Welcome to my website. I am a New York State licensed psychologist and a psychoanalyst, board certified by the American Board of Professional Psychologists. I work with children, adolescents, adults, couples and families in my private practice offices in Manhattan and Westchester, New York. For almost forty years, I also have been a consulting psychologist to schools and businesses and have lectured widely, including television and radio appearances. I have published books and articles for parents, teachers and other caregivers, as well as numerous professional papers.

My latest book, written with Elena Lister, M.D., is entitled Giving Hope: Conversations with Children About Illness, Death and Loss and is available from Avery/Penguin Random House.

Giving Hope

Conversations with Children About Illness, Death and Loss

Now available

The best and only resource you will ever need for helping any child understand and cope with loss and death.

Just as death is inevitable, talking about death is an inevitable part of parenting. The authors offer us the way to have conversations that are as much about life as about illness, death, loss and grief; conversations that anyone who parents, guides, counsels or comforts children can have.

Giving Hope is a must-have resource that expands our understanding of how to prepare for, initiate and facilitate these personal and profound conversations. The approach is honest, practical and compassionate and will benefit a grieving child now and in the future. Giving Hope offers us tools to make our children’s memories positive and life-affirming.

Reviews

“I am so grateful for this important book, a resource that is sorely needed. We have a duty to our children to offer them a clear and genuine hope when facing the realities of death and dying. Dr. Lister and Dr. Schwartzman have given us a powerful tool to help us do that work and do it well. Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me.’ We must do no less.”
—The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church and author of Love is the Way: Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times

“Ultimately, this is a book about truth, courage, empathy, and respect for children who must learn to live with loss and their parents who must guide them.
—Steve Leder, bestselling author of The Beauty of What Remains

“What a gem you are holding! No less, about, perhaps the hardest of subjects there ever was. The authors have eased what is easable, and they’ve held kind space for the rest. Dip in and out to suit, or read it straight through. You’ll learn about the unfathomable, about the inner life of kids, how to be there for them, and you’ll learn a lot about yourself, too.”
—BJ Miller, MD, Coauthor of A Beginner’s Guide to the End

Contact

Email Dr. Schwartzman at drschwartzman@michaelschwartzmanphd.com or by using the button below.

Contact Dr. Schwartzman

Media Inquires

Emi Battaglia Public Relations: emi@emibattaglia.com
Alyssa Adler: averypublicity@penguinrandomhouse.com