Prevention among children a top priority
Dennis D. Embry, Ph.D., is an esteemed prevention expert whose work in mental illness, violence, health, safety and substance abuse among children has garnered international acclaim.
He has been a policy and program consultant on child and family issues for diverse organizations, from Sesame Street to the Pentagon, from state governments to foreign governments, and foundations to corporations.
Dr. Embry’s work is known in part from exposure in major media that include the Today Show, Good Morning America, Life Magazine, People Magazine, New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Associated Press.
CEO/President of the PAXIS Institute, Dr. Embry is also a co-investigator at the Center on Prevention and Early Intervention at Johns Hopkins University, and co-investigator at the National Center on Early Adolescence. He has authored more than 40 books and training materials for science-based prevention of children’s injuries, parenting and family difficulties, violence, substance abuse and mental health and on positive youth and child development.
Dr. Embry writes extensively on behavior and the brain, with publications in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Intervention in School and Clinic, Developmental Psychology, Brain and Mind, Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, and Journal of Community Psychology.
He lectures nationally and internationally on prevention and social policy using low-cost or no-cost practices. Dr. Embry’s work gave rise to a $25 million legislative appropriation in Wyoming on substance abuse treatment and prevention, as well as the Wyoming Parenting Initiative, the first statewide universal parenting support project in the United States.
A developmental and child psychologist by training and a licensed psychologist, Dr. Embry was recognized by the Society for Prevention Research in 2006 as national leader for bringing science into practice.
The Good Behavior Game, developed in the 1960s, has shown remarkable results in reducing suicidality among youth in their early 20s who experienced the game as a child. The Good Behavior Game is a highly regarded Evidence-Based Practice.