Psychologist
I have always been interested in how children grow and developed. Originally, I was a research psychologist who studied mother-infant interaction in nonhuman primates. I was interested in how different levels of foraging demand, or how easy it was to find food effected mother-infant interaction. It wasn’t so easy to make a living as a primatotolgist so I got additional training to become a clinical psychologist at the University of Massachusetts. I did research on mother-infant interaction with Ed Tronick who is famous for his still face experiments with infants and I also learned the Brazelton Neonatal Assessment. I did a fellowship in Pediatric Psychology at Baystate and then worked at the Children’s Clinic in Northampton for 25 years as well as having a private practice. In addition, I have been a Research Associate in the Psychology Department at Smith College where I did studies on hoarding in children.
My consuming interest as psychologist is in anxiety disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, social phobia, selective mutism and specific phobias such as emetophobia and needle phobias. Part of intense interest in anxious children comes from having a child with OCD and seeing first hand the challenges this disorder presents. I do not feel there is one solution that fits all anxious children and I have been broadly trained in CBT, EMDR, Somatic Experiencing Therapy, SPACE as well traditional play therapy. I have a blog on parenting your anxious child at https://edwardplimpton.com and a podcast on iTunes “Your Anxious Child: 5 Minute Solutions“. My podcast contains interviews with experts speaking on various topics concerning anxiety in children.
I was an avid tennis player until my knees became problematic and now I am swimmer who manages about one open water swim race a year. And I take great pleasure in being a grandparent.