Dr. Alice Ginott, Ph.D.

Dr. Alice Ginott is a noted psychologist, psychotherapist, author, and lecturer. Verbal communication is the focus of her skills. As she states: “We are unaware that words are like knives, that we need to be skilled in the use of words. Unlike a surgeon who is careful where he cuts, we use words randomly. We make many incisions until we hit the right spot, heedless of the open wounds we leave behind. We perform daily emotional operations but we do it without training. Even people who love each other and their children lack a language that conveys that love, that mirrors their delight, that makes the one they love feel loved, respected, and appreciated.” The purpose of her lectures, workshops and guidance groups with couples, parents, and teachers is to help them enter the world of another in a compassionate and caring way.

Dr. Ginott’s ideas of communicating with parents and teachers were disseminated in the King Features internationally syndicated column “Between Us.” She reflects the enthusiasm, warmth, and humor found in her many articles, such as “How to Drive Your Child Sane” and “How to Help Children Mourn,” which strive to revolutionize the way we talk to one another.

Dr. Ginott received her B.A. from Indiana University and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the Graduate Faculty of the New School University in New York. As a former assistant professor of psychology at Hunter and Queens colleges in New York, and a visiting scholar at Chatham College in Pittsburgh, she enjoys sharing her ideas with students. She was a member of the 1970 White House Conference on Children and was invited by the American University in Cairo, Egypt, to be the keynote speaker at a symposium for the International Year of the Child, in which Ms. Jihan el Sadat also participated. She has lectured widely in the United States, Brazil, Africa, Canada, Europe, India, Hong Kong and Israel. She is also the recipient of the Eleanor Roosevelt Humanities award.

Dr. Ginott was born in the former Czechoslovakia, is the mother of two daughters—a physician and a lawyer—and has two grandchildren.