Dr. Jody Thomas, Executive Director of the Meg Foundation and Pediatric Clinical Psychologist
We are now half a year into navigating a new (ab)normal in our lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The return to school and childcare are on the minds of parents, kids and teachers, along with the myriad of unknowns that coexist with the logistics of returning to group settings. How do we strengthen our resilience in times of increased stress and anxiety — and maintain a sense of control during times of uncertainty? In this episode of Raising Resilience, Pam is joined by Dr. Jody Thomas to discuss the unique challenges posed this year, the ubiquitous nature of dealing with stress in our lives and the lives of our children, and evidence-based tools to help us all cope more effectively.
Dr. Jody Thomas is a clinical psychologist, and specialist in pediatric medical illness and trauma. A well-known expert in pain who teaches internationally on the subject, she is also a founder and the former Clinical Director of the Packard Pediatric Pain Rehabilitation Center at Stanford, and a former Assistant Professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Though she now lives in Denver, CO, she still serves as Adjunct Faculty for Stanford, supervising and teaching. An active consultant for the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, she directs projects on the integration and innovation of pain management using tech-based intervention. Her passion for bringing together the power of medical science, technology and design to transform the way we think about kids and pain led her to create the Meg Foundation, a non profit dedicated to empowering families around pain. In 2019, Dr. Thomas was chosen for the prestigious MayDay Fellowship, which supports pain experts in assuming public leadership roles to help end human suffering through public discourse.
Meg Foundation COVID-19 Coping Tools for Parents and Kids
ImaginAction (digital tool for coping with emotions and pain developed in collaboration with Stanford University)
Meg Foundation Resources for Coping with Pain and Anxiety for Kids, Parents and Caregivers