Michael Ungar is a Killam Professor of Social Work at Dalhousie University where he directs the Resilience Research Centre that coordinates more than five million dollars in funded research in a dozen countries. That research is focused on resilience among children, youth and families and how they together survive adversity in culturally diverse ways.
He has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on this topic and is the author of eleven books including The Social Worker (2011), his first novel. Among his books for professionals are Counseling in Challenging Contexts: Working with Individuals and Families Across Clinical and Community Settings (2011), The Social Ecology of Resilience (2012), and Strengths-based Counseling with At-risk Youth (2006). Michael also writes for parents and educators. Among his most recent works are We Generation: Raising Socially Responsible Children and Teens (2009) and Too Safe For Their Own Good: How Risk and Responsibility Help Teens Thrive (2007) which was the subject of a cover story in Maclean’s.
In addition to his research and writing, Michael maintains a small family therapy practice in association with Phoenix Youth Programs, a prevention program for street youth and their families, and was the recipient of the Canadian Association of Social Workers Distinguished Service Award for Nova Scotia in 2010. His work has been featured in numerous magazines (Reader’s Digest, Body and Soul, Today’s Parent) and newspapers (Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, USA Today) around the world, and he regularly appears on radio and television. He recently Co-Chaired the Nova Scotia Mental Health Strategy Advisory Committee, is a Board Member of the American Family Therapy Academy, and sat for six years as a member of the Registration Board of the Nova Scotia Association of Social Workers. His blog, Nurturing Resilience, can be read on Psychology Today’s website.