Dennis D. Tirch PhD, Director of Clinical Services and Director of the OCD Treatment Program, (PhD, Fairleigh Dickinson University). Throughout his clinical experience, Dr. Tirch has specialized in the treatment of depression, mood disorders, anxiety, trauma, addictions, stress management, and relationship problems. His internship and post-doctoral residency took place at the Veterans' Affairs Medical Center in Bedford, MA., where he served as the Assistant Director of the Bedford Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Center, co-authored articles based on research supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, and developed the “Continual Awareness” mindfulness-meditation based group therapy for trauma survivors. He has co-authored several journal articles and book chapters concerning CBT principles, and has presented research in the USA and Europe. As an educator, Dr. Tirch serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor and Clinical Supervisor at Albert Einstein Medical School, an instructor to psychiatric residents at New York Medical College, and regularly conducts CBT training seminars for healthcare professionals. He has also delivered a week long intensive training in CBT to psychiatrists at the Beijing Suicide Research and Prevention Center in China. Dr. Tirch is currently co-authoring a book on emotion regulation, involving his research interest in the integration of CBT with various meditation techniques. Dr. Tirch is a NY State licensed psychologist, Certified Cognitive Therapist and Fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy. Though primarily based at AICT in Manhattan, Dr. Tirch also operates a cognitive psychotherapy practice in Monroe, New York in Orange County which can be found at http://www.newyorkcognitivetherapy.com/IntegralCBT/Welcome.html

Danielle A. Kaplan, Ph.D., Senior Supervising Clinician, (B.A. Cornell University, M.A., Ph.D. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) received her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was the recipient of the Pogue University Fellowship and the Martin S. Wallach Award for Outstanding Graduate Student in Clinical Psychology.  She has taught cognitive-behavioral therapy at Northwestern University and the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology at Yeshiva University.  In addition, Dr. Kaplan has presented numerous workshops and trainings on CBT in the United States, the Dominican Republic, and Peru.  Dr. Kaplan’s areas of interest include depression, anxiety, relationship issues, family violence, immigration and acculturation, and gender issues.  She is trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and was previously the director of the DBT group program at Illinois Masonic Behavioral Health Center in Chicago.  Currently, Dr. Kaplan is the director of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy training at Bellevue Hospital.  She is bilingual in English and Spanish, and is a Medicare provider for the New York City region.

Rene D. Zweig, Ph.D. (B.A., University of Michigan; Ph.D., Rutgers University) is a Senior Supervising Clinician and the Director of the Eating Disorders and Weight Management Program at the American Institute for Cognitive Therapy. She completed a pre-doctoral internship at the Yale University School of Medicine. While much of her practice focuses on eating disorders, she also has extensive experience treating depression, anxiety disorders, body image, relationship difficulties, and substance abuse. She developed the Keep It Off! weight management group incorporating cognitive, behavioral, acceptance, and emotion regulation techniques. Dr. Zweig has presented and received awards for her research at national professional meetings, and she has given invited presentations at the Mt Sinai School of Medicine, Bellevue Hospital, Yale University, and Oxford University. She co-authored a chapter in Treating Substance Abuse: Theory and Technique (Second Edition) and is currently co-authoring a book on eating disorders. Dr. Zweig serves as a health consultant for LifetimeTV.com. She supervises both psychology trainees and licensed professionals, and she is an Adjunct Supervisor in the Ferkauf Graduate Program in Clinical Psychology in New York City. Dr. Zweig is a Certified Cognitive Therapist through the Academy of Cognitive Therapy. Click here to view Dr. Zweig’s website.

Articles Featuring Dr. Rene Zweig

• Motivation Central: The New Success Story - Fitness Magazine
• You Can Do It! - Fitness Magazine
• Losing Weight: The Mind Game - O, the Oprah Magazine
• Mind Over Fatter - Women's Health
• FDA Study Puts Wrinkle in Botox - The New York Sun
• Panic Stations: I Thought I Would Die - The UK Telegraph
• Scary Skinny: The Dark Side of Childhood Fame - Good Morning America
• The Great Weight - Fitness Magazine
• Health Expert Q&A Column - LifetimeTV.com
  • Q&A 1: Sweet Relief?
  • Q&A 2: At a Loss
  • Q&A 3: Hit Snooze
  • Q&A 4: Trying to Conceive

