Core Clinical Training Faculty
Elizabeth Allen, Ph.D.
Elizabeth Allen, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist with expertise in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for adolescents and adults with anxiety and mood disorders. As a psychologist within the Youth Anxiety Center, she specializes in developmentally-informed treatment for emerging adults. She provides a variety of clinical services including diagnostic evaluation, consultation and psychotherapy. Dr. Allen is an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Clinical Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine and an Assistant Attending Psychologist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Westchester Division.
Susan Evans, Ph.D.
Dr. Evans is Professor of Psychology in Clinical Psychiatry and Director of Education in Psychology for the Department of Psychiatry. She is the Director of the Cornell Cognitive Therapy Clinic and an expert in the cognitive behavioral treatment of anxiety and mood disorders. Dr. Evans is trained and certified in Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP) developed for the treatment of chronic depression. She completed an internship in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) at the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and established the MBSR at New York Presbyterian Hospital in 2000. Dr. Evans is a founding member and diplomate of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy and is the current President of the New York City-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Association. She serves on the scientific review committee for the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies and is a site visitor for the American Psychological Association. Dr. Evans’s research has focused on the psychological effects of HIV/AIDS, posttraumatic stress disorder and mindfulness approaches to anxiety.
Faith Gunning, Ph.D.
Dr. Gunning is an Associate Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry. She is the Vice Chair of Psychology and the Director of Neuropsychology for the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Gunning is a nationally recognized expert in the cognitive neuroscience of normal aging and aging–related central nervous system disorders. She holds an NIMH-funded R01 that integrates multiple MRI techniques to better understand the role of specific network abnormalities in the presence and persistence of late-life depression. Her clinical expertise focuses on the use of neuropsychological assessment techniques to examine the interaction of cognitive, affective, and behavioral disturbances in the expression of psychiatric illness. Dr. Gunning oversees the Department of Psychiatry’s neuropsychology training program. Along with Drs. Beth Rabinovitz and Chaya Gopin, Dr. Gunning teaches the Neuropsychology Track didactics. In addition, she supervises both inpatient and outpatient neuropsychological evaluations of adult patients.
Anthony Ahmed, Ph.D.
Dr. Anthony Ahmed is an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine and Psychologist in the Psychotic Disorders Division at New York Presbyterian Hospital, Westchester. Dr. Ahmed's expertise is in the provision of psychosocial interventions for people with schizophrenia. He conducts studies on cognition, emotion, and the phenomenology of negative symptoms in people with schizophrenia. He also conducts clinical trials of psychosocial interventions (e.g., cognitive remediation, social cognition training, CBT for Psychosis) for people with schizophrenia.
Barbara Flye, Ph.D.
Dr. Flye is an Associate Professor of Psychology in Clinical Psychiatry. Dr. Flye specializes in the evaluation, assessment and treatment of children, adolescents and their families. She joined the Weill Cornell Medicine Faculty in 1978 following her post-doctoral fellowship training at the Westchester Division. Dr. Flye directs the child outpatient psychiatric evaluation service. As a member of the faculty, she teaches and supervises residents and psychology trainees. She has been recognized as an outstanding teacher, winning multiple "Teacher of the Year" awards from both Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residents and Postdoctoral Fellows in Psychology. She is a member of the Children of Divorce treatment team, and the Social Skills Group treatment team.
Kate Herts, Ph.D.
Dr. Herts is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology in Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine. Her clinical expertise focuses on evidence-based interventions for adolescents and adults suffering from anxiety disorders, mood disorders, chronic medical problems, and women’s health concerns. Dr. Herts leads the fellowship’s anxiety disorders supervision group, professional development seminar, CBT seminar and perinatal case conference. She acts as a clinical and administrative supervisor for fellows in the outpatient department. Research interests include psychosocial adaptation to chronic illness, women's mental health and program evaluation.
Dora Kanellopoulos, Ph.D.
Dr. Kanellopoulos is an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry. She joined the Weill Cornell faculty in 2015 after completing a fellowship in the Weill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry. Dr. Kanellopoulos’ clinical work includes cognitive assessment of psychiatric disorders, memory impairment and dementia, mild cognitive impairment, stroke and cerebrovascular disease and other conditions affecting cerebral functioning. Her research interests include using structural and functional neuroimaging techniques and traditional neuropsychological methods to understand the role of cognitive and emotional cerebral networks in late life mood disorders.
Melissa Klein, Ph.D.
