Episode 156: The SCC Pod - Family Values with Dr Abishek Bala

Alexandra Harrison answers listeners’ questions about grandparents, divorce,  and pressured children.

Patricia de las Casas Elias Bonnemaison, a psychanalyste, author, member of the Peruvian volleyball team, and grandmother, talks about her experience as a grandmother in Peru. Her daughter, Rocio Luna de las Casas, a psychologist, infant mental health specialist, and psychoanalytic candidate, will join the conversation to discuss Peruvian grandmothers and daughters, culture, and the power of relationships.

Chris-Ander Paraison is a rising sophomore at Harvard studying Chemistry. He was born in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, but moved to Massachusetts alongside his family following the 2010 Haitian Earthquake. Outside of academics, Chris enjoys playing guitar, watching anime, and hanging out with friends. In the future he hopes to either pursue a career in medicine, biotechnology, or pharmaceuticals. He talks about how his family values have shaped his life and his ambitions for the future.

Shamala Senthilkumar is a speech and language pathologist who has worked with young children, the terminally ill, and the medically disabled. She draws on her strong family values and commitment to early relational health to motivate her work with this vulnerable population.

Ivan Ron, A recent Harvard graduate who studied government and psychology, Ivana Ron, has given a lot of thought to family values from both an academic and personal point of view. She is big sister to four little sisters in a close family that includes her mother and grandmother and enjoys the richness of a Mexican heritage. Ivan has also been the gifted Instagram creator for SCC!  

Dr. Marva Lewis, researcher, infant parent psychotherapist, and highly valued colleague of many of us in the infant mental health community, talks about the quiet moments in which family values are communicated. 

Iyanu Shonukan, a first year student at Harvard College talks about the values he was taught by his Nigerian-American parents and how they have shaped his ambitions to provide underserved people with culturally responsive care in the mental health space.

What is the number one family value for Chinese adolescents and young adults? You may be surprised. Two Chinese students, Joanna and Jacky, join us from Hangzhou, China, and Boston Massachusetts, to describe two different school experiences but the same family values.

Dr. Muhammad Zeshan, a child and adolescent psychiatrist and social media influencer speaks about how he recommends passing on cherished family values to your children.

Dr. Abishek Bala, Director of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Central Michigan University, who traveled with me on my second trip to india, talks about the values he learned from his Indian family that he hopes to pass on to his young daughter living with him and his wife in the US. It is a thoughtful interview and includes some surprises for those of us brought up in the U.S.