JUDITH Smith (She/her)

I am a LCSW, PhD, psychotherapist who specializes in working with older mothers of adult children who have serious mental illness, substance use disorder, and/or chronic unemployment. I am a feminist gerontologist and a tenured professor, emerita, from Fordham University at the School of Social Service. Using the findings from my three-year qualitative research project, I wrote a book for professionals and parents on older mothers' internal experiences of mothering in later life entitled, Difficult: Mothering Challenging adult children through conflict and change, 2022.

I now offer 10-week support groups for mothers (by zoom), as well as work individually with parents who are seeking help naviating this very complicated situaton with their troubled adult children. My website with information about the groups and the book is https://www.difficultmothering.com/

I received my Phd from Columbia University and my MSW from Adelphi University.

I was in private practice prior to moving into academia. In 1982, I received a Certificate in Advanced Psychotherapy from the New York School for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. I served on the Margaret S. Mahler Foundation Board for several years as a research associate.