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Stay up to date with news about Wendy B. Smith—explore her interviews, awards, podcast appearances, and featured articles all in one place.
ARTICLE: NEW YORK WEEKLY – BEFORE THEIR CRIMES: WHAT WE’RE MISUNDERSTANDING ABOUT CHILDHOOD TRAUMA, YOUTH CRIME, AND THE PATH TO HEALING
SEPTEMBER 16, 2025 – WENDY SMITH, Ph.D., LCSW
I was part of a volunteer group of advocates, lawyers, and law students who traveled to California prisons to provide workshops on SB260, a groundbreaking state law passed in 2014 that established a new parole process for individuals whose crimes took place when they were under 18 years old.
ARTICLE: THE HIDDEN DAMAGE OF FAMILY SEPARATION
SEPTEMBER 15, 2025 – WENDY B. SMITH
The separation of young children from their parents happens for many reasons, including death, divorce, incarceration, natural disasters, and immigration policy. The circumstances that disrupt or sever the attachment may differ, but the potential for lasting wounds is almost always present. As a society, we underestimate the way disrupted attachments can undermine a child’s sense of self and affect their future relationships.
ARTICLE: THE LINK BETWEEN ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES AND CRIME
SEPTEMBER 4, 2025 – WENDY B. SMITH
On Aug. 29, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he had commuted the sentences of five people serving life without parole for murder. The oldest of them was 28 at the time of his crime, and the others were 18, 21, 23, and 25. In California, that puts the younger four of them in the category of youthful offenders, distinguished from adults by not yet having reached full development of key areas of the brain.
ARTICLE: WHAT HAPPENS TO THE MENENDEZ BROTHERS NOW?
AUGUST 26, 2025 – WENDY B. SMITH
On August 21st and 22nd, Erik and Lyle Menendez were denied parole. The hopes of the two brothers and the family, friends, and advocates who had been working on their behalf were dashed. As I learned from interviewing former youth offenders convicted of murder and other violent crimes for my forthcoming book, Before Their Crimes: What We’re Misunderstanding About Childhood Trauma, Youth Crime, and the Path to Healing, the important question is, what do they do now?
PODCAST: THE KIM PAGANO SHOW – AUGUST 23, 2025
AUGUST 23, 2025 – KIM PAGANO AND GUEST WENDY B. SMITH
This podcast discusses Dr. Smith’s latest book that will be available this fall – “Before Their Crimes: What We’re Misunderstanding About Childhood Trauma, Youth Crime, and the Path to Healing”, which delves into the misunderstandings about childhood trauma and what is necessary to heal.
ARTICLE: THE MENENDEZ BROTHERS: A PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE ON CRIME
AUGUST 19, 2025 – WENDY B. SMITH
I have spent the past five years writing “Before Their Crimes: What We’re Misunderstanding About Childhood Trauma, Youth Crime, and the Path to Healing,” forthcoming in November. Though many people believe that the Menendez brothers killed their parents for the money, my experience interviewing former juvenile offenders taught me that what drives a young person to kill someone they know viciously always involves something deeper, even when money is in the picture.
ARTICLE: ARE THE MENENDEZ BROTHERS READY FOR PAROLE?
AUGUST 19, 2025 – WENDY B. SMITH
The Menendez brothers, who have served over 35 years for the murder of their parents, were resentenced and are now eligible for parole. The hearings will take place on August 21 and 22.
PODCAST: THE CHRIS VOSS SHOW PODCAST – BEFORE THEIR CRIMES: WHAT WE’RE MISUNDERSTANDING ABOUT CHILDHOOD TRAUMA, YOUTH CRIME AND THE PATH TO HEALING BY WENDY SMITH
AUGUST 12, 2025 – CHRIS VOSS AND GUEST WENDY B. SMITH
This podcast discusses Before Their Crimes: What We’re Misunderstanding about Childhood Trauma, Youth Crime, and the Path to Healing, a ground-breaking book that sheds new light on the relationship of childhood trauma and juvenile crime.
PODCAST: THE GOOD RADIO NETWORK – BEOFRE THEY WERE CRIMINALS – CHILDREN WHO COMMIT VIOLENT CRIMES
JULY 13, 2025 – FRANKIE PICASSO AND GUEST WENDY B. SMITH
Frankie Picasso and her guest, Dr. Smith, a renowned expert in child and adolescent development and the author of Before Their Crimes: What We’re Misunderstanding About Childhood Trauma, Youth Crime, and the Path to Healing, joins Frankie for an eye-opening conversation about children who commit heinous crimes and how they arrive at that juncture in their lives.
ARTICLE: DO THE MENENDEZ BROTHERS DESERVE RE-SENTENCING
MAY 8, 2025 – WENDY B. SMITH
This article explains why advances in understanding of childhood trauma and brain development, as well as changes in sentencing for people who commit crimes as teens, support a resentencing hearing for Lyle and Eric Menendez.
ARTICLE: DOES STRESS MAKE US STRONGER? – IMPAAKT MAGAZINE
MARCH 18, 2025 – HITESH DHAMANI
This article describes the three levels of stress that affect us all, and how our built-in emergency response system reacts when we feel a threat. It explains how stress can compromise our health and how it can promote growth.
ARTICLE: COMPASSION FOR TEENS WHO COMMIT VIOLDENT CRIMES? – IMPAAKT MAGAZINE
APRIL 1, 2024 – IMPAAKT STAFF
Should we have compassion for teenagers who commit murder or other violent crimes? A resounding “yes” is Dr. Wendy Smith’s response to this challenging question. She’s spent much of her professional career advocating for those incarcerated for crimes they committed as juveniles.
ARTICLE: DR. WENDY SMITH: HEALING ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCE WITH EMPATHY AND CARE – IMPAAKT MAGAZINE
MARCH 29, 2024 – IMPAAKT STAFF
Adolescence – one of the most significant times that shape a child’s future. From mental, biological and social wellbeing, it is this age that acts as a catalyst for the future life. Unfortunately, 1 in 7 children are prone to child abuse and adverse childhood experiences. There are multiple factors that contribute to these unsettling statistics, but the primary is neglect and lack of awareness.
ARTICLE: WENDY SMITH OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SUZANNE DWORAK-PECK SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK: 5 WAYS EMPATHY WILL AFFECT YOUR LEADERSHIP – AUTHORITY MAGAZINE/ MEDIUM.COM
MARCH 29, 2024 – CYNTHIA CORSETTI
Empathetic leaders can create a workplace community that is respectful and inclusive of differences of all kinds. Leaders serve as role models in everything they do; empathy by its very nature embodies acceptance and inclusion. When you create an inclusive community, people want to be part of it, and are likely to stay.
ARTICLE: HEALING A BROKEN MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEM: WENDY SMITH ON 5 THINGS THAT CAN BE DONE TO FIX OUR BROKEN MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEM – AUTHORITY MAGAZINE/ MEDIUM.COM
FEBRUARY 17, 2024 – STEPHANIE GREER, CEO OF AKIN MENTAL HEALTH
The current state of the mental health system is a conversation that echoes in the halls of policy-making, the corners of social advocacy, and within the private struggles of individuals and families. As we continue to witness an unprecedented need for robust mental health support, the shortcomings of the existing system become more glaring. It is within this backdrop that we seek the insight of those who are at the forefront of behavioral health. In this interview series, we are talking to behavioral health leaders, policymakers, mental health practitioners, advocates, and reformers to share their perspectives on healing our broken mental health system.