Current Postdocs: 2023-24 Academic Year

Addiction Psychology

Silvana Jones, PhD

Graduate of: Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University

Silvana received her doctorate from Ferkauf’s Clinical Psychology PhD (Health Emphasis) program with a minor in Addictions Psychology. She has experience working across a broad range of clinical settings, including inpatient psychiatric units, community-based mental health and substance use clinics, and hospital settings. Silvana is passionate about working with individuals who have complex and co-occurring psychiatric, medical, and substance use concerns. She has sought out specialized training substance use and addiction across her clinical and research experiences. Silvana’s theoretical orientation can be described as integrative, incorporating elements from Psychodynamic, Cognitive Behavioral, and Mindfulness approaches. Silvana’s clinical experiences are continuously complemented and informed by her research in substance use and smoking cessation, which pay particular attention to social and systemic issues related to substance use, including treatment barriers, stigma, and discrimination.

Ambulatory Consults Urgent Treatment & Evaluations (ACUTE)/CL Psychiatry

This Specialization did not recruit for the 2023-24 year.

Eating Disorders Program at Montefiore (EDPM) / Adolescent Dialectical Behavior Therapy (A-DBT)

Celenia DeLapp, PhD

Graduate of: Catholic University of America

Celenia DeLapp (She/her/hers), Ph.D., earned her doctorate in Clinical Psychology with a focus on Children, Families, and Cultures from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. Her dissertation was a strengths-based study of factors impacting parent engagement in Migrant and Seasonal Head Start. Celenia has received intensive training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and a certification in Clinical Suicidology from the National Register. Celenia’ s research interests include the psychological resiliency and strength of the Latine immigrant community as well as how BIPOC clients cope with racial stress and trauma. She has also written and provided didactics on the topic of culturally responsive clinical care. During her predoctoral internship at Montefiore Medical Center, Celenia continued to receive training in CBT and DBT for a wide range of clinical presentations. On internship, Celenia rotated with the Eating Disorders Program at Montefiore, the Becoming an Emerging Adult program, and the Supporting Healthy Relationships program providing couple’s therapy. When not at the office, Celenia can be found in the gym, biking, or trying to find the best lobster roll.

Psychosomatic Medicine

Francisco A. C. Meyer. PhD

Graduate of: Vanderbilt University

Francisco (he/him/él) obtained his PhD in Clinical Psychology from Vanderbilt University. He has worked with diverse populations in various settings, such as jails, hospitals, and private practices. He is fluent in English and Spanish. He specializes in clinical health psychology and has experience in conducting focused assessments, providing consultation to providers, and delivering specialized therapy services across a variety of subspecialties. He uses a biopsychosocial approach that integrates his background in neuroscience, health psychology, and his values of cultural and structural humility. His main therapeutic modalities are CBT and DBT. His research to date has focused on leveraging neuroimaging to identify transdiagnostic biomarkers of psychopathology.

Trauma Healing and Resilience in Vulnerable Environments (THRIVE)

Sara N. Ghassemzadeh, PsyD

Graduate of: The Graduate School of Applied & Professional Psychology (GSAPP) at Rutgers University

Sara N. Ghassemzadeh PsyD received her doctorate in clinical psychology from the Graduate School of Applied & Professional Psychology (GSAPP) at Rutgers University in May 2023. Sara's training experiences reflect an expertise in treating diverse adults presenting with complex trauma and its associated sequelae, such as substance use disorders, personality disorders, and suicidality. During her predoctoral internship at the James J. Peters VA Medical Center, Sara continued to cultivate this skillset, where she provided Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and Prolonged Exposure (PE) to US military veterans with PTSD and substance use disorders. Sara is passionate about providing therapy services in both English and Spanish and has also worked with Central American refugees through the Still Waters Anti-Trafficking Program in Highland Park, NJ. Both dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) and attachment theory highly influence her clinical work, as she views an attuned, safe, therapeutic relationship not just as the prerequisite, but the vessel inside which new learning can take place.

***New!*** Women’s Mental Health

LaTrice N. Wright, PhD

Graduate of: University of Tennessee, Knoxville

LaTrice Wright received her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK). Trained as a scientist-practitioner-advocate, her primary clinical interests center on delivering strengths-based and culturally responsive interventions to individuals, couples, and families from traditionally marginalized populations. She also has an evolving passion for the area of perinatal and reproductive mental health. LaTrice's theoretical orientation integrates multicultural-feminism, cognitive behavioral (CBT), dialectical behavioral (DBT), and family systems therapies. Her research interests center on experiences of gendered racism (i.e. the intersection of racism and sexism) and Black women’s health outcomes. LaTrice's dissertation investigated the roles of family and intimate partner support/strain and mindfulness in the association between subtle forms of gendered racism and anxiety symptoms.