Laura Mufson, Ph.D., Director Staff:

• Emily D’Antonio, PsyD., Neuropsychologist, Psychologist I
• Brooke Bayer PsyD., Neuropsychologist, Psychologist I
• Richard Sugden, PhD, Audobon Clinic, Psychologist I
• Cesar Leon, PhD, Audobon Clinic, Psychologist I
• Howard Bernstein, PsyD., Inwood Clinic, Psychologist I

  Mission: The Clinical Psychology Department is integrally involved in both provision of clinical care as well as in education and research activities at New York State Psychiatric Institute. The Clinical Psychology Department consists of a diverse group of psychologists working to increase understanding of psychiatric illness and improve clinical care throughout the life span. Our mission is to make a significant contribution to education and clinical research in mental health, and to the provision of expert clinical care at New York State Psychiatric Institute. Clinical Service: The Director of the Department of Clinical Psychology is responsible for overseeing clinical psychologists who provide psychotherapy and psychological assessment services that occur on the clinical units at New York State Psychiatric Institute. In addition, the Director is responsible for credentialing all masters and doctoral level clinical psychologists who are involved in patient care at NYSPI either as part of a clinical research study or as patient care independent of research. Clinical research activities include conducting diagnostic evaluations, psychotherapy and/or supervision of clinical care as part of a clinical treatment research protocol. Clinical patient care includes both provision of direct care and/or supervision of direct care. The psychologists at NYSPI provide expert psychoeducation, neuropsychological and psychological evaluations, and psychotherapy to patients and their families being treated on several clinical services including the Washington Heights Community Service Inpatient Unit, Inwood and Audubon Outpatient Services, and the General Research Service Inpatient Unit. Psychologists participate actively in the multidisciplinary approach to enhance patient care. Research: Psychologists are active in research throughout NYSPI in the various research divisions in the Department of Psychiatry including child and adolescent psychiatry, epidemiology, therapeutics, and neuroscience. Members of the department participate in or are Principal Investigator on a significant number of federally and privately funded grants studying research questions regarding areas such as schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, depression, bipolar disorder, prevention of suicidal behavior, and psychosocial aspects of chronic illnesses such as HIV. Training: The Clinical Psychology Department plays a crucial role in the psychology and psychiatry education and training programs at NYSPI, sharing our expertise in areas such as neuropsychology, child development, and evidence-based evaluations and psychosocial interventions. We provide didactic seminars and well as clinical supervision both for medical students and psychology and psychiatry trainees at NYSPI. The department oversees both clinical and research externship placements for graduate students in clinical psychology who are interested in part-time externships to satisfy their clinical and research practicum requirements for school as well as postdoctoral training experiences.