Claudia M. Gold MD

Books by Claudia M. Gold MD

Coming Spring 2025

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The Power of Discord Book Cover
The Development of Early Childhood Book Cover
The Silenced Child Book Cover

Claudia M. Gold MD

Pediatrician • Infant-Parent Mental Health Specialist • Author • Teacher • Speaker

About and History
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Claudia M. Gold MD
Webinar | July 23 2024

Listening In: Lessons in Early Relational Health from Infants and Caregivers

Listening in describes the ability to listen with an intentional suspension of expectations and a willingness to be surprised. This presentation wove the perspective of infant, caregiver, relationship, and culture with concepts from developmental science to offer evidence for the power of the not-knowing stance. It reframed a deficit as an asset —showing that the moments we feel awkward and uncertain are the ones that offer the greatest potential for growth and change.

Conference | May 7 2025

The Biology of Belonging 2025

Human beings cannot thrive without a sense of belonging. Why? That is the question this ground-breaking conference will explore. Claudia M. Gold, MD will deliver her talk “The Developmental Roots of Belonging: Lessons in relational health from infants and caregivers.”

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Reviews

“In this lively and riveting book, Claudia Gold and Ed Tronick show us how the successful repair of missteps and failures form the foundation of a graceful and coordinated dance between ourselves and those around us. Even if the roots of our troubles are deep in our early relationships, human connections can heal by engaging us in a new set of moment to moment mismatches throughout life and present us with opportunities for connection as long as we, and those around us, are open to repair and re-connect."
The Power of Discord Book Cover
Bessel A. van der Kolk, MD
Author of The Body Keeps the Score
“A very useful, thoughtful book. It lays out the best thinking of our time to help parents make decisions about nurturing their child’s development.”
Keeping Your Child in Mind Book Cover
T. Berry Brazelton, MD
Professor of Pediatrics, Emeritus Harvard Medical School
"A highly readable text, wise and empathic, that integrates theory, recent research, and vignettes to guide clinicians in... listening thoughtfully to help parents resolve tensions at a very meaningful point in their child's development."
The Development of Early Childhood Book Cover
Michael S. Jellinek, MD
Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
"Drawing on powerful research, as well as the timeless and insightful wisdom of Winnicott, Bowlby, and many more, Gold makes an undeniable case for the simple act of listening, an act that in many cases can be the most potent treatment available."
The Silenced Child Book Cover
Claire Nana
review at Psych Central

Listening to parent and baby together using the Newborn Behavioral Observations (NBO) system

from the Hello It's Me Project

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Quotes from My Books

The Power of Discord Book Cover

From "The Power of Discord"

As I shifted from asking questions and giving advice and instead simply listened, I saw families move from anger and disconnection, sometimes through deep sadness, and then to moments of reconnection. A young child would spontaneously run into her mother’s arms to receive a hug. Often I felt a tingling in my arms, and my eyes filled with tears in the presence of rediscovered joy and love.

The Silenced Child Book Cover

From "The Silenced Child"

When we don’t listen, whether as a parent, friend, or professional, most often it is because we are overwhelmed... We want to help, but we feel helpless. We want to “do something.” But without listening, these jumps to action may inadvertently close off, or silence, a child’s communication. When we pause for a moment of human connection and communication, we discover a path to healing.

The Development of Early Childhood Book Cover

From "The Developmental Science of Early Childhood "

When a clinician makes time to listen to the story from an infant mental health frame, clinician and client have an opportunity to understand the behavior in its relational and developmental context. Behavior is a form of communication. When we understand that communication, we discover the meaning of the behavior. The path to healing becomes clear.

Keeping Your Child in Mind Book Cover

From "Keeping Your Child in Mind"

If we as a culture hold parents in mind, that is, instead of telling them “what to do,” listen to them and support their efforts to “be” with their child and understand her experience, we not only will help with “behavior problems,” but we may actually help to promote healthy brain development.

Blog

Child in Mind

Harnessing the Healing Power of Relationship

October 27, 2024

Many of my colleagues in a variety of disciplines, pediatrics included, feel enormous pressure to be the “expert” and to know “what to do” in a wide range of challenging circumstances. This story reveals how connection lies not in knowing but rather in “not-knowing.” We can offer a relationship: our full presence along with respectful, nonjudgmental observation of parent and infant together. The relationship itself serves to contain the anxiety that accompanies uncertainty.

US Parental Stress as Public Health Crisis

September 16, 2024

If we take time to land for a moment on the unique human newborn, both the urgency to support parents, as well as the travesty of neglecting to do so, becomes crystal clear.

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May 7, 2025

ACE-Aware Scotland

Conference

The Biology of Belonging 2025

Human beings cannot thrive without a sense of belonging. Why? That is the question this ground-breaking conference will explore. Claudia M. Gold, MD will deliver her talk “The Developmental Roots of Belonging: Lessons in relational health from infants and caregivers.”
Learn More
Claudia M. Gold MD
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