“Mellow Out,” They Say. If I Only Could

by Michael M. Piechowski

This highly acclaimed and valued book is intended for parents and teachers of intense and sensitive young people and to serve the young people as a friendly mirror in which they can recognize themselves for who they are.

Gifted children and adults tend to be intense, and this intensity often makes them seem strange to others. Their reactions are often viewed by others as overreactions, when in fact these individuals are simply responding to the environment (both without and within) with the overexcitability that is a fundamental trait of giftedness. Mellow Out explores that intensity and sensitivity, giving voice to gifted youth in numerous excerpts throughout the book.

In this updated edition, Piechowski introduces the concept of openness to experience that, together with intuition and overexcitability, forms the blend of personality characteristics typical of the great majority of gifted children. He expands on the topic of visual-spatial, picture, and nonvisual alternative thinkers, and he introduces the concept of emotional style and its six dimensions that have specific activation areas in the brain. In addition, he expands on the topic of spiritual giftedness, an often-neglected area of study within gifted populations.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Parenting, Professional Development, Teaching

377 pages, Paperback

First published March 9, 2006

About the author

Michael M. Piechowski, Ph.D., received his M.Sc. from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poland, his hometown. He earned a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He collaborated with Kazimierz Dabrowski for eight years after meeting him at the University of Alberta, Edmonton. Michael then returned to the University of Wisconsin to earn a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology. Subsequently he taught at the University of Illinois, Northwestern University, and Northland College. He is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Educational Advancement and Professor Emeritus at Northland College. He is a contributor to the Handbook of Gifted Education and The Encyclopedia of Creativity and editor of Living with Intensity. His studies of self-actualizing people and moral exemplars led him to the study of emotional and spiritual giftedness. He has taught at the Honors Summer Institute at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio and has lectured in New Zealand and Australia. Since 2002 he has been involved with the Yunasa summer camp for highly gifted youth, organized by the Institute for Educational Advancement. He lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

Reviews

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Piechowski by one of the oldest and most experienced leaders in giftedness at all lifespan stages. Approaching 80 years old, Dr. Piechowski is still active in the national and international gifted communities.

Professor Piechowski is one of only a handful remaining students of Dr. Kazimierz Dabrowski. Dr. Dabrowski Is credited for developing overexcitabilities, especially useful in identifying young gifted children, and the steps necessary to achieving advanced emotional development.

[Talia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is great to have another book about gifted children but I couldn't finish it. To me, it was not helpful at all. I generally do not find anecdotes that useful plus the book is written in an outline format. I was not engaged.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as compelling or helpful as hoped.