Doctoral Student Lab Leaders

Doctoral Students

Mandy Newman is a sixth-year doctoral candidate with an M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Teachers College. She has been a member of the Psychotherapy, Affirmation, & Disclosure Lab since 2014, and contributed to the lab's book, Secrets and Lies in Psychotherapy. She has interests in the factors that impact tact and honesty within the therapeutic relationship. Before arriving at TC, Mandy worked on a longitudinal study on ADHD at UCLA. She also worked on a study on the effects of positive musical messaging on sign-ups to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Prior to her time at TC, Mandy toured as a musician. She can be reached at mn2685@tc.columbia.edu.

Catherine Crumb is a fourth-year doctoral candidate with an M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University and a B.A. in International Politics from Emory University. She has been a member of the Therapist Tact and Dishonesty Lab since its inception and is interested in the roles of honesty and disclosure within the therapeutic relationship. She is currently working on a project exploring clients' perceptions of therapist dishonesty in session. Prior to starting the doctoral program, Catherine worked as a psychology graduate trainee within the Child and Adolescent Unit at Montefiore Hospital, where she provided intervention to adolescent patients diagnosed with severe learning disabilities, neurodevelopmental disorders, and other comorbid disorders. Catherine can be reached at cec2230@tc.columbia.edu.

Mossie Lierle is a second-year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program with a B.S. in psychology and French from Tulane University. Previously, she led a project at Arizona State University assessing the extent to which knowledge of self-construal and cultural identity can improve therapeutic outcomes, and she also volunteered for a text-based crisis hotline. Her interests lie in understanding how positive regard can be better integrated into modern psychotherapies, as well as how culture may influence perception of positive regard. Prior to her time at Teachers College, Mossie received a grant to teach English in France and Russia and worked as a sommelier. She can be reached at mrl2191@tc.columbia.edu.

Jackie Patmore's involvement in the eating disorders field spans multiple roles of researcher, educator, clinician and advocate. As a Program Manager at the Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, Jackie was involved with studies that implemented evidence-based treatments for eating disorders in clinical settings. She assisted in the creation of an online CBT intervention and assisted in a project providing FBT for children with BED. Additionally, Jackie helped to establish IPT as a primary treatment for eating disorders, depression and anxiety in university clinics nationwide. Prior to coming to TC, Jackie worked in a mental health treatment center and did work with veteran-centered initiatives. She was also involved with  government-funded interventions, assessing barriers to care. Currently, Jackie manages the Eating Disorder and Disclosure Lab, supervising 8 master's students on research initiatives related to therapeutic communication in eating disorder treatment. The group has a specific interests in the areas of sexual abuse, trauma, self-injury, and eating disorders. Jackie can be reached at jmp2267@tc.columbia.edu

Daisy Ort is a fifth-year doctoral candidate in the Clinical Psychology PhD program. Her research experience with the Psychotherapy, Affirmation, & Disclosure Lab began as a Masters student at Teachers College in 2013. Prior to beginning her doctoral studies, Daisy worked within New York City’s mental health and legal systems conducting research at a criminal justice nonprofit, co-leading weekly support groups at federal jails, and facilitating forensic psychological evaluations for immigration purposes. As a graduate student, Daisy is interested in better understanding relational aspects of psychotherapy across different contexts. Previous research projects assessed the role of informal supervision among psychotherapy trainees, and client disclosure in correctional settings. Currently, Daisy and her research team are exploring factors associated with therapists' perceptions of positive regard, as well as clients’ experience of teletherapy since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Daisy can be reached at co2313@tc.columbia.edu

Shana Dickstein is a second-year doctoral candidate in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at Teachers College working with faculty member Dr. Barry Farber. Her research investigates therapist and patient disclosure within session with an interest in better understanding the “mental math” patients conduct when deciding whether or not to disclose aspects of their internal lives. She is also interested in understanding the importance of timing in patient and therapist disclosures, with a particular curiosity in how disclosures relates to Kohut’s concept of “optimal frustration.”  Shana is currently leading The Disclosure Lab in designing a study which investigates how patients come to learn about various aspects of their therapists identity. For example, what is disclosed explicitly vs implicitly by a therapist? Who originates such disclosures and how important are they to the patient? How do such disclosures or lack thereof live on in a patient’s mind?  Shana can be reached at sd3218@tc.columbia.edu.

Gus Mayopoulos is a fourth-year doctoral candidate in the Clinical Psychology program and has been a member of the Psychotherapy, Affirmation, & Disclosure Lab since 2019. Before coming to Teachers College, Gus received a B.A. in history from Harvard College and researched childbirth-related posttraumatic stress disorder at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is interested in better understanding how the benign side of the Internet's disinhibiting nature can be and is currently used for psychotherapeutic purposes, both inside and outside the therapy room. Wherever he has Internet access, he can be reached at pam2197@tc.columbia.edu.