WEB EXCLUSIVE | Adolescent psychologist Lisa Damour, Ph.D. hosted a webinar today with ninth and tenth graders about stress, academic pressure and how to navigate the ups and downs of a high school social life. 

“Hearing her talk about how she views stress really helped me think about it in a more positive way,” freshman Annika Carpenter said. “Coping with stress is really hard but after this it seems a lot less scary.”

Damour is also a bestselling author as well and a writer for the New York Times “Well” section. She has also co-hosts a podcast called “Ask Lisa” and specializes in the development of teenage girls and young women. 

“Dr. Damour is a leading expert in adolescent psychology who knows our program and school well,” Head of School Rachel Simposon said. “This year we are leaning into her single-sex expertise and we are grateful to have Dr. Damour be a thought partner with our faculty and students.”

During the webinar, Damour explored the idea of how stress can be good for developing minds and that it should not always be considered a negative emotion. Stress can damage your relationships, health, and life so it is important that you learn to cope with it according to The Mayo Clinic.

“I thought it was really inspiring to hear someone else’s take on stress and how I can manage my stress and my time,” sophomore Scarlett Farr said. “It has inspired me to adapt my worth ethic to help better myself.”

The psychologist graduated from Yale University with honors and earned her clinical psychology doctorate at the University of Michigan. She operates a private practice as a clinical psychologist and is also an international speaker, according to the Laurel School.

“I really liked the analogies she had for everything and the way she explained her thinking made it really easy to understand,” Carpenter said. I enjoyed being able to ask questions and I am glad that I had the opportunity to listen to her talk.”