Abstract

“I want my child to grow up to be a kind and thoughtful person.” Most parents hope and pray for the growth of their child’s “heart” in this way. We all agree that the heart is important, but how do we actually go about nurturing empathy in a child? The author, a somatic psychologist, suggests that the first step in fostering your child’s caring self is to touch the child’s skin in order to cultivate a sense of the body. Why? Because, the author declares, the skin is the closest thing we have to a “brain” that governs the “heart.” The book provides an easy-to-understand explanation of the relationship between the skin and the development of heart, mind and body, based on the latest skin research.

Author’s Information

Hajime Yamaguchi (1967–) was born in Shizuoka Prefecture, and earned his doctorate in clinical and somatic psychology at Waseda University Graduate School of Human Science. He currently teaches at J. F. Oberlin University (Tokyo) and is a practicing clinical development psychologist.