Kenneth Ginsburg, MD, MS.Ed.

Kenneth R. Ginsburg, MD, MS.Ed. is a Professor of Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He practices social adolescent medicine — medicine with special attention to prevention and the recognition that social context and stressors impact upon both physical and emotional health. The theme that ties together his clinical practice, teaching, research and advocacy efforts is that of building on the strength of teenagers by fostering their internal resilience.

Dr. Ginsburg is the co-director of the Center for Parent and Teen Communication, which promotes the health, character and well-being of adolescents through education, research and advocacy. He is also the medical director for Covenant House, Pennsylvania, a care system that serves homeless, street and marginalized youth in Philadelphia.

Dr. Ginsburg developed the teen-centered method, which is a mixed qualitative/quantitative methodology that helps youth to generate, prioritize and explain their own proposed solutions to social problems and to teach clinicians how to better serve them. In addition to his research publications, he also has five parenting books including, Raising Kids to Thrive: Balancing Love with Expectations and Protection with Trust, Building Resilience in Children and Teens: Giving Kids Roots and Wings, and Letting Go with Love and Confidence, all published by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). He is also the author of Reaching Teens: Strength-Based Communication Strategies to Build Resilience and Support Healthy Adolescent Development, a comprehensive multimedia toolkit published by the AAP. His definitive memorandum for the American Academy of Pediatrics, The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds, formed the basis for Dr. Ginsburg’s congressional testimony in May 2007.

Dr. Ginsburg lectures widely to national and international parent and professional audiences. He has also worked closely with the US military, the Boys and Girls Club of America, and the National Congress of American Indians to deepen the role of resilience-building strategies in their programming.