Dr. Meredith Elkins

Dr. Meredith Elkins I’m a licensed clinical psychologist, author, and mom dedicated to helping families break the cycle of anxiety.

Clinical Psychologist | Author of Parenting Anxiety | Faculty, Harvard Medical School | Co-Director, McLean Anxiety Mastery Program | Helping parents raise resilient kids At Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital, I co-direct the McLean Anxiety Mastery Program (MAMP), where I lead an interdisciplinary team treating children and teens with anxiety disorders. My work has been featured in The Wal

l Street Journal, The Boston Globe, Parents Magazine, USA Today, and more. My upcoming book, Parenting Anxiety: Breaking the Cycle of Worry and Raising Resilient Kids (Crown/Penguin Random House, January 2026), offers parents practical, science-backed tools to manage their own anxiety while effectively supporting their children. Preorder now at penguinrandomhouse.com/books/761140/parenting-anxiety-by-meredith-elkins-phd/.

In had the honor of speaking today about Parenting Anxiety with the Access Wellness group at Penguin Random House in hon...
05/12/2026

In had the honor of speaking today about Parenting Anxiety with the Access Wellness group at Penguin Random House in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month 💚

We talked about breaking the cycle of worry, raising resilient kids, and why parenting anxiety deserves real conversation — not just reassurance.

So grateful to the incredible people at PRH for making space for these important discussions.

Thank you to everyone who attended and who asked such meaningful questions 🙏🏻🥰
ParentingSupport AccessWellness

Transitions bring excitement, but they often bring anxiety too.From starting kindergarten to heading off to college, the...
05/01/2026

Transitions bring excitement, but they often bring anxiety too.

From starting kindergarten to heading off to college, these moments can feel big for both kids and parents. It’s natural to want to protect, prepare, and reassure.

But how we respond in these moments matters.

When we stay calm, acknowledge that change is hard, and show confidence in our child’s ability to handle it, we help shape how they see themselves and what they’re capable of.

We don’t need to remove the anxiety.
We just need to help them learn they can move through it.

I wrote Parenting Anxiety for parents who are trying to support their children while also managing their own worry, self...
04/28/2026

I wrote Parenting Anxiety for parents who are trying to support their children while also managing their own worry, self-doubt, and fear.

My goal was to take evidence-based strategies and make them practical, approachable, and grounded in real life. Because parenting an anxious child isn’t about having all the answers, it’s about learning how to respond with clarity, confidence, and compassion.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed or unsure of what to do next, I hope this book feels like a steady, supportive guide.

Available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

When our kids are anxious, we want to help. So we let them skip the stressful thing. We rearrange the schedule. We give ...
04/24/2026

When our kids are anxious, we want to help. So we let them skip the stressful thing. We rearrange the schedule. We give reassurance on an unending loop.

This is accommodation — and it comes from love, which is exactly what makes it so hard to see clearly.

The problem isn't the impulse. It's that accommodation reduces anxiety in the moment, while reinforcing it over time.

When we help our kids avoid hard things, we confirm anxiety's message: you can't handle this without me.

The question isn't "am I a good parent?" It's "is my response helping my child face this, or avoid it?"

That distinction changes everything.

More in Parenting Anxiety, available now on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

Anxiety isn’t just one thing, it’s a pattern of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that all influence each other.When we ...
04/22/2026

Anxiety isn’t just one thing, it’s a pattern of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that all influence each other.

When we understand the cycle, we can start to interrupt it and build healthier responses over time.

In Parenting Anxiety, I break down evidence-based strategies into practical tools families can use to help kids navigate worry and big feelings.

Available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

Growth doesn’t come from avoiding discomfort, it comes from learning how to move through it.Exposure-based strategies he...
04/18/2026

Growth doesn’t come from avoiding discomfort, it comes from learning how to move through it.

Exposure-based strategies help kids build confidence, resilience, and real coping skills over time.

In my new book, Parenting Anxiety, I translate evidence-based strategies into practical tools for families navigating worry and big feelings.

Available now on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

You don’t have to take your child’s anxiety away to help them through it.In Parenting Anxiety, I share practical tools t...
04/15/2026

You don’t have to take your child’s anxiety away to help them through it.

In Parenting Anxiety, I share practical tools to help you support your child while building their confidence and resilience along the way.

Now available online and in-stores.

Anxiety has a way of presenting worst-case scenarios as established facts."I'm going to fail." "Everyone thinks I'm a di...
04/14/2026

Anxiety has a way of presenting worst-case scenarios as established facts.

"I'm going to fail." "Everyone thinks I'm a disaster." "My kid is never going to be okay."

When anxiety is running the show, these thoughts don't feel like guesses — they feel like the truth.

But a thought isn't a fact just because it feels like one.

Cognitive restructuring — the "C" in CBT — is learning to be a detective about your own thinking. Not to eliminate the thought or replace it with toxic positivity.

Just to ask: is this actually true? Is it helpful? Does acting as if this thought is true take me closer to or further from what I value?

It's a skill. It gets easier with practice. And it works for your kids too.

More in Parenting Anxiety, available now on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

I’m absolutely delighted to be heading back to Baltimore in April to speak at my alma mater, Roland Park Country School....
04/10/2026

I’m absolutely delighted to be heading back to Baltimore in April to speak at my alma mater, Roland Park Country School.

Thank you to Joan Smith and the RPCS team for the invitation—I know it will be a meaningful night of connection.

📅 Monday, April 27
🕡 Reception at 6:30 PM | 🎤 Presentation at 7 PM

Looking forward to sharing practical insights and connecting with both old friends and new faces alike.

RSVP at https://www.rpcs.org/culture-community-belonging/community-news-and-events/news-stories/~board/homepage-news/post/tri-school-community-book-discussion-on-parenting-anxiety to save your seat!

Can we talk about something that doesn't get said enough?Modern parenting culture has done a number on us. We've been so...
04/10/2026

Can we talk about something that doesn't get said enough?

Modern parenting culture has done a number on us. We've been sold the idea that protecting our kids from any discomfort is the gold standard of good parenting — that our job is to manage their distress and intervene the moment things get hard.

So of course it feels awful to stand on the sidelines when our kids are struggling.

But when we rush in to rescue our kids from situations that are actually safe — just uncomfortable — we accidentally teach them that hard feelings are dangerous, and that they can't cope without us.

The most powerful thing you can do in those moments isn't to fix it. It's to stay steady. To tolerate your own discomfort long enough to show your child that theirs is survivable too.

That's how the cycle begins to break.

More in Parenting Anxiety, available now on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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