Daniel J. Siegel is a medical doctor, professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of California School of Medicine in Los Angeles, co-director of the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center and executive director of the Mindsight Institute. With a positive vision, Siegel argues that adolescence is a very special time, emotions are sparked, social connections made, and searches start for what's new and creative essence: "Adolescents have passion, a feeling that everything matters. They have a deep capacity for collaboration between themselves, and the strength to try new things," he says.