From Lab to Living Room: New Nonprofit Helps Families Deepen Emotional Connection at Home

Science-backed tools help parents and children connect—improving emotional well-being and reducing behavior struggles

NEW YORK, July 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- After decades of groundbreaking research on emotional health and parent-child relationships, psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and clinician Martha G. Welch, MD, announces the launch of the Martha G. Welch Center for Emotional Connection—A new nonprofit dedicated to providing science-backed tools that empower families to build stronger, healthier emotional bonds.

"Our research is clear: Positive parent-child behavior is heart-based, not brain-based. It depends on emotional connection. We've discovered how parents by themselves in the home can get and stay emotionally connected to their child. Now, we are thrilled to help them do it," said Dr. Welch.

Grounded in Biology and Rigorous Research
Dr. Welch is a Professor of Psychiatry in Pediatrics and In Pathology & Cell Biology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. For nearly three decades, she has led pioneering research on emotional connection, validating a new theory of human emotions rooted in the autonomic nervous system—the body's regulator of stress and socioemotional behavior. 

Her research shows that children aged 0–5 are biologically hard-wired to be emotionally connected and co-regulated by their parents, and this mutual connection can be strengthened with simple daily routines.

Disseminating the Welch Method: Practical Tools for Parents
Dr. Welch's mother-child intervention for strengthening parent-child emotional connection was tested in multiple randomized trials and has shown to significantly improve brain function, neurodevelopmental, socioemotional, and attention outcomes. At the heart of the Center's mission is a simple belief: "Families can do it on their own. We can help."

To support families, the Welch Center website offers free emotional connection parenting tools, including videos, books, and downloadable guides. These resources are designed to help families navigate everyday challenges such as tantrums, bedtime difficulties and meltdowns.

Coming Soon: Welch Method Mobile App
The Center is about to launch a new mobile app that will bring the Welch Method directly into parents' hands. It will feature video workshops that will guide families in building emotional connection and preparing for everyday parenting challenges. A key innovation is the optional scientifically validated Relational Health Index (RHI), a simplified way parents can measure the emotional relationship to their child over time. The RHI is obtained via secure video upload to Welch-trained professionals using the Universal Welch Emotional Connection Screen (uWECS), a proprietary behavioral assessment tool. The RHI is made up of four key uWECS behavioral indicators and delivered back to parents, along with personalized feedback and tips on strengthening their connection. Future versions of the app will be adapted for use by hospitals and early childhood education programs.

Why It Matters Now
The Welch Center comes at a pivotal moment. Experts from across early childhood fields are sounding alarms about a growing crisis in preschool behavior, driven by a mix of factors, including social disconnection and increased screen time.

"The Welch Method is the most powerful and effective program I've seen that truly changed behavior in the classroom," said Marc E. Jaffe, former CEO of a leading preschool education program in Stamford, CT and now CEO of the Welch Center. "It translates decades of rigorous science into something parents can use in the home—and something that can truly change their lives."

"Parents don't need to be perfect," said Dr. Welch. "Instead, they need to be mutually connected to their child in the home, so the child can more successfully transition to child care programs and school. We're giving parents and children tools to help them feel that connection, understand it, and grow it."

About the Martha G. Welch Center for Emotional Connection
The Martha G. Welch Center for Emotional Connection is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing child health and development through parent-child emotional connection. Founded by Martha G. Welch MD and grounded in her decades of research at Columbia University, the Center provides tools, training, and evidence-based programs that empower families to build lasting, loving, healthy mutually fulfilling relationships.

SOURCE Martha G. Welch Center for Emotional Connection