Constance Abruzzese, PhD

Dr. Connie Abruzzese is a licensed clinical psychologist, a nationally certified school psychologist, an Assistant Professor of Medical Psychology at CUIMC and was an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychology and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University where she taught courses in assessment and supervision for three years. Dr. Abruzzese supervises clinicians-in-training at Columbia and created evidence-based groups in anxiety, depression, and OCD at the Day Program which she runs. She has received years of intensive training in CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy), including through Behavioral Tech, A Linehan Institute Training Company. Dr. Abruzzese also has special training in trauma and PTSD. Her research in graduate school and dissertation focused on factors that lead to the development of PTSD. Furthermore, regarding trauma treatment, she received specialized training in STAIR-NST (Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation - Narrative Story Telling), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT),Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT),Prolonged Exposure (PE), and the DBT PE protocol by the developer, Dr. Melanie Harned.

Dr. Abruzzese previously led trainings and provided consultation to local elementary, middle, and high school districts implementing CBT and DBT programs within their schools. She was the Coordinator of OCD and Related Disorders at a large group private practice where she co-created and ran OCD Intensive treatment programs and supervised and taught psychology graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. She has specialized training in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). In addition to OCD, trauma, and PTSD her other specialties include the treatment of anxiety spectrum disorders (e.g. generalized anxiety, social anxiety, specific phobias), body-focused repetitive behaviors, depression, chronic pain, disordered eating, and self-harm and suicidal behaviors. Therapeutically, she aims to balance genuine warmth with insight and change.