Martha Heineman Pieper, Ph.D. Email & Phone Number

Martha Heineman Pieper, Ph.D., is an author and psychotherapist who works with children and parents and serves as a consultant to family services agencies and other mental health professionals. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Radcliffe College, she earned her doctorate in Clinical Social Work at the University of Chicago. With her late husband, William J. Pieper, M.D., she wrote the bestselling parenting book “Smart Love: The Comprehensive Guide to Understanding, Regulating, and Enjoying Your Child” as well as the bestselling adult self-help book “Addicted to Unhappiness," which came out in a second edition published by Smart Love Press, LLC.Smart Love Press has just published a manual for preschool and kindergarten teachers, The Happiest Preschool which she coauthored with Kelly Perez . All of the strategies presented in this Manual will increase teachers’ enjoyment and effectiveness and enrich a preschool, regardless of its affiliation. Increasingly progressive educators are focusing on play-based learning and social-emotional development, but The Happiest Preschool is unique in providing a comprehensive and thorough discussion of these areas and illustrating all precepts with teachable examples. In addition there are sections on understanding and helping children with the feelings underlying fantasy play; on the importance of partnering with parents; and on informed ways of helping children who are under emotional stress. The Manual is alsp an invaluable resource for parents who want to choose the best preschool or kindergarten for their child. In 2012, Pieper released her first children's book based on Smart Love principles, “Mommy, Daddy, I Had a Bad Dream!” The book entertains children while it shows them how to understand and master their bad dreams. It also provides parents with loving and effective strategies for responding to children who wake them in the night with bad dreams. “Mommy, Daddy, I Had a Bad Dream!” won numerous awards including the Ben Franklin Award, for best children's book of 2012..Her second children's book, "Jilly's Terrible Temper Tantrums: And How She Outgrew Them" was published May 2, 2017. It also won numerous awards.Martha Heineman Pieper’s professional experience and research into the causes and effects of children’s inner happiness or unhappiness form the guiding principle for Smart Love Family Services, a not-for-profit agency in Chicago that provides psychotherapy services, parent education, and toddler and preschool programs.www.marthaheinemanpieperphd.comwww.smartlovepress.comwww.smartlovefamily.org