Yulia Landa, Psy.D.

Principal Investigator

Yulia Landa, PsyD, MS, is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Director of the Psychology Fellowship Program at the VISN 3 Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC) at James J Peters VA Medical Center. Dr. Landa received a PsyD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Hartford, and an MS in Clinical and Translational Investigation from Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship in schizophrenia treatment and research at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University/New York Presbyterian Hospital, and a comprehensive training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) as a Scholar at the Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research. Dr. Landa conducts clinical and translational research aimed to improve treatment outcomes for patients suffering from psychosis.  Her work focuses on developing and evaluating targeted CBT for the treatment and prevention of psychosis and identifying critical mechanisms (psychological and neurobiological) of their effects.  She has established individual, group and family-based CBT programs for patients experiencing delusions, paranoia and voice-hearing. Her work on standardizing and evaluating Group CBT for Delusions is notable as one of the first validated CBT for psychosis models in the U.S. Dr. Landa has received multiple grant awards, including NARSAD Young Investigator Award to conduct research on her novel "Cognitive Group Treatment for Paranoia" and NIH KL2 Career Developmental Award for her project “CBT for the Prevention of Paranoia in Adolescents at High Risk.” To facilitate the dissemination of CBT for psychosis Dr. Landa has developed CBT for psychosis training programs and has been teaching clinicians both in the US and internationally.

Rachel Jespersen

 

Rachel Jespersen is the coordinator of the CBT for the Treatment and Prevention of Psychosis clinical and research program.  She manages administrative aspects and recruitment for the program’s research studies and coordinates referrals and intakes for the CBT for Psychosis clinical program.  Rachel graduated with honors from Baruch College, CUNY with a BA in Psychology and has a Master’s degree in Social Work from the Silver School of Social Work of New York University.  She is a licensed social worker in both New York (LMSW) and New Jersey (LSW).

 

Alex Fietzer, Ph.D.

 

Alex Fietzer is a postdoctoral fellow in clinical psychology at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill-Cornell Medical College where he is specializing in the treatment of psychotic disorders in adults.  He received his doctorate in counseling psychology from Fordham University and has trained in community mental health, hospital, neuropsychological, and college counseling settings.  Dr. Fietzer is working in the research lab of Dr. Yulia Landa investigating treatment and diagnosis of individuals with schizophrenia and at risk for psychosis.  His research interests include the cognitive sequelae of psychosis, the impact of cultural variables on treatment, the phenomenology of schizophrenia, and social justice.  He holds an M.A. in counseling psychology from the University of Minnesota and has published papers in peer-reviewed journals, a book chapter, and presented numerous papers at professional conferences.

Shaynna Herrera

 

Shaynna Herrera is currently a doctoral candidate in the Clinical Psychology Health Emphasis program at Yeshiva University. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Boston University, graduating cum laude with distinction in psychology. Upon completing her undergraduate degree, she worked as a research assistant in the Lieber Schizophrenia Research Clinic at the New York State Psychiatric Institute for 3 years. Her clinical interests include cognitive behavioral therapies aimed at decreasing positive and negative symptoms in individuals with schizophrenia and her research interests include investigating social cognition and facial emotion recognition in individuals with schizophrenia. She is currently completing a clinical externship with Dr. Landa, working on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Psychosis research and performing individual and group therapy in the Continuing Day Treatment Program.

Michael Alan Jacobs

 

Michael is an actor with broad experience. He holds a BFA in Musical Theater from Ithaca College, and has performed worldwide. He has been working for Memorial Sloane Kettering as an actor in the COMSKIL program since 2006, and was featured as part of an NBC news report about the program. Since 2009, he has been working with Dr. Landa as both an actor and a co-developer of the CBT for Psychosis role play stratagem. Michael has experience working with therapists, patients and family members in a wide range of training programs and studies. Michael is a member of Actor's Equity Association.

Lisa Lavoie

 

Lisa Lavoie is an illustrator who focuses on educational illustration. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Kansas City Art Institute. Her whimsical yet bold illustration style helps make reading fun. She loves to draw, and especially loves to draw people and animals.  She has been working with Dr. Landa since 2010, illustrating Cognitive Behavioral Therapy workbooks for both adolescents and adults. Currently, she is illustrating a parent skills book with Dr. Landa. Her other clients have included The New York Times, Women's Day, Unicef and The Seaman's Church Institute. 
 

Her work can be seen at www.lisalavoie.com 

Emily Roh

 

Emily Roh is an actress for Dr. Yulia Landa, aspiring to become a doctor. Though not an actress by profession, she had had done some work in voice acting that eventually grew into small-scale experiences in a local film and a health care commercial that she did while working in the public health field. She received her Masters in Public Health from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health after moving to New York from Bogota, Colombia in South America. After being raised in Philadelphia, going to college in Boston, and living in Bogota, her interest in big cities and people brought her NYC and, eventually, to a position at Weill Cornell. The research for Dr. Landa's study appealed most to Emily because it was "medical treatment with a twist."