J. Cohen, Ph.D, the author of Playful Parenting, is a licensed
psychologist specializing in children’s play and play therapy. In
addition to his private therapy practice, he is also a speaker and
consultant to public and independent schools, and a teacher of parenting
classes and classes for daycare teachers. Dr. Cohen is also the
co-author, with Michael Thompson and Catherine O’Neill Grace, of Best
Friends, Worst Enemies: Friendship, Popularity and Social Cruelty in the
Lives of Boys and Girls, and Mom, They’re Teasing Me: Helping
Children Solve Social Problems. His regular column in Nick Jr.
Magazine was the winner of the 2003 Golden Lamp award from Education
Press, and he also answers parents’ questions online at NickJr.com.
Dr. Cohen is the author of numerous published articles in professional
journals and popular magazines, and he has presented his work at
professional conferences, workshops, classes, and public appearances.
Cohen attended Haverford
College and received his doctorate in clinical psychology from
Duke University. After an internship at
Tulane University, he began a research and
private practice career in Madison,
Wisconsin. His treatment innovations have included the first groups in
the country for husbands and boyfriends of sexual abuse survivors, as
well as one of the first therapy groups for male survivors of sexual
abuse. All of his work— with children, parents, couples, abuse
survivors, and families—has pointed him towards writing about human
connections.
Dr. Cohen lives in Brookline,
Massachusetts.