PHYLLIS L. FAGELL is a licensed clinical professional counselor, certified professional school counselor and journalist. She is the counselor at Sheridan School in Washington, D.C. and a therapist at the Chrysalis Group, where she works  with teens and families.

Phyllis is the author of MIDDLE SCHOOL MATTERS (DaCapo 2019) and writes regular columns for the Washington Post on counseling, parenting and education. She also writes a weekly advice column for educators, and she blogs for organizations including the Association of Middle Level Educators and Character.Org. She regularly presents at schools and conferences on a range of topics, including parenting middle schoolers and navigating middle school social drama.

Phyllis attended Dartmouth College (BA), the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University (MSJ) and Johns Hopkins University (MS in counseling).   She lives in Bethesda, Maryland with her husband and three children, ages 16, 14 and 9.  Photo Credit: Geoff Chesman.