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Dr. Rick Hanson

Rick Hanson

Author / Psychologist

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Biography

Rick Hanson, Ph.D. is a psychologist, Senior Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, and New York Times best-selling author. His seven books have been published in 33 languages, and include Making Great Relationships, Neurodharma, Resilient, Hardwiring Happiness, Just One Thing, Buddha’s Brain, and Mother Nurture – with over a million copies in English alone. He's the founder of the Global Compassion Coalition and the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom, as well as the co-host of the Being Well Podcast – which has been downloaded over 15 million times. His free newsletters have over 260,000 subscribers and his online programs have scholarships available for those in need. He’s lectured at NASA, Google, Oxford, and Harvard. An expert on positive neuroplasticity, his work has been featured on CBS, NPR, the BBC, and other major media. He began meditating in 1974 and has taught in meditation centers worldwide. He and his wife live in Northern California and have two adult children. He loves the wilderness and taking a break from emails.

Articles

The Arc of Desire

A child’s — or grownup’s — wants usually follow a particular path through time that I call an ‘arc of desire.’ Figuring out what a child wants requires understanding that whole arc.

Take in the Good

Take in the Good

Taking in the good is a brain-science savvy and psychologically skillful way to improve how you feel, get things done, and treat others.

Being Well Podcast: How to Feel Safer

Being Well Podcast: How to Feel Safer

On this episode of the Being Well Podcast, Dr. Rick Hanson and Forrest discuss how we can fight back against fear and learn to feel safer.

What’s “Optimal” About Frustration?

We base our actions toward children on ideas about their nature and needs and it is important to examine the notion of “optimal frustration,” which means not always giving a child what they want to make them more independent.

Reducing Sibling Rivalry

Our siblings are usually the people we know longest in this life, but it’s striking how many people have distant, even hostile relations with their brothers and sisters. Family tensions related to sibling rivalries wear on parents individually, and sometimes can challenge their marriage – so it’s important to tackle them in steady, systematic ways.

Being Well Podcast: Why Be Calm?

Being Well Podcast: Why Be Calm?

On today’s episode of the Being Well Podcast, Dr. Hanson and Forrest begin a new series of episodes exploring the strength of Calm.

When Kids Can’t Have What They Want

How to respond when the wants of parents and children differ is one of The Big Questions of parenting. Things usually go well when parents and kids want the same things — problems start when they don’t! Here are some ways to handle these difficult situations.

Being Well Podcast: Knowing You’re a Good Person

Being Well Podcast: Knowing You’re a Good Person

Welcome to the Being Well Podcast! In our last episode we talked about the role of the two voices in our mind – the inner nurturer and the inner critic – and discussed how we can keep those two personalities in balance.

Today we’re going to wrap up the strength of Confidence with a conversation on a simple concept with surprising depth: knowing you’re a good person.

What To Do So Your Kids Don’t Stress You Out

We get caught in the swirl when our kids are little, and it’s hard to figure out which parts are normal kid stuff, or discipline issues, or child temperament, or parental stress overload, or couple’s issues – or something else! It really helps to have a simple plan you can keep returning to. Here are ten headlines to help.