Barbara Polland, PhD, MFT (Claremont Graduate School)
Professor, Child & Adolescent Development
The combined experience of being a professor of Child and Adolescent Development and a psychotherapist in private practice has enriched my career. I have worked professionally with families for over forty-five years and know that the "on the spot training" I have gained with my son and daughter continually influences my work. The books that I have written for parents, teachers and children have been well received worldwide. My main community service, for over twenty-six years, has been with Free Arts for Abused Children - an organization that serves children and youth who are wards of the Los Angeles courts. During the last few years, I have also worked with battered women in a hidden shelter. Every avenue of my career and community service has the same focus: to creatively facilitate the process of children and adults becoming their most effective selves.
I have shared my expertise in creative child rearing approaches on radio and television, and in magazine and newspaper articles. Over the years, I have developed and presented innovative seminars in many parts of the United States, Mexico and Japan. I enjoy presenting material to parents and teachers on many different topics, including, but not limited to, the frequently requested subjects listed here:
- Live More Effectively - Reduce The Stress In Your Life
- The Wonderful Challenge of Discipline
- Safer Children in Today's World, Ways to 'Outsmart' Pedophiles
- Empowering Children Through Daily Routines, Beginning With the Highchair
- What Is An Authentic Creative Process?
- Successful Ways to Parent Children and Adolescents
- Fulfill Your Dreams, How to Get There
Since I began teaching at CSUN in the fall of 1970, I have looked forward to every hour of work with the wonderful students in our department. Both students and faculty were instrumental in my receiving a 1983, CSUN Distinguished Teaching Award. I feel truly fortunate that my careers are both challenging and fulfilling.
Recent publications include:
Polland, B.K (2007) and Kathe Jervis, Separation: Supporting Children in their Preschool Transitions.
Polland, B. K. (2003). Talking to children about the war. Academic Affairs, California State University, Northridge. Available: http://www.csun.edu/academic.affairs/iow/talk_children.htm.
Polland, B.K. (2002). Safer Children in Today's World: Ideas for Preventing Sexual Abuse. From Neurons to Neighborhoods. Los Angeles, CA: Mount St. Mary's College.
Polland, B. K. (2000). No Directions on the Package: Questions and Answers for Parents with Children from Birth to Age 12. Berkeley: Celestial Arts Publications. (Revised from The Parenting Challenge).
Polland, B. K. (2000). We Can Work It Out - Conflict Resolution for Children, Berkeley: Tricycle Press.