Health Psychology and Cardiovascular Disease

Most people are aware of psychologists who do therapy through personal experience or the media but there are different subspecialties with the field of psychology. One of those subspecialties is health psychology. Health psychologists look at behavior, emotional factors, and social issues as contributors to medical health and illnesses. These clinical specialists use psychological knowledge to help patients prevent medical illness and assist patients in their treatment when they may have a medical illness. Today, Dr. Howard Gurr, the host for Psychology and You will be talking to Dr. Lubna Somjee about health psychology and cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Lubna Somjee is a clinical and health psychologist. Her practice is in the Hudson Valley, New York. Dr. Somjee obtained her doctoral degree at the University of South Dakota in clinical psychology. She then went on to complete two additional years of specialized post-doctoral fellowship training. Her first postdoctoral fellowship was at the Yale School of Medicine in clinical psychology and her second postdoctoral fellowship in clinical health psychology, at the Veterans Administration in West Haven Connecticut.

Her practice includes providing psychotherapy services to adults, adolescents and couples. She also specializes in health psychology services for individuals with chronic medical illnesses, including heart disease. Such services include helping patients manage their medical health utilizing psychosocial strategies, in addition to their medical treatments. She has consulted to physicians and worked in developing programs to provide psychosocial training and supervision to medical residents and fellows in hospital settings.

Dr. Somjee writes a monthly column in the Poughkeepsie Journal’s health section, titled ‘Mindful Living.’ She provides interviews for national and local media and speaks on topics related to clinical and health psychology. She offers executive coaching and business consultation services focusing on increasing organizational capacity, and wellness. You can find more about Dr. Somjee by going to her website http://www.lubnasomjee-phd.com/.

Why Choose a Psychologist

In this show, Dr. Lustberg speaks with Dr. Barbara Fontana a psychologist, who practices in Shoreham, New York. They discuss the differences between psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers.

Dr. Fontana has been seeing couples and individuals for over 30 years. She received her Ph.D. from St. John's University in 1975. Dr. Fontana is also the past president of the Suffolk County Psychological Association. She is currently serving as the secretary for the New York State Psychological Association. Dr. Fontana is the current co-chair of the New York State Psychological Association's Crisis in Private Practice Task Force, which was formed in 2007.

The Psychological Effects of Infertility

On this podcast, Dr. Richard Lustberg talks with Dr. Joann Galst about about the psychological effects of infertility.

Joann Paley Galst, Ph.D. is a psychologist in private practice in New York City specializing in mind-body medicine and reproductive health issues, including infertility, pregnancy loss, and pregnancy and parenting after infertility. She is a past Chair of the Mental Health Professional Group of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and is currently the Co-director of Support Services for the American Fertility Association. She is the author of numerous articles on infertility and is a nationally recognized expert on the psychological aspects of reproductive health. In her work with individuals, couples, and groups, she believes that good family building decision making starts with well-substantiated facts and clarification of feelings.

Dr Howard Millman - Pain To Joy

Dr. Howard Gurr interviews Dr. Howard Millman about techniques used to turn physical and emotional pain into joy.

Dr. Howard L. Millman practices individual and family psychotherapy and counseling in White Plains and Pound Ridge, NY. He received a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Adelphi University and completed a clinical psychology internship at the Neuropsychiatric Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles. Past positions include being Chief Psychologist at the Middlesex County Mental Health Clinic and Director of Psychology and Research at the Children’s Village, a residential treatment center. He has taught psychology and supervised clinical activities of doctoral students at the City College of New York and at Rutgers - the state University, and was president of the Westchester County Psychological Association.

Dr. Millman has published many diverse articles in professional journals. He is the co-author of seven books - Therapies for Adults, Behavior and Goals in Psychotherapy and Counseling, How to Help Children with Common Problems, Therapies for Children, Therapies for School Behavior Problems, Therapies for Psychosomatic Disorders in Children, and Advances in Therapies for Children. Being interviewed on “Sixty Minutes” was one of his many appearances on television. He has made many national presentations and conducts workshops on pain to joy and healthy life styles.

OCD - Indicators and Treatments

Dr. Simon Rego and host Dr. Howard Gurr discuss the indicators and treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)

Simon A. Rego, PsyD, ACT is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, as well as Associate Director of Psychology Training and a Supervising Psychologist in the Adult Outpatient Psychiatry Department of Montefiore Medical Center. He is also Director of Quality Management and Development at University Behavioral Associates, a consultant to both the Institutional Review Board of the Biomedical Research Alliance of New York and the Sleep-Wake Disorders Center at Montefiore Medical Center, and an Adjunct Clinical Supervisor at both the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology of Yeshiva University and the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology of Rutgers University.

Dr. Rego has been certified in Cognitive Therapy by the Academy of Cognitive Therapy and is currently President of the Cognitive Therapy Special Interest Group within the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. He is listed in the Who's Who in Medical Sciences Education and the Who’s Who in America and is the recipient of the 2008 Virginia Staudt Sexton Award for Distinguished Early Career Psychologists by the New York State Psychological Association.

Dr. Rego’s clinical expertise is in the cognitive-behavioral treatment of anxiety, mood, sleep, and body focused repetitive disorders. He has authored numerous journal articles and book chapters on topics such as panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, hoarding, insomnia, depression, trichotillomania, and stress management, and has been featured as an expert in national media outlets including ABC's Good Morning America NOW, ABC's Eyewitness News, News 12 The Bronx, Radio France Internationale, MSNBC.com, WebMD.com, Weightwatchers.com, and HealthDay.com.

Trauma in children: How it starts, how it progresses, and how to get it to stop.

Today’s podcast is a conversation between Dr. Howard Gurr, the host of "Psychology and You", and Dr. Billie Pivnick on trauma and children. Dr. Billie Pivnick is a Visiting Associate Professor in the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program at Teacher’s College, Columbia University, on the faculties of the Family Forensic Postdoctoral Program and the Institute of Contemporary Psychotherapy in New York City, and Consulting Psychologist to Thinc Design partnered with the National September 11 Memorial Museum.

Dr. Penny Donnenfeld - Stress Reduction Psychology

On this podcast, Dr Richard Lustberg talks with Dr. Penny Donnenfeld about stress. Stress has been shown to cause and contribute to a large number of psychological disorders.

Dr. Penny Donnenfeld is a clinical psychologist with over 20 years experience. She has received a doctoral degree in clinical psychology from Yeshiva University. During the past 20 years, Dr. Donnenfeld has held coordinator and supervisory positions at Jacoby Medical Center, Yeshiva University and The Teachers College at Columbia University. Presently, Dr. Donnenfeld is in private practice in Manhattan and Springfield, New Jersey. She has a particular interest in working with stress and stress related disorders. This work entails developing individual stress reduction plans and teaching skills that enable the patient to maintain health promoting practices.