megan chesin, ph.d. (director)

B.A., The college of william and mary

Ph.d., city university of new york (CUNY)

Dr. Chesin completed her graduate studies in Clinical Psychology at the City University of New York and a postdoctoral research fellowship at Columbia University. Dr. Chesin has extensive training and experience in Cognitive Therapy (CT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). She currently provides training and supervision to psychologists and other practicing clinicians on MBCT and brief CT-based interventions to prevent suicide. She studies biobehavioral risk factors for impulsive-aggression, third-wave behavioral interventions, and mechanisms that explain treatment gains among impulsive and aggressive individuals. Her work has been supported by a foundation grant and is published in several leading psychiatry and psychology journals. During her graduate schooling and post-doctoral fellowship, she participated as a Research Scientist on several National Institute of Mental Health and foundation-funded clinical trials testing interventions to prevent impulsive-aggressive behavior, adaptations for suicidal Latinas, and biobehavioral treatment targets. She currently consults on a randomized controlled trial that is funded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs testing Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy to Prevent Suicidal Behavior (MBCT-S) among high suicide-risk Veterans. She is the 2016 recipient of the Young Investigator Award from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. She is a Consulting Editor for Archives of Suicide Research and a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Latina/o Psychology. In her spare time, Dr. Chesin enjoys hanging out with her two young children and her husband, politics, working out, all kinds of shows (from Broadway to TV) and movies.

Rachel Harris, M.A.

B.A., University at Albany, State University of New York

M.A., Teachers College, Columbia University

Rachel is an eighth-year student in the WPU Psy.D. program. Rachel is currently on internship at West Palm Beach Veteran Affairs Medical Center, West Palm Beach, FL. She is also working under the direction of Drs. Chesin and Alejandro Interian at the VA on completing her dissertation investigating the impact of the quality and completeness of the Stanley-Brown Safety Planning Intervention on outcomes among high suicide risk Veterans. Her interests include the development and provision of culturally relevant mental health interventions for high risk populations who have experienced chronic stress, suicidal ideations, suicide attempts, and trauma.

Stephen Byrne, M.P.S.

B.A., University of Maryland, College Park

M.P.S., University of Maryland, College Park 

Stephen is a fifth-year student in the WPU Psy.D. program. Stephen is currently an extern at the Metropolitan Center for Mental Health. He has previously worked at the College of Staten Island Counseling Center, the New York-Presbyterian Westchester Behavioral Health Center on the inpatient Addiction Recovery track, and at the Baruch College Counseling Center. He has also previously taught WPU undergraduates as an adjunct instructor. He previously worked at Westat, a public health research company in Rockville, MD, where he helped conduct a public health survey and train the company’s data collectors. Stephen is interested in pursuing comprehensive DBT training, researching risk factors for borderline personality disorder, and treating patients with co-occurring conditions, particularly substance use disorders.

Kaitlin (Kait) Gilleran, M.A. 

B.A., Montclair State University 

M.A., Fairleigh Dickinson University  

Kait is a fifth-year student in the WPU Psy.D. program. Kait is currently on internship at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital. They have previously worked at the Veterans Affairs New Jersey Health Care System in Lyons, NJ, the New York-Presbyterian Westchester Behavioral Health Center on the inpatient Psychosis and Related Disorders track, and Gracie Square Hospital. While completing their Master's, they assisted in research labs studying personalities, sexual grooming, and the intersection of mentalization deficits and acts of targeted violence. They have previously externed at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital (forensic units) and worked in a crisis emergency department, which facilitated an interest in working with and researching populations experiencing symptoms of severe and persistent mental illness. 

KAYLA MALONEY, M.A.

B.A., State University of New York College at Geneseo

M.A., Iona University

Kayla is a fourth-year student in the WPU Psy.D. program. Kayla is currently an extern at New York-Presbyterian Westchester Behavioral Health on the geriatric inpatient unit. She has previously worked at the Veterans Affairs New Jersey Health Care System in Lyons, NJ, and at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation on the Health and Rehab Track. While completing her Master’s degree, Kayla assisted in research studies evaluating the effectiveness of mindfulness training as a mobile-based program for reducing stress among undergraduate students. Kayla has also worked as a research coordinator at the Stony Brook University Hospital Psychiatric Department, where she assisted in research on the effects of sleep deprivation on depressive symptoms. She has also worked closely with individuals diagnosed with serious mental illness in a residential setting through a nonprofit organization regulated by the New York State Office of Mental Health. Kayla is currently interested in researching mindfulness techniques and working with individuals who experience symptoms of a serious mental illness.

