William R. Beardslee
· Member of the Faculty of EducationHarvard University · Social Studies and Civics Education
Active 1978–2026
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About
William R. Beardslee is the Gardner Monks Professor of Child Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and serves as the academic chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at Children's Hospital in Boston. He trained in general psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and in child psychiatry and psychiatric research at Children's Hospital. His research focuses on the development of children at risk due to severe parental mental illness, with particular interest in the protective effects of self-understanding in helping individuals cope with adversity. He has studied self-understanding in various populations, including civil-rights workers, cancer survivors, and children of parents with affective disorders. Currently, Beardslee directs the Preventive Intervention Project, an NIMH-funded study exploring a family-based preventive intervention aimed at enhancing resiliency and family understanding for children of parents with affective disorder. He also leads the Boston site of the Prevention of Depression study, evaluating a cognitive behavioral group prevention program developed for children at double risk because they exhibit symptoms of depression and have depressed parents. He serves on multiple advisory boards, including the National Mental Health Association, the Carter Center Task Force on Prevention, and the prevention committee of the American Psychiatric Association. Beardslee is the author of over 100 articles and chapters, as well as two books: 'The Way Out Must Lead…
Research topics
- Internal medicine
- Medicine
- Family medicine
- Psychiatry
- Clinical psychology
Selected publications
AIDS Education and Prevention · 2020 · 28 citations
We tested the acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy of Our Family Our Future, a resilience-oriented intervention engaging families in prevention of adolescent HIV and depression. South African adolescents, 13-15 years of age, with mild depressive symptoms, were randomized to intervention or wait-list using parallel assignment in a single-blind trial. HIV risk behavior and depression were evaluated at baseline, 1, and 3 months. We examined intervention satisfaction, fidelity, trial…
Prevention Science · 2022-10-12 · 27 citations
articleOpen accessThe historic momentum from national conversations on the roots and current impacts of racism in the USA presents an incredible window of opportunity for prevention scientists to revisit how common theories, measurement tools, methodologies, and interventions can be radically re-envisioned, retooled, and rebuilt to dismantle racism and promote equitable health for minoritized communities. Recognizing this opportunity, the NIH-funded Prevention Science and Methodology Group (PSMG) launched a serie…
Child Psychiatry & Human Development · 2021-05-07 · 24 citations
articleOpen accessMilitary-connected families face many challenges associated with military life transitions, including deployment separations. We report on a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of Families OverComing Under Stress-Early Childhood (FOCUS-EC) delivered through an in-home, virtual telehealth platform. FOCUS-EC is a trauma-informed, family-centered preventive intervention designed to promote family resilience and well-being. Military-connected families with 3- to 6-year-old children…
Transcultural Psychiatry · 2022-08-22 · 20 citations
articleOpen accessTransnational migration of refugees is associated with poor mental health, particularly among children. We conducted a pilot trial of the Family Strengthening Intervention for Refugees (FSI-R), using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to deliver a home-based intervention “for refugees by refugees” to improve family functioning and child mental health. N = 80 refugee families in the Greater Boston area participated in the study ( n = 40 Somali Bantu families; n = 40 Bhutanes…
Community-Level Prevention of Child Maltreatment
Child maltreatment · 2022-01-01 · 9 citations
book-chapterSenior author
Recent grants
NIH · $955k · 1991
NIH · $3.3M · 2003
NIH · $2.8M · 2013
Frequent coauthors
- 133 shared
Tracy R. G. Gladstone
Brown University
- 64 shared
Stuart T. Hauser
University of Virginia
- 64 shared
Alan M. Jacobson
- 64 shared
David R. DeMaso
- 63 shared
Sally I. Powers
University of Massachusetts Amherst
- 55 shared
John P. Houlihan
- 54 shared
Gil G. Noam
McLean Hospital
- 50 shared
Eva Szigethy
Akron Children's Hospital
Awards & honors
- Human Rights Award, Department of Mental Health, Commonwealt…
- Outstanding Mentor Award, American Academy of Child and Adol…
- Catcher in the Rye Award for Advocacy for Children, American…
- Blanche F. Ittleson Award, American Psychiatric Association…
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