Dr. George Thompson MD

George S. Thompson, MD, FAPA is a child psychiatrist and founder of The Listening Parent Community, an online support for parents. He specializes in the residential treatment of traumatized youth and polyvagal-informed crisis response. As Medical Director of crisis services for ReDiscover’s psychiatric urgent care center in Kansas City and two psychiatric residential programs in Kansas, he focuses on creating emotionally safe, curious, coherent, and collaborative healthcare cultures. He serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors and core faculty member of the Polyvagal Institute.  Additionally, as a certified DDP therapist, Dr. Thompson develops parenting strategies that nurture a child's heart-felt knowledge that their lives matter to their families, community, and future generations, regardless of the challenges they have faced.

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Dr. Thompson is the co-author of Polyvagal Theory and the Developing Child as well as Working with Relational Trauma in Children’s Residential Care. He is a volunteer Clinical Associate Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, where he teaches compassionate doctor-patient communication, and the University of Kansas School of Medicine, where he supervises adult and child psychiatry residents. Dr. Thompson's research in medical education, particularly on medical professionalism, has been published in Academic Medicine and recognized with awards. He also teaches the Avatar® Course, promoting personal empowerment and compassionate service.