funded research in a dozen countries. That research is focused on resilience among children, youth and families and how they together survive adversity in culturally diverse ways.

Michael has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on resilience and is the author of 13 books including The Social Worker, his first novel. Among his books for professionals are Working with Children and Youth with Complex Needs: 20 Skills to Build Resilience; The Social Ecology of Resilience: A Handbook for Theory and Practice; and Counseling in Challenging Contexts: Working with Individuals and Families Across Clinical and Community Settings. He also writes for parents and educators. Among his most recent works are I Still Love You: Nine Things Troubled Kids Need From Their Parents; We Generation: Raising Socially Responsible Children and Teens; and Too Safe For Their Own Good: How Risk and Responsibility Help Teens Thrive.

In addition to his research and writing, Michael maintains a small family therapy practice in association with Phoenix Youth Programs, a prevention program for street youth and their families, and was the recipient of the 2012 Canadian Association of Social Workers National Distinguished Service Award. His work has been featured in numerous magazines (Reader's Digest, Body and Soul, Today's Parent) and newspapers (Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, USA Today) around the world, and he regularly appears on radio and television. Among his many contributions to his community has been his role as Co-Chair of the Nova Scotia Mental Health and Addictions Strategy Advisory Committee.

His blog, Nurturing Resilience, can be read on Psychology Today's website at www.psychologytoday.com/blog/nurturing-resilience