Dr. Joshua Rosenthal is a New York & New Jersey licensed psychologist with expertise in child & adolescent treatment for a variety of mood, anxiety, social and developmental difficulties. He is also a behavioral consultant, the owner of a therapeutic summer camp in Manhattan, and motivational speaker.
Dr. Rosenthal graduated with a BA in Psychology from the University of Delaware in 1999, after which he worked at the Yale Child Psychiatric Inpatient Hospital. This first clinical experience with behavior therapy and child psychopathology is what prompted him to pursue clinical psychology.
In 2002, Dr. Rosenthal enrolled at CW Post for his doctoral training in Clinical Psychology, graduating in August of 2007. His dissertation titled, Predicting Psychotherapy Use in College Students from Nine Non-Clinical, College-Related Variables, examined whether various non-clinical, college-related variables accurately predicted psychotherapy use in college graduates. The results from 280 participants, ages 25-29 with a four-year college degree were analyzed with logistic regression to predict in- and post-college psychotherapy use. He found that gender, a close relationship with someone with mental illness, mental health outreach, and easy access to the student counseling center were found to be significant predictors of in-college psychotherapy use. These findings have implications for understanding non-clinical factors associated with one’s decision to seek mental help, and how colleges and universities might use this information to protect their students.
While at Post, Dr. Rosenthal was able to first blend his passion for psychology with business to launch TherapyMatch.com, a business development and marketing company for mental health professionals. More importantly, CW Post is where he met and eventually married a fellow classmate, Niloo Dardashti, PsyD.
In August 2003, Dr. Rosenthal finished his internship at Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, NJ and was hired on as the Staff Psychologist, a position he created for himself while an intern. He developed and executed a DBT program for their acute adult inpatient unit. After leaving Holy Name Hospital, Dr. Rosenthal completed his post-doctoral licensure requirements at two group practices in NJ.
While still living and working in New Jersey, Dr. Rosenthal cold-called several colleges and mental health centers in New York City. He was eventually hired as the Outreach Coordinator and Peer Counseling Program Coordinator for The City College of New York where he trained faculty, staff, and students in stress reduction, anger management, time management, test anxiety, insomnia, and depression/suicide awareness.
Shortly thereafter in 2008, Dr. Rosenthal became licensed to practice independently in New York and decided to launch his private practice. After cold-calling 25 pediatric groups in Manhattan, he was able to find suitable space at Pediatrics of NY on the Upper Eastside, where he currently serves as their resident psychologist two days per week. This continues to be an excellent opportunity to collaborate with pediatricians and network with other child-focused providers.
Now with two offices in Manhattan, Dr. Rosenthal provides structured play therapy, individual CBT, social skills training groups, parent training, family therapy, and school consultation. He has written on the behavioral treatment of ADHD and given grand rounds on Asperger’s Disorder at Lenox Hill Hospital.
In 2009, stemming from cognitive-behavioral theory, Dr. Rosenthal launched MotivationalSpark.com, a motivational speaking program for colleges and organizations. His clients include The City College of New York and the French Culinary Institute.
In the summer of 2011, Dr. Rosenthal launched his biggest endeavor yet, Big Apple Day Program, a behaviorally-oriented, evidenced-based social skills summer camp in Manhattan. Their mission is to teach new skills to children in areas such as peer relationships, problem-solving, self-esteem, academic performance, anger management, and behavioral compliance which they can use to help them excel when they return to school. The program is intensive (e.g., 40+ hours per week), behaviorally-oriented (e.g., daily report cards, point and reward system, time-outs) and occurs across multiple settings (e.g., classroom, recreational activities, community). They also offer academic remediation via special education teachers and weekly parent training to teach parents how to improve behavior at home.
Looking back, Dr. Rosenthal feels grateful for his training experiences and fortunate for having taken risks where he saw opportunities. There were many mentors along the way that encouraged and guided him to think strategically to overcome obstacles. His psychology career is both challenging and rewarding. Looking forward, he hopes to continue his clinical work with children, while also exploring larger scale ventures that tap psychology.