Courtney Rennicke, Ph.D, Assistant Director of Child and Family Treatment, received her B.S. from Cornell University with a major in Human Development and Family Studies with Honors for her on-site research of the emotional and systemic impact of trauma on an intensive care burn unit. Dr. Rennicke completed her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology at Columbia University. Her dissertation, part of a project funded by the National Science Foundation, focused on the search for meaning of the events of September 11th among adults who were in or around The World Trade Center and its impact on their well-being. Dr. Rennicke also completed her pre-doctoral internship at Columbia University Medical Center. She has worked with children, adolescents, families, and adults with experience in treating depressive, bipolar, anxiety, posttraumatic stress, and personality disorders, as well as mental health issues secondary to medical conditions. Dr. Rennicke is trained in cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy, and emotion-focused therapy. She has co-authored professional articles on trauma and resiliency during her doctoral program, as well as on bipolar disorder and creativity during her research assistantship at the Bipolar Disorders Clinic at Stanford University. This latter work was also presented at the annual conference of the American Psychiatric Association. Dr. Rennicke is an adjunct assistant professor of Clinical Psychology at the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University, where she currently teaches clinical interviewing to clinical psychology doctoral students. Dr. Rennicke is also an adjunct faculty member of Teachers College, Columbia University, where she supervises clinical psychology doctoral students in their psychological assessment practicum. Click Here to View Dr. Rennicke's Website

Media Events Featuring Dr. Rennicke:
"Is creativity a side effect of bipolar disorder?" - Health Talk Radio

David Fazzari, Ph.D., Post-Doctoral Fellow, received his B.A. with honors from Boston University and his PhD in Clinical Psychology at Columbia University. After graduating from Boston University, he developed clinical treatment plans, engaged in individual counseling, and facilitated crisis intervention with adults affected by severe and persistent mental illness, drug addiction, and homelessness. Dr. Fazzari has also served as a residential counselor with severely emotionally disturbed children and assisted in maintaining a therapeutic milieu for the residents. In addition, Dr. Fazzari has contributed to research at the University of California, Berkeley. There, he examined the relationship between the perception of emotion and ethnicity and its manifestations in human physiology. He has also conducted research at Columbia University, investigating the effect of social support, disclosure, and relationship-attachment patterns on coping ability among World Trade Center survivors. During his training at Columbia, he was a clinician at the Center for Educational and Psychological Services where he was trained in both cognitive behavioral and psychodynamic approaches to individual psychotherapy. In addition, he was the Editorial Assistant for the Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy from 2002-2003, the Assistant Editor for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Book Reviews from 2005-2006, and was on the editorial board of the Graduate Student Journal of Psychology from 2003-2004. He served as the assistant to the president of the International Association for Cognitive Psychotherapy from 2003 to 2006 and was a clinician at the American Institute for Cognitive Therapy from 2004 to 2006. As a clinician, he received advanced training in cognitive behavior therapy for mood, anxiety, and personality disorders. Dr. Fazzari completed his internship at Weill Cornell Medical Center, Payne Whitney Clinic in June of 2007. At Payne Whitney, Dr. Fazzari obtained further training in cognitive therapy at the Cornell Cognitive Therapy Clinic. In addition, he completed rotations in the psychiatric emergency room, the Personality Disorders Institute, and the adolescent DBT program. 
Areas of Specialization:

• Adult ADHD
• Procrastination
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Samantha Monk, M.A., Extern, received an M.A. in general psychology from New York University and an M.A. in psychology from Hofstra University. Ms. Monk is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in clinical and school psychology at Hofstra University, where she has received training in cognitive-behavioral therapy, mindfulness meditation, and acceptance and commitment therapy. Ms. Monk serves as a clinician at Hofstra University’s Psychological Evaluation Research and Counseling Clinic (PERCC), where she provides individual psychotherapy to adults, children and adolescents. In addition, Ms. Monk received specialty training in the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders through Hofstra University’s Anxiety and Depression Treatment Program, under the supervision of Dr. William Sanderson. Ms. Monk completed training in psychodiagnostic assessment at Hofstra’s PERC Clinic, where she provided complete psychological and psychoeducational evaluations for community applicants. She has completed an internship in school psychology and will receive certification as a school psychologist in 2008. Currently, Ms. Monk is conducting dissertation research with Dr. Sanderson comparing traditional cognitive techniques with acceptance based techniques in the reduction of claustrophobic anxiety. Ms. Monk’s clinical interests focus on the application of traditional cognitive-behavior therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy and dialectical behavior therapy in the treatment of depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post traumatic stress, panic, social anxiety, personality disorders, and relationship enhancement.  

