The Spiritual Child: The New Science on Parenting for Health and Lifelong Thriving

NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller
USA TODAY Bestseller
Publishers Weekly Bestseller

In The Spiritual Child, psychologist Lisa Miller presents the next big idea in psychology: the science and the power of spirituality. She explains the clear, scientific link between spirituality and health and shows that children who have a positive, active relationship to spirituality:

* are 40% less likely to use and abuse substances
* are 60% less likely to be depressed as teenagers
* are 80% less likely to have dangerous or unprotected sex
* have significantly more positive markers for thriving including an increased sense of meaning and purpose, and high levels of academic success.

Combining cutting-edge research with broad anecdotal evidence from her work as a clinical psychologist to illustrate just how invaluable spirituality is to a child's mental and physical health, Miller translates these findings into practical advice for parents, giving them concrete ways to develop and encourage their children's--as well as their own--well-being. In this provocative, conversation-starting book, Dr. Miller presents us with a pioneering new way to think about parenting our modern youth.

LISA MILLER, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology and Education, and Director of the Clinical Psychology Program at Columbia University, Teachers College. She is also Director of the Spirituality Mind Body Institute. Dr. Miller’s research has been published in journals including JAMA-Psychiatry, American Journal of Psychiatry, and the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. She has appeared on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and Weekend Today as an expert psychologist. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and three children.