Nancy Rappaport

Dr. Nancy Rappaport is a graduate of Princeton University and Tufts University School of Medicine. A board certified child and adolescent psychiatrist, Rappaport is associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School where she teaches undergraduates, medical students, and residents about child development and supervises child psychiatry fellows in local schools. Her research, teaching, and clinical expertise focus on the collaboration between education and psychiatry.

After graduating from Princeton, Rappaport worked as a science teacher at an innovative elementary school in Harlem, New York. Rappaport’s life-altering experiences in Harlem inspired her to enter medical school and would help launch a robust career. Graduating from Tufts School of Medicine in 1993, Rappaport completed an internship in pediatrics and a residency in adult psychiatry, both at Massachusetts General Hospital, before completing a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at Cambridge Hospital. It was during this fellowship that Rappaport forged a longstanding relationship with the Teen Health Center at Cambridge Rindge & Latin School (CRLS), where she is still employed today.

Rappaport has worked with the Cambridge public schools as an attending child and adolescent psychiatrist for more than 18 years. She has designed numerous courses for teachers on psychopharmacology, adolescent development, and instructional strategies for disruptive students.

Rappaport also authored the memoir "In Her Wake: A Child Psychiatrist Explores the Mystery of Her Mother's Suicide" (Basic Books, September 2009). In a starred review, Publisher’s Weekly called the book “Fearless … a stunning narrative of perspective, profound sadness and unrelenting hope.”

Her newest book, "The Behavior Code: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Teaching the Most Challenging Students", with Jessica Minahan, was published by Harvard Education Press in April 2012.