Koblenz Spotlight
Jessica Koblenz, Psy.D. graduated from the LIU Post clinical psychology doctoral program in 2011. Her dissertation was titled The Experience of the Parentally Bereaved: A Qualitative Study, which was later published in the OMEGA-Journal of Death and Dying (March, 2015). Dr. Koblenz sees her degree as an extension of her long-standing fascination with people. Prior to LIU, this interest was reinforced by a Summer in Peru spent working in Spanish with young mothers and their children in a maximum security prison and at a mental health clinic.
Dr. Koblenz cites the dual track orientation as a highlight of her time at LIU, appreciating the valuable supervision for separate caseloads under each orientation. As a result, Dr. Koblenz explains that she gained new appreciation for integration during her training. What she learned from the Serious and Persistent Mental Illness track was also particularly relevant to her later clinical training. The supportive friendships within her cohort were also invaluable to Dr. Koblenz. One classmate is indeed a member of her family after marrying Dr. Koblenz’s brother following Koblenz’s initial introduction.
Dr. Koblenz’s subsequent training also upheld the LIU commitment to underserved populations. She began as an extern running Dialectical and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy groups within inpatient and outpatient settings at Zucker Hillside Hospital, Long Island Jewish Center. At Bellevue Medical Center, she had rotations in the forensic court, psychiatric emergency room, and Latino in-patient unit. She specialized in addiction and trauma as an intern at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, drawing from her SPMI training to treat psychosis while otherwise utilizing DBT, behavioral, and psychodynamic interventions and groups in Spanish and English.
After completing her internship, Dr. Koblenz began working at the Holliswood Hospital Military Wellness Program, ultimately fulfilling two roles as a psychologist and the Director of Training for the externship, internship, and Mental Health Counseling Students. This administrative role continued as the Clinic Director at PSCH Canarsie Mental Health Clinic. Currently, Dr. Koblenz is an outpatient psychologist at Harlem Hospital while supervising Columbia University medical students, psychiatry residents, and psychology doctoral students. Other projects include consulting work for Organizational, Consulting, and Work Psychology regarding employee assistance programs and advocating for psychologists’ rights through the New York State Psychological Association. In addition, she has a private practice in Astoria, Queens, NY. Dr. Koblenz is also excited to be researching barriers and pathways for healthcare access for female military service members alongside Madelyn Miller, LCSW and LIU’s own Dr. Suzanne Phillips.
In her free time, Dr. Koblenz can be found spending time with her daughter, appearing in films directed by her filmmaker/attorney husband, or enjoying an improv class.
For more information please visit www.AstoriaTherapist.com