Meredith Perlman, M.A., Extern, received her Masters in Psychology from Yeshiva University’s Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology of Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where she is currently in her fourth year of doctoral training. Previously, she treated patients within both the general and PACAP (Psychiatric Ambulatory Clinic for AIDS Patients) divisions of Montefiore Medical Center’s Adult Outpatient Psychiatric Department. Meredith also worked in the Adolescent Unit of Albert Einstein College of Medicine, conducting assessments and therapy with teenagers carrying a range of diagnoses, including depression, anxiety, Asperger’s Disorder, and ADHD. As part of her training at Ferkauf, Meredith completed a year-long intensive course in CBT for anxiety and depression under the direction of Dr. Lata McGinn and, as part of this practicum, provides ongoing supervised treatment for patients within the CBT division of the Parnes Clinic. Meredith received her B.A. from NYU, graduating with honors. She is currently completing her dissertation research, which concerns early learning experiences and emotion regulation skills among obese patients seeking bariatric surgery.  

Rachel K. Gerstein, M.A., Extern, graduated Cum Laude with a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania. She earned her M.A. from Temple University, where she is currently working towards her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology under the mentorship of Dr. Lauren Alloy. At Temple University, Rachel was awarded a University Fellowship for two years. Clinically, Rachel has experience in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Dialectical-Behavioral Therapy (DBT). Rachel is also currently working on her doctoral dissertation, entitled "The Long-Term Course of Bipolar Disorder: Applications of the Behavioral Approach System (BAS) and Cognitive Vulnerability-Stress Models."  

Konstantin Lukin, M.A., Extern, received his Bachelor Degree in Psychology from Honors College at State University of New York, Stony Brook. Mr. Lukin is currently in his fourth year of doctoral training. He has extensive training in the area of neuropsychological and personality assessment as well as cognitive behavioral treatments for variety of psychiatric disorders. Mr. Lukin has had experience with leading groups within the cognitive behavioral framework as well as extensive training in individual therapy with children and adolescents at Four Winds Hospital. Mr. Lukin has also been employed at Columbia Medical Center as an independent evaluator for a multi-million dollar NIMH grant study under direct supervision of Dr. Anne-Marie Albano. Concurrently, Mr. Lukin was a research associate at New York State Psychiatric Institute responsible for the overall conduct of treatment study comparing SSRIs and cognitive behavioral treatment for depression. Presently, Mr. Lukin is a clinician at Bellevue Hospital Center focusing on disruptive disorders.  

Mia Sage, M.A., Extern, is currently pursuing her doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Columbia University where she previously received her M.A. in Psychology in Education. Mia has been trained in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), psychodynamic therapy, mindfulness meditation, and acceptance-based therapies. She is a clinician at Columbia’s Dean Hope Center for Educational and Psychological Services, where she provides both neuropsychological assessments and individual therapy to adults. Mia has held research positions at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, Mclean Hospital of Harvard Medical School and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, which included extensive training in psychodiagnostic assessment and group CBT. She has experience in treating mood, general anxiety, social anxiety, panic, posttraumatic stress, sleep and personality disorders. Mia’s clinical interests focus on the integration of CBT with mindfulness-based approaches.  

Helen Butleroff Leahy, RD, CDN, Consultant, offers nutrition counseling specializing in weight management, eating disorders, Type II Diabetes, GERD, IBS and medical conditions requiring nutritional intervention. Ms. Butleroff Leahy is a Registered Dietitian by The Commission on Dietetic Registration and Certified Dietitian Nutritionist licensed by NYS. She is winner of the "Certificate of Achievement Award" and "Activ8 Kids Mini Grant" from the NYS  Department of Health for her nutrition program targeting obesity in NYC public school children.  In addition to her private practice, Ms. Butleroff-Leahy gives nutrition presentations  for the outpatient Psychiatric Clinic of New York Presbyterian-Cornell Hospital, for state legislators, United Nations Health forums, law firms and has been employed by GHI for TV segments on portion control, dehydration and healthy lifestyle choices. She also runs "The Nutrition & Fitness Education Intiative" that has now reached 2100 NYC school children. Click Here to visit her Website

• Nutrition Myths and Nutrition Tips by Ms. Helen Butleroff-Leahy
• Nutrition Tips to Prevent Dehydration - Helen Butleroff Leahy, RD, CDN on Bronx-Net TV
   

Poonam Melwani, B.A., Editorial Assistant