Dr. Klein joined the Weill Cornell Medicine Department of Psychiatry faculty in 2001, however, has been working in the Eating Disorder Department at the Westchester Division since 1995. She holds the position of Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology and is the Senior Psychologist at the Inpatient Eating Disorders Unit. Her clinical expertise focuses on the evaluation and treatment of eating disorders and the use of cognitive behavioral therapy. She has been involved in several multi-site treatment studies for anorexia and bulimia, and has had exceptional training in using cognitive behavioral therapy and family therapy by many leaders in the Eating Disorder field. She provides supervision for Psychology Fellows and interns who are working with eating disorder patients.
William Lamson, Ph.D
Dr. William Lamson is a licensed clinical psychologist with expertise in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for adults and adolescents with anxiety and mood disorders. He specializes in exposure-based therapies for OCD, Phobias, and Social Anxiety disorder. Dr. Lamson provides a variety of clinical services including diagnostic evaluation, consultation, and psychotherapy. He serves as an administrative and clinical supervisor for fellows in the Outpatient Department. Dr. Lamson’s research interests include framing effects in social anxiety as well the impact of character strengths and virtues on perception. Dr. Lamson is an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Clinical Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine and an Assistant Attending Psychologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Westchester Behavioral Health Center.
Patricia Marino, Ph.D.
Dr. Marino is Assistant Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine and Associate Attending Psychologist on the Personality Disorders Unit (5N) and the Horizon Unit (4N) at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Westchester Division. Her areas of clinical expertise include adult and geriatric mood disorders, such as depression and anxiety, with a special interest in geriatric psychology and health psychology. In addition, Dr. Marino has extensive experience in treating individuals with medical conditions. Research interests include the role of social support and social networks in mental health outcomes
Beth Rabinovitz, Ph.D.
Dr. Rabinovitz obtained her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology: Neuropsychology from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She completed her clinical internship at North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System in the departments of Neurology and Psychiatry and a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in pediatric neuropsychology also at North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System. Dr. Rabinovitz, an Instructor of Neuropsychology in the Department of Psychiatry, is a clinical neuropsychologist at NYP/Weill Cornell Medicine. She supervises outpatient and inpatient neuropsychological assessments of children, adolescents, and adults and teaches the Neuropsychology Track didactics along with Dr. Faith Gunning. Dr. Rabinovitz's clinical and research interests include Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and other developmental disorders, pediatric hematology/oncology, epilepsy, movement disorders, and other disorders affecting brain functioning.
Shira Ritholtz, Ph.D.
Dr. Shira Ritholtz is an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Clinical Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine and an Assistant Attending Psychologist at New York Presbyterian Hospital Westchester Behavioral Health Center. Dr. Ritholtz is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for children, adolescents, and young adults with anxiety, mood, and traumatic stress disorders. Dr. Ritholtz provides a variety of clinical services in both outpatient and inpatient settings, including diagnostic evaluation, consultation, and psychotherapy. She serves as a clinical supervisor for psychology and psychiatry fellows in the child outpatient and inpatient Departments.
Victoria Wilkins, Ph.D.
Dr. Victoria Wilkins is Assistant Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine and Associate Attending Psychologist on the Affective Disorders Unit (6 North) at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Westchester Division. Dr. Wilkins is an expert in CBT and serves as both a supervisor of adult OPD cases and supervisor of group CBT work on the Affective Disorders Unit. She studies psychotherapeutic interventions for depressed older adults with medical comorbidity, physical disability, and cognitive impairment. She is the study coordinator and interventionist for Cornell’s NIMH-funded study of Ecosystem Focused Therapy for depressed stroke survivors. Dr. Wilkins also has research interests in the inclusion of family caregivers in the psychotherapeutic treatment of patients coping with chronic disease.
Stephanie Cherestal, Ph.D.
Dr. Stephanie Cherestal is an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Clinical Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine and an Assistant Attending Psychologist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Westchester Behavioral Health Center. As a licensed clinical psychologist, Dr. Cherestal specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) for adults and adolescents with anxiety, mood, and personality disorders. As director of the NYP-Westchester Behavioral Health Center's Outpatient Adult and Adolescent DBT programs, she provides individual and group DBT treatment to patients, and conducts supervision and training to trainees in DBT. She also serves as an administrative and clinical supervisor for psychology postdoctoral fellows in the Outpatient Department. Dr. Cherestal’s research interests include exploring the efficacy of technological aids to increase dissemination of and access to evidence-based psychotherapies.
