These Counseling and Psychological Services providers have particular interest, experience, or advanced training in veterans' concerns. Students are welcome to work with these providers if they wish.
Please call 212-854-2878 to schedule an appointment with a member of this team.
Veterans Concerns Team Members
Dr. Yaniv Phillips joined Columbia Health in 2004. Prior to Columbia, he was a senior clinical psychologist and supervisor at North Central Bronx Hospital, where he worked with HIV patients and their families, men with sexuality concerns, and couples. Yaniv earned his B.A. at Tel Aviv University, Israel and his M.A. and Ph.D. at Adelphi University Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies. He completed his internship at the Karen Horney Clinic. He continued on to complete specialized training at the advanced couples and family therapy program at the New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis.
Dr. Phillips’ professional interests include couples therapy, the psychology of immigration, relationship issues, and men’s experience of intimacy and sexual health. He sees individuals and couples for psychotherapy, and conducts experiential workshops for couples on enhancing relationships, as well as offering ongoing intensive workshop on procrastination. A member of the Counseling and Psychological Services' Outreach Team, Yaniv is bilingual, fluent in English and Hebrew.
Professional Experience
- NYU Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis - couples and family therapy program
- North Central Bronx Hospital
- Jacobi Medical Center
- Henry Ittelson Center for Child Research
Education
- Ph.D., Adelphi University
- M.A., Adelphi University
- B.A., Tel Aviv University
Certifications and Licensure
- Licensed to practice psychology in the State of New York
Memberships
- American Psychological Association
- Division of Psychoanalysis of the American Psychological Association
Languages Spoken
- English
- Hebrew
Renee Gibbs joined Columbia Health in 2020 after nine years of psychology practice in the Department of Veterans Affairs. Dr. Gibbs provided treatment and led program development efforts in eating disorder treatment and training, including serving as the national lead trainer and consultant for the Eating Disorder Initiative. In addition to eating disorder treatment, Dr. Gibbs's work has included multidisciplinary therapy for gender transition and gender dysphoria, program development for severe and persistent mental illness, and delivery and adaptations of dialectical behavior therapy. Her primary career goals are to improve multidisciplinary care and psychotherapeutic outcomes for eating disorder patients and increase access to eating disorder treatment in public health settings.
Dr. Gibbs completed her doctoral degree at Seattle Pacific University in 2011 and training experiences in public mental health and VA settings. Her interests outside of work include her family, international travel, and dance.
Professional Experience
- Lead Trainer and Consultant, VA Central Office Eating Disorder Initiative
- Research Psychologist, West Haven VA Medical Center, PRIME Center for Innovation
- Staff Psychologist, Central Arkansas VA Healthcare System
Education
- Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, Seattle Pacific University
- M.A. Psychology, Seattle Pacific University
- B.A. Psychology, Seattle Pacific University
Certifications and Licensure
- New York State License in Progress
- Arkansas State License
Memberships
- American Psychological Association
- Academy of Eating Disorders
Michele Goldman joined Columbia Health in 2020. She received her doctorate in clinical psychology with a concentration in traumatic stress from Adler School of Professional Psychology in Chicago, IL. Prior to joining Columbia, Michele completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the Hampton Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center in Hampton, VA. She then accepted a full time staff psychologist position at Veteran’s Affairs New York Harbor Healthcare System, Brooklyn Campus.
Michele has also worked in a variety of settings including residential treatment programs, schools, prisons, and rehabilitation/medical units. Her clinical interests have focused on issues related to trauma, relational patterns, anxiety, depression and Veteran specific issues. Due to the fact that she has worked with individuals across the age span and from multiple settings, Michele approaches treatment in a nonjudgmental way, focused on meeting the individual where they are, integrating techniques to best fit the needs of each person. She will often incorporate a mindfulness-based approach in her work with students.
Education
- Psy.D. Clinical Psychology, Adler School of Professional Psychology
- M.A. Counseling Psychology, Adler School of Professional Psychology
- B.S. Neuroscience, Union College
Certifications and Licensure
- Licensed to practice psychology in the State of New York
Memberships
- American Psychological Association (APA)
- Division 56 (Trauma Psychology)
- International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS)
Languages Spoken
- English
Marcia Stern joined Columbia Health in 2019. Prior to joining Columbia she worked as a Military Sexual Trauma Counselor for the Department of Veterans Affairs Readjustment Counseling Service, providing individual and group therapy. Marcia has supervised numerous treatment and clinical research projects including a treatment effectiveness trial for children and adolescents exposed to the events of 9/11 at The Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the Jewish Board of Children & Family Services, assessment of a school-based suicide prevention screen at the Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at Columbia University, and training student law guardians in mental health issues at the Hofstra University School of Law.
Marcia received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from St. John’s University and her B.A. in Psychology from Brooklyn College. She completed her internship training in clinical psychology at Hillside Hospital,
Long Island Jewish Medical Center and a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Psychiatric Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.
Marcia enjoys working with a wide range of students including those concerned with issues of adjustment, anxiety, depression, emotion regulation, and interpersonal problems. Her professional interests include the impact of exposure to trauma, veterans, and women’s issues.
Education
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Psychiatric Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University
- Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, St. John’s University
- B.A., Psychology, Brooklyn College
Certifications and Licensure
- Licensed to practice psychology in the State of New York
Memberships
- American Psychological Association
- Division 8 (Society for Personality and Social Psychology)
Languages Spoken
- English
Dr. Emilia Mikrut (she/her) joined Columbia Health in August 2024.
