Mary Denise Cancellare, Ph.D.
Education:
Dr. Mary Denise Cancellare is an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Clinical Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Cancellare has experience in treating combat veterans, burn patients, victims of terrorist attacks, and disaster workers. She also treats fear of flying and other phobias with Virtual Reality Therapy. Dr. Cancellare has been a part of the Weill Cornell team for over a decade and has extensive experience with evidence-based treatment for veterans.
Francis S. Y. Lee, M.D., Ph.D.
Education:
Dr. Lee is the Chair of the Department of Psychiatry, a Professor in the Department of Pharmacology, and an Attending Psychiatrist at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medicine. In addition to his academic responsibilities, Dr. Lee maintains an active faculty practice treating a range of conditions incorporating psychotherapy and/or psychopharmacology into his treatment. Dr. Lee has worked with our team since 2010 as the primary physician in the Department of Defense clinical trial looking at the treatment of PTSD in Operations Iraqi Freedom (OIF)/ Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) veterans. He has experience assisting veterans with readjustment after deployment.
James H. Kocsis, M.D.
Education:
James H. Kocsis, M.D., is Professor of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, Attending Psychiatrist at New York Presbyterian Hospital, and Director of the Affective Disorders Research Program at the Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic. Dr. Kocsis also serves on the Adjunct Faculty at Rockefeller University. He is a fellow of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, a distinguished life fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a member of the Psychiatric Research Society and the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology. Dr. Kocsis’ current research interests include psychopathology, pathophysiology, and genetics of affective and anxiety disorders as well as new and/or experimental therapies for major depression, chronic depression, and bipolar disorder as well as depression in special populations, such as substance abusers and patients with epilepsy.
Andrew McAleavey, Ph.D.
Education:
Dr. Andrew McAleavey is an Instructor of Psychology in Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College. He joined the Program for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Studies at Weill Cornell Medical College in 2015.Dr. McAleavey has published numerous articles and book chapters focusing on the mechanisms of psychotherapy outcomes as well as psychological symptom development.Dr. McAleavey provides evidenced-based psychotherapies for the New York Presbyterian Hospital Military Family Wellness Center and works with inpatients at the William Randolph Hearst Burn Center at New York Presbyterian Hospital. His clinical work focuses on PTSD, anxiety, depression, and anger management.
Nancy Needell, M.D.
Education:
Dr. Nancy Needell is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College and an Assistant Attending Psychiatrist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. She is the Medical Director of the Weill Cornell Psychiatric Mobile Crisis Team, a multi-disciplinary team that responds to crises and emergencies in the community, visiting people in their homes to assess the need for rapid intervention. Dr. Needell serves as a co-investigator on several Department of Defense (DoD) funded studies of PTSD. Dr. Needell is an active member of the New York City Elder Abuse Prevention Multidisciplinary Team to help prevent and stop financial elder abuse. She also works in the Weill Cornell Psychiatric Emergency Department. Dr. Needell has worked at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility as well as in homeless shelters, jail diversion programs, and inpatient psychiatric units. She is board certified in adult psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, and geriatric psychiatry.
Megan Olden, Ph.D.
Education:
Dr. Megan Olden is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College and an Assistant Attending Psychologist at New York Presbyterian Hospital. She began working with the Program for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Studies in 2008. Dr. Olden has been awarded funding to conduct research on the use of telemedicine to deliver exposure therapy to individuals with occupationally-related PTSD, including war veterans, police officers, firefighters, and other emergency workers. At PATSS, she supervises psychologist assessors internationally on Department of Defense-funded clinical trials to treat veterans with PTSD. She provides psychotherapy to individuals as part of the New York Presbyterian Hospital Military Family Wellness Center and has a private clinical practice. Dr. Olden has expertise in trauma-related disorders and anxiety disorders and is certified in prolonged exposure therapy and virtual reality therapy. She has worked with numerous populations including burn survivors, first responders, sexual assault survivors, U.S. military service members and veterans, and survivors of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks.
Melissa Peskin, Ph.D.
Education:
Dr. Melissa Peskin is an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College and an Assistant Attending Psychologist at New York Presbyterian Hospital. She joined the Program for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Studies in 2012.Dr. Peskin's research focuses on developing and improving the effectiveness of treatments for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). She has a particular interest in using neurobiological tools to understand treatment mechanisms and predict treatment response. Dr. Peskin is currently conducting a pilot study exploring a novel intervention for individuals with PTSD due to military sexual trauma.Dr. Peskin has expertise in cognitive behavioral therapy for PTSD, anxiety, and depression. She has received extensive training in the evidence-based assessment and treatment of anxiety and trauma-related disorders. She provides psychotherapy to individuals as part of the New York Presbyterian Hospital Military Family Wellness Center and serves as a therapist on Department of Defense (DoD) funded clinical research studies for individuals with PTSD. In addition, Dr. Peskin serves as primary supervisor and coordinates a trauma rotation for psychiatry residents, psychology interns, and social workers learning exposure therapy.
