| Rebecca Kennedy | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Field: | Clinical psychology |
| Alma Mater: | Duke University (BA) Columbia University (PhD) |
| Known For: | Good Inside |
Rebecca Kennedy is an American clinical psychologist who is founder and chief executive officer of the Good Inside company, an online parenting advice service. She has been called the "millennial parent whisperer" by Time Magazine and is a number one New York Times bestseller for her book Good Inside.[1] [2] [3]
Kennedy grew up in Westchester County, New York. She attributes her experience as a "people pleaser" growing up and anorexia as a teenager with having inspired her to become a psychologist.[2] Kennedy has a BA in psychology and human relationships from Duke University and a PhD in clinical psychology from Columbia University.[1] Kennedy has said of how millennials were raised that "I think in my parents' generation, they raised us a lot through fear—their fear and then our fear."[1]
In 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kennedy started Good Inside Instagram account. In 2021, the Good Inside company was founded by Kennedy and another clinical psychologist, Erica Belsky. It is a privately held company that operates as a member-subscription service providing varying modes of parenting advice to over one million people across the world, of which some 94% are mothers.[2] As part of the Good Inside platform, Kennedy operates an Instagram account and podcast. The account became an online sensation two days after the first lockdown in New York when Kennedy posted about how children would feel the pandemic through the reactions of those around them.[2]
The basic ideas behind Kennedy's psychological approach is to assume that everyone is "good inside" and that children are complicated emotional beings like adults.[4] Kennedy is opposed to "cry it out" sleep training unless it is unavoidable.[5]
Kennedy's home office is her children's playroom.[6]
An article in the Financial Times accused Kennedy of being an "expert profiting from today’s desperate parents", "the confluence of social media and for-profit parenting advice".[5]