She received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from St. John's University and completed her internship at the Manhattan VA. During her doctoral training, she also provided clinical services at Queens Hospital and St. John's University’s community mental health clinic.
As a clinician, Emilia's therapeutic orientation is integrative, weaving together a psychodynamic relational lens with elements of cognitive behavioral therapy. Her personal interest in the arts and storytelling serves as a useful framework for helping others navigate challenging life circumstances. Emilia believes that building a strong therapeutic relationship through authenticity, warmth, and collaboration is paramount; it is within this relational space that clients may feel safe to begin engaging in self-exploration, developing acceptance and self-confidence, and enacting positive change. Her clinical interests include anxiety and depression, trauma, interpersonal difficulties, grief, military veteran's issues, and autism.
Emilia's approach to clinical work is also informed by her research background, which is focused on understanding how social determinants of health (e.g., stigma/discrimination; financial instability; interpersonal relationship quality) shape the ways one views themselves, others, and the world around them.
In her spare time, Emilia enjoys reading, playing board/card games with friends, going on long walks, and attending art shows around the city.
Professional Experience
- Postdoctoral Fellowship: Columbia University Counseling and Psychological Services
- Pre-Doctoral Clinical Internship: U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs New York Harbor Healthcare System, Manhattan Campus
- Pre-Doctoral Clinical Externship: U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs New York Harbor Healthcare System, Manhattan Campus
- Pre-Doctoral Clinical Externship: NYC Health and Hospital / Queens
- Pre-Doctoral Clinical Externship: St. John's University Center for Psychological Services
Education
- Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, St. John's University
- M.A., Clinical Psychology, St. John's University
- B.A., Psychology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Hunter College - City University of New York
Certifications and Licensure
- Limited permit to practice psychology in the state of New York
Published Articles
- Pan, C., Crupi, R., August, P., Sundaram, V., Norful, A., Schwartz, J., Miele, A., Simons, R., Mikrut, E. E., & Brondolo, E. (2023). An Intensive Longitudinal Assessment Approach to Surveilling Trajectories of Burnout over the First Year of the COVID Pandemic. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20, 2930. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20042930
- Cipollina, R., Sanchez, D., & Mikrut, E. E. (2022). Disclosing mental illness to share or test stigma? Disclosure motivations and disclosure directness. Stigma and Health. https://doi.org/10.1037/sah0000428
- Ju, T. R., Mikrut, E. E., Spinelli, A., Romain, A.-M., Brondolo, E., Sundaram, V., & Pan, C. X. (2022). Factors associated with burnout among resident physicians responding to the COVID-19 pandemic: A 2-month longitudinal observation study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(15), 9714. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159714
- Mikrut, E. E., Keating, L., Barnwell, P., Cioffi, L., Vega, D., Contrada, R., & Brondolo, E. (2021). Pathways from exposure to racial/ethnic discrimination to depression: Testing a social cognitive model. Social Science and Medicine, 114558. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114558
- Mikrut, E. E., Panjwani, A. A., Cipollina, R., & Revenson, T. A. (2019). Emotional adjustment among parents of adolescents and young adults with cancer: The influence of social constraints on cognitive processing and fear of recurrence. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 1-9. doi:10.1007/s10865-019-00072-x
Languages Spoken
- English
- Polish (conversational)
Dr. David Hittson joined Columbia Health as a psychologist in 2017. He also completed his post-doctoral fellowship at Counseling and Psychological Services. Prior to Columbia, David trained at the Brooklyn and Manhattan campuses of the New York Harbor Veteran’s Administration Hospital, at Interfaith Medical Center, and at Barnard’s Furman Counseling Center. David attended New York University’s counseling psychology program and graduated in the summer of 2016. While there, his research interests focused on the relationship of acculturation to mental health. David’s professional interests include veteran’s issues, issues of acculturation, depression, anxiety, trauma, identity issues, relationship concerns, and adjustment concerns.
Education
- Ph.D., New York University
- M.A., New York University
Memberships
- American Psychological Association
Adam Johnson joined Columbia Health in 2017. Adam received his doctorate in clinical psychology with a concentration in traumatic stress from the Adler School of Professional Psychology in Chicago, Ill. He also completed a fellowship in psychoanalysis with the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis in 2012.
Prior to joining Columbia, Adam completed his doctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the Veterans Affairs Caribbean Healthcare System in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He has also worked in a variety of settings including private practice, community mental health and medical clinics. His clinical work and interests have focused on issues related to trauma, loss, bereavement, health psychology (e.g. smoking cessation, weight management, chronic and terminal illness), mindfulness, and relational patterns.
Adam is committed to the mental health of LGBTQ and veterans. He enjoys incorporating an individual’s creative talents (i.e. music, art) and spirituality into therapy. Adam also has extensive experience working with issues related to acculturation and cultural diversity. He has completed international psychology projects focused human rights, education and program development in Mexico, Costa Rica, South Africa and the Dominican Republic.
Education
- Psy.D., Clinical Psychology, Adler School of Professional Psychology
- M.A., Counseling Psychology, Adler School of Professional Psychology
- B.A., Psychology and Spanish, University of Iowa
- Certificate in Spanish Language, Literature, and Culture, Universidad de Guanajuato, Mexico
Certifications and Licensure
- Licensed to practice clinical psychology in New York state
Awards and Honors
- Social Justice Scholar, Adler School of Professional Psychology, 2009
Memberships
- American Psychological Association (APA)
- Division 44 (Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues)
- Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC)