Member News

Ken Settel, M.D. published The following letter in the NYT
To the Editor:

It may not be so much the influence of economic impoverishment as the
effect of emotional impoverishment that contributes to the gap in
school success between the rich and the poor.

People raised in families with gaps in emotional warmth, empathy and
connectedness between parents and children suffer in so many
concurrent ways. They fall between the cracks socially, emotionally,
intellectually as well as financially.

The emotionally deprived children may exist at any income level, but
the financial resources of a wealthy community may offer more support
to bridge the gaps.

From a psychoanalytic view, what is most important about these
findings is the need for support in psychological-emotional areas, to
foster a higher chance of achieving self-regulation, curiosity and
focus, all keys for developing mastery, learning and happiness.

KENNETH M. SETTEL
Brookline, Mass., Feb. 10, 2012