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Licensed Psychologist      Writer      Researcher   Women’s Maternal Mental Health
ANXIETY TREATMENT
 * DEPRESSION TREATMENT * OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER * POSTPARTUM AND MATERNAL MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT * COPING WITH MEDICAL ISSUES

 
Picture of Nicole Pensak, Ph.D. in Office

Dr. Nicole Amoyal Pensak is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist that specializes in providing anxiety treatment, depression treatment, and postpartum mental health treatment. She provides evidence-based therapy based on the latest research and tailors treatment to the unique needs of each client.

Dr. Pensak received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Rhode Island and her practicum training in Neuropsychology at Brown University. She completed her APA accredited internship and specialty training in behavioral medicine at Yale School of Medicine.  She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital/ Harvard Medical School in psychiatric oncology and an NIH T32 fellowship at the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Center in Aging and Palliative Care. As a Harvard and Yale-trained Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Pensak provides empirically-based treatment that is uniquely tailored to meet the needs of each client.

Dr. Pensak has held various academic positions including Assistant Professor at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Assistant Scientist at Hackensack University Medical Center, Assistant Professor of Oncology at Georgetown University School of Medicine, and Director of Psycho-Oncology at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Hope Tower. She is currently a Co-Investigator of a NIH-funded R01 Trial including her caregiver intervention, Pep-Pal at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

Dr. Pensak's goal is to help you understand yourself more deeply through the psychotherapy experience and to help you reach your full potential with freedom from anxiety, depression, and OC. She also specializes in perinatal mental health and helps mothers thrive in motherhood. 

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Areas of Expertise

 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy/ Evidence-based Anxiety Treatment, Depression Treatment, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Treatment
Evidence-based therapy for symptoms of anxiety, depression, and obsessive compulsive disorder for Adults and Adolescents.
 
Postpartum Mental Health and Motherhood
Evidence-based therapy for symptoms of postpartum anxiety, depression, and obsessive compulsive disorder. Coping with the transition and how to thrive in early motherhood.  Dr. Pensak is an expert in maternal mental health and has appeared in numerous media outlets speaking on the topic. In addition, her book on maternal mental health and thriving in motherhood will be published in 2024 by Norton. 
 
 Individual & Parents Therapy
Specializing in treating adults, adolescents, and parents with evidence-based treatment that is supported by latest research, predominantly working from a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy framework.
 
Coping with Cancer and Medical Illness
Dr. Pensak provides  therapy while at any time during survivorship. She specializes in helping patients cope with symptoms and side effects associated with cancer and treatment.
Consulting
Dr. Pensak is a nationally recognized researcher for mobile health (mhealth) intervention development and dissemination. She is a mental health correspondent available for interviews, to teach seminars, deliver guest lectures, and provide community presentations.
Writing
Dr. Pensak is available for writing for various scientific and mainstream media outlets. Please contact her for quotes, guest blog posts, podcast appearances, and media interviews.

Thrilled to Announce My New Book Coming 2024!!
Follow me @drnikkipensak to stay updated 

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Media

media

Interviews

Instagram interview with Tara Clark, Author of Modern Mom Probs @Modernmomprobs

Podcasts

Podcast: A Better Way, Making it as a Mompreneur by Nicole Pensak
Dr. Nicole Pensak Podcast Link

Latest Articles

Writing

Conley, C.C., McIntyre, M., Pensak, N.A., Lynce, F., Graham, D., Ismail-Khan, R., Lopez, K., Vadaparampil, S.T., & O'Neill, S.C.  (In press).  Barriers and facilitators to taking CDK4/6 inhibitors among patients with metastatic breast cancer: A qualitative study. Breast Cancer Research & Treatment.

 

Sannes, TS; Ranby, KW; Yusufov, M; Brewer, BW; Jacobs, JM; Callan, S; Ulrich, GR; Pensak, NA; Natvig, CL; Laudenslager, ML.
(in press) More often than not, we’re in sync: Patient and caregiver well-being over time...
Health and Quality of Life Outcomes.

 

Pensak, N. A., Carr, A. L., Jones, J., Mikulich‐Gilbertson, S. K., Kutner, J. S., Kilbourn, K., ... & Laudenslager, M. L. (2020).
A pilot study of mobilized intervention to help caregivers of oncology patients manage distress. Psycho‐Oncology.

Feature Article

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