Lea Beresford

Fifth-year student

Lea Beresford is a graduate student in the Adult Clinical Psychology PsyD program at Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University. She is exploring the effect of therapist ageism on older adults' therapy outcomes. She is currently an extern at Jacobi Medical Center and Montefiore Hospital in the Ferkauf Older Adult Program. She has also externed at Kingsboro Psychiatric Center and the Rosemary Furman Counseling Center at Barnard College.  She worked as a patient intake coordinator at a private practice and was a research assistant in Columbia University’s DANLAB for a study that evaluated the effect of familiar music on deliberate memory retrieval in cognitively healthy adults between the ages of 65 and 80 years old. The paper was published in Memory in 2023. Lea received her BA in psychology and English from Cornell University and worked for many years as an acquiring editor of literary fiction and nonfiction in the book publishing industry before pivoting to clinical psychology. 

Nicholas Norman

Fifth-year student

Nick is a graduate student in the Adult Clinical Psychology PsyD program at the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology.  He received a BA in English Literature and Language from the University of Leeds and an MFA in Playwriting from Columbia University.  He worked for a number of years as an Elementary and Middle School teacher.  Amongst other things, Nick is interested in all aspects of the treatment of, and research into, obsessive-compulsive disorder.  As a member of the DP-Relate lab he intends to study obsessive-compulsive disorder in the older adult population.

Folake Olowu

Fifth-year student

Folake is a graduate student in the Adult Clinical Psychology PsyD program. She received her B.S. in Psychology and Criminal Justice from SUNY Brockport in 2022. As a PsyD student at Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, her research interest centers on understanding how serious mental illness (SMI) affects the psychosocial functioning of older adults in the correction system. She is also interested in studying prejudice, discrimination, and the impact of stigma within the criminal justice system.

Julia Phillips

Fourth-year student

Jamie Karns

Fourth-year student

Jamie is a graduate student in the Adult Clinical Psychology PsyD program. She received her BA in Psychology and minor in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies from New York University. She later received her MA in Clinical Psychology from New York University. Her Master’s thesis focused on how anxiety severity, cognitive control, and threat discrimination influences attention bias heterogeneity in individuals struggling with anxiety and depression. Jamie’s research interests include neuropsychology, mood disorders, forensic assessment, and self-harm and suicide risk assessment.

Amy Stern

Third-year student

Amy is a graduate student in the Adult Clinical Psychology PsyD program. She earned a B.S. in Psychology with a focus in Neuroscience, with minors in Biology and Sociology, from The Pennsylvania State University. Her research and clinical interests include neuropsychology, traumatic brain injuries, neurodiversity, and neurodegenerative disorders.

Jennifer Prat

Third-year student

Jennifer is a graduate student in the Adult Clinical Psychology PsyD program at the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology. She received a B.A. in psychology from the University of Connecticut in 2006. Jennifer spent more than a decade working across the nonprofit landscape in fundraising and marketing capacities before returning to the mental health field in 2022 when she started her M.A. in Mental Health Counseling at Ferkauf. She holds an LPCA in Connecticut and focuses her clinical practice on working with neurodiverse women and girls. Jennifer’s clinical and research interest is psychodiagnostics in women, specifically the mis- and missed diagnosis of ADHD, and twice-exceptionality across the lifespan. In her free time, Jennifer enjoys time with her spouse and children, finding ways to be creative, and cooking for her friends and family.

Won Young Choi

Third-year student

Won Young is a graduate student in the Adult Clinical Psychology PsyD program. He received his BA in Mechanical Engineering and minor in Psychology from Cornell University. He later received his M.Eng in Engineering Management from Cornell University, and an MA in Psychology in Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. His Master’s thesis focused on a pilot RCT study design evaluating the effectiveness of VR-mediated nature interventions for geriatric populations for the treatment of depressive disorders. Won Young's current research interests include understanding the mechanisms of therapeutic change relevant to East Asian immigrant populations, and the potential technological avenues for making mental health services more accessible to geriatric populations.

HAILEY MEMERY

Second-year student

Hailey is a graduate student in the Adult Clinical Psychology PsyD program. She received her BA in Psychology at Siena College. Her clinical interests include providing care for those within the forensic psychology setting, specifically targeting endured trauma and severe psychopathology.  She is interested in researching implications of trauma on the lifespan throughout different stages of development. She previously worked alongside LMHC's in a CBT-based setting with individuals who have committed severe sexual crimes (many were older adults who served time in the system). She also worked as a Registered Behavior Technician working with children diagnosed with Autism, ADHD, and other neurodevelopmental disorders. In her free time, she enjoys hiking with her dogs Clyde and Gus, traveling, and being with friends and family. 

LAUREN CODY

Second-year student

Lauren is a graduate student in the Adult Clinical Psychology PsyD program at Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University. She is pursuing clinical and research interests in geropsychology, focusing on personality pathology, depression, and social functioning in older adults. Prior to entering grad school, Lauren gained experience at Samaritans Suicide Hotline, Carter Burden Network, Selfhelp’s Holocaust Survivor Program, and Berner Lab at Mount Sinai. Lauren received a BA in Art History and Studio Art from Boston College in 2015, followed by a career in communications for arts institutions before pivoting to clinical psychology. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her dog Ginger, painting, and running in the park.