Gena Gorlin

After a brief stint as an opera singer in training at the New England Conservatory, I realized that my creative proclivities were better channeled into the art and science of improving human psychological well-being. In 2008 I graduated summa cum laude from Tufts University with a Bachelor of Science in psychology and philosophy, and went on to gain additional experience as a research assistant and clinical interviewer in the Massachusetts General Hospital psychiatry department. In 2010 I began my doctoral studies in clinical psychology at the University of Virginia (UVA) under the mentorship of Dr. Bethany Teachman. There, I developed a program of research examining how cognitive and motivational mental processes interactively contribute to anxiety and related emotional disorders. My experimental research in these areas has yielded 10 peer-reviewed publications, a book chapter, and 14 talks and presentations at professional conferences. For my dissertation research I developed and tested a novel intervention strategy that promoted post-failure reengagement in goal-pursuit by targeting both motivational and cognitive mechanisms of rumination. I went on to complete my clinical psychology residency at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, where I worked with Drs. Mark Zimmerman and Kristy Dalrymple on research examining the psychosocial and psychiatric profiles of adults with cognitive deficits (specifically ADHD). Currently I am completing a postdoctoral fellowship under Dr. Michael Otto’s mentorship at Boston University, where I am conducting evidence-based psychotherapy at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders (CARD) and continuing to develop my own independent research program. My ultimate mission is to creatively bridge clinical science and practice to offer more innovative, individually tailored psychological treatments.

November 2016