Lisa Spielman, Ph.D.
Education:
Dr. Spielman is a statistician/methodologist with extensive expertise providing consultation on research design and analysis in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), PTSD, Geriatric Psychiatry, HIV, and anxiety disorders. She has held faculty positions at Weill-Cornell Medical College and New York Hospital-Westchester and taught at New York University. She provides consultation for internationally recognized medical centers and private foundations. Dr. Spielman serves as the senior statistician on two groundbreaking Department of Defense (DoD) funded studies. The first study compares virtual reality and exposure therapy, and the second study is a clinical trial for a first-in-class vasopressin 1a receptor antagonist for PTSD.
Amy Rubenstein, Ph.D.
Education:
Dr. Amy Rubenstein is an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College and a Clinical Assistant Attending Psychologist at New York Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Rubenstein joined the Program for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Studies team in 1998. Dr. Rubenstein’s expertise is in the assessment and treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and anxiety-related disorders. She has worked extensively in the field of trauma and treatments for PTSD with survivors of terrorism, burn injury, motor vehicle accidents, combat, assault, and life-threatening illness. She is trained in the use of evidence-based treatments for PTSD, including prolonged exposure therapy and has treated 9/11 survivors, active duty U.S. service members, war veterans, police officers, firefighters, and other emergency personnel. In addition, Dr. Rubenstein serves as a study therapist for an ongoing clinical trial that is being conducted at PATSS.
Katarzyna Wyka, Ph.D.
Education:
Dr. Katarzyna Wyka is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine. She joined the Program for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Studies in 2005. Dr. Wyka’s expertise is in the study design and statistical methods for public health research, with a focus on mental health statistics. Her collaborative work in the area of psychiatry includes clinical studies of effective treatments for PTSD and psychosis, as well as epidemiologic investigations of mental and physical health consequences of trauma exposure.
Robin Brody, Psy.D.
Education:
Robin Brody, Psy.D., is currently a volunteer faculty member at Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Brody was an Instructor of Psychology in Psychiatry and an Assistant Attending Psychologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital until she departed from PATSS in the Fall of 2022. After numerous years of training in the Veteran Affairs System, primarily on the PTSD teams, Dr. Brody joined the Program for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Studies (PATSS) as a Postdoctoral Fellow. Her expertise and demonstrated passion center on treating trauma survivors, particularly those with PTSD, moral injury, shame, and disruptions to relationships. In doing so, Dr. Brody has worked with diverse populations of civilians, veterans of all branches and eras, first responders, and healthcare workers across the diagnostic and demographic spectrum. She has received extensive training in the evidence-based assessment and treatment of substance use and trauma-related disorders. Dr. Brody's research interests include PTSD treatment innovation and the role of shame, stigma, and identity in trauma recovery. She served as a study therapist, assessor, and co-investigator on many ongoing research studies with Dr. Difede and the PATSS team.
Michael L. Turman, Ph.D.
Michael L. Turman, Ph.D., is a Postdoctoral fellow for the Program for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Studies at Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Turman completed his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus, where he conducted research on the relationship between emotion regulation and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics in the United States. Prior to completing his Ph.D., Dr. Turman worked for over 10 years an EMT for several hospital-based ambulance services in New York City’s 911 system, including NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. His experience as a healthcare worker and former first responder inform his current clinical expertise and research interests in the treatment of PTSD, anxiety, and depression in healthcare workers, veterans, and members of other populations at high risk for trauma exposure. Dr. Turman currently conducts assessments and therapy through our Military Family Wellness Center, and two research studies that provide therapeutic interventions to healthcare workers that have psychological distress and/or PTSD consequent to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jillian M. Arenz, Ph.D
Jillian M. Arenz, Ph.D. is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in Clinical Psychology at Weill Cornell Medicine. She earned her doctoral degree from Teachers College, Columbia University and completed her clinical training at Bellevue Hospital Center/NYU Langone Medical School. Her clinical and research interests include anxiety disorders, traumatic stress, effects of systemic stressors on mental health, mental health of minoritized groups, and LGBTQIA mental health. Her training has centered on PTSD, chronic stress, trauma, and anxiety disorders across the lifespan and in a wide variety of clinical settings. Her research has focused on adapting evidence-based interventions to increase accessibility, feasibility, and sustainability, improving cultural appropriateness of interventions, and evaluating efficacy of interventions for under resourced and underserved populations. Dr. Arenz has expertise in working with active-duty military and veterans, healthcare workers, LGBTQIA individuals, and survivors of torture/war, domestic violence, and sexual assault. She has received extensive training in CBT, DBT, ACT, IPT, exposure therapies, and psychodynamic treatments. She serves as a study assessor, study therapist, and co-investigator on several ongoing research studies with Dr. Difede and the PATSS team.
Manhattan Offices
425 East 61st Street
New York, NY 10065
435 East 70th Street
New York, NY 10021
Westchester Office
21 Bloomingdale Road
White Plains, NY 10605