Aditya Vasavan, M.A.

B.A., St. Olaf College

M.A., New York University

Aditya is a fourth-year student in the WPU Psy.D. program. Aditya is currently an extern at the Manhattan Psychology Group. He has previously worked at Spectrum Psychological Services and Envisage Neuropsychology. Prior to attending WPU, Aditya worked as a clinical supervisor and direct care provider administering relationship development intervention for with children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). His current interests are clinical in nature and include integrating aspects of various therapies to create more comprehensive treatment for individuals with ASD.

Leah Cohn, B.A.

B.A., Reichman University

Leah is a third-year student in the WPU Psy.D. program. She is currently an extern at New York Anxiety Treatment (NYAT), delivering exposure-focused interventions to patients with primarily OCD and anxiety disorders. She previously completed an externship at the New York-Presbyterian Westchester Behavioral Health Center, where she delivered individual and group CBT to adults with anxiety, OCD, PTSD, and depression and administered neuropsychological and psychiatric assessments. Prior to WPU, Leah was a Lead Clinical Research Coordinator at the Depression and Anxiety Center for Discovery and Treatment at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, managing a federally funded trial comparing ECT and IV ketamine treatments for acute suicidal depression. She also conducted research in the Cognitive Aging and Neuropsychology Lab at Reichman University. Her current clinical and research interests include mood and anxiety disorders, OCD, acute suicidal depression, and PTSD. She is also interested in third-wave behavioral therapies and exposure-based treatments.

Jeanmarie Harvey, B.S.

B.S., Stockton university

Jeanmarie is a second-year Psy.D. student in the WPU Psy.D. program. Jeanmarie is currently an extern at the Veterans Affairs New Jersey Health Care System in Lyons, NJ. She previously worked as a research assistant in the Psychiatric Neurocognition Lab at NYU Langone Health and the Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research (NKI). While at NYU & NKI, Jeanmarie assisted with multiple NIH and foundation funded OCD and depression neuroimaging studies. Her current research and clinical interests include anxiety disorders and the intersection of physical and mental health. 

Yael turk, B.a.

B.a., muhlenberg college

Yael is a second-year student in the WPU Psy.D. program. Yael is currently an extern at Envisage Neuropsychology. She previously served as a lead clinical research coordinator at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Cancer Center, where she managed a large, multi-site randomized controlled trial examining the effectiveness of in-person versus telehealth in early integrated palliative care for patients with advanced lung cancer. After two years in this role, she then served as lead clinical research assistant with the Adolescent Mental Health Collaborative at Brown University Health, overseeing two NIH-funded studies investigating how social media use influences adolescents’ anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Her current research interests focus on the psychosocial and developmental factors underlying anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation in adolescents and young adults.

Emilia Fonseca, B.s.

B.S., University of Massachusetts Amherst

Emilia is a first-year student in the WPU Psy.D. Program. She has previously worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator at the Veterans Affairs Mental Illness Research and Education Clinical Center in The Bronx, NY, where she gained experience piloting and implementing novel group interventions for Veteran suicide prevention.  She has worked closely with Veterans with serious mental illness and suicidality at the VA, and with youth and families at a community mental health center. Emilia is currently interested in implementing family-based and psychosocial interventions to prevent suicide, and in understanding the etiology of suicidality, anxiety- and trauma-related disorders in adolescents and young adults through a developmental lens. 

Becca Kinsella, M.S.W.

B.A., University of Missouri

M.S.W., Columbia University

Becca is a first-year student in the WPU PsyD program. Prior to attending WPU, Becca worked as a forensic social worker providing support and advocacy to individuals incarcerated in the New York City jail system. In this role, she worked with individuals with severe and persistent mental illness, addiction, and significant histories of trauma. In addition to direct client work, Becca provided supervision and training to staff. Her interests include the use of Dialectical Behavior Therapy in incarcerated populations and the reliability of forensic mental health evaluations.