Sarah Beranbaum, M.A.
Sarah's research focuses on the biopsychosocial impact of trauma-informed, group interventions. Sarah has partnered with community-based organizations to design respectful and collaborative research protocol in varying contexts including New York City domestic violence shelters, Cape Town beaches, and in Jordan's Za'atari Refugee Camp. In addition to research Sarah works as a trauma-informed yoga teacher, mindfulness counselor, and a student fellow at the Zolberg Institute for Migration and Mobility.
Noga Miron, M.A.
Noga's interests center around the complexities of the family system. With a background in social work, Noga has experience working with families in harsh custody disputes, as well as with parent-child dyads in a Child Development Center. Her research focuses on the family system as well. Specifically, she is interested in the long-term effects of repeated emotional trauma within the family, and especially how these types of trauma may influence the development of later suicidality, dissociation, and coping trajectories with losses and hardship.
Scott Mckernan, M.A.
Scott is a fifth-year doctoral student working in Dr. Wendy D'Andrea's lab. His research program focuses on trauma and sexual and gender minority (SGM) mental health and wellbeing. Currently, he is investigating discrimination as a potential form of trauma exposure and how an individual’s experience of discrimination may be affected by their trauma history. He also works with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies as a night attendant for their phase III clinical trial of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD and is interested in expanding this modality to treat individuals with substance use disorders. Clinically, he works with individuals with trauma and substance use disorders with a focus on SGM individuals.
CJ Healy, M.A.
CJ Healy, MA is a fourth-year doctoral student of clinical psychology at the New School for Social Research. They are a member of the Trauma and Affective Psychophysiology Lab under the mentorship of Wendy D'Andrea, PhD. Their research focuses on elaborating the psychological, behavioral, and physiological mechanisms of therapeutic action of psychedelics when used in naturalistic or clinical settings, particularly with respect to their potential utility in the treatment of developmental trauma. They draw on the theoretical frameworks of contemporary psychoanalysis and interpersonal neurobiology in order to approach an integrative understanding of symptom reduction and character change associated with psychedelic experiences. They are also a member of the Trainee Editorial Board of Psychedelic Medicine under co-editors-in-chief Peter Hendricks, PhD and Charles Nichols, PhD and the student coordinator of the Sándor Ferenczi Center under co-directors Adrienne Harris, PhD and Miriam Steele, PhD.
Olivia Resto, M.A.
Olivia is a second-year clinical psychology doctoral student. She is interested in how dissociation and trauma manifests within the body, specifically anxiety and learning about how it presents itself within different people. Outside of school she works with children of all ages and loves to move, whether it be dancing, yoga, or going to the gym.
Lyles Swift-Farley, M.A.
Lyles is a third-year clinical psychology doctoral student who is interested in how challenging environments in childhood (e.g., caregiver abuse and neglect, homophobia, transphobia and racism) impact the development of self-conscious emotions (i.e. shame) and resulting protective behaviors of dissociation, violence and aggression in adulthood. Other interests include the study of the therapeutic alliance, the application of body-based therapies and Internal Family Systems therapeutic modality in treating complex trauma. Lyles has been trained and certified as a Life Coach from Leadership That Works coach training program at the New York Open Center. At NSSR, Lyles completed the Substance Use and Mental Health track. They love to play sports, attend dance parties, and grow their small vegetable garden.
Justine Rudy, M.A.
Justine is a second-year doctoral candidate, interested in studying shame and dissociation, and the extent to which trauma impacts the relationship between the two. She is a first author on a published meta-analysis on this topic, and plans to continue this work for future projects. She is especially interested in psychophysiological aspects of dissociation, and expanding knowledge of how the body engages and disengages to the external world. In her undergraduate and masters career, Justine assisted and worked with doctoral students in this lab. Currently, her work focuses on understanding the language of shame and psychophysiological markers at which individuals experience subsequent dissociation. Clinically, she has experience with elementary school children, college students and young adults. Justine has worked primarily in psychodynamic and cognitive spaces, and is continuing to build her clinical profile.
Ellen Yates, M.A.
Ellen is a first-year clinical psychology doctoral student interested in the role of the brain in the downstream and social effects of trauma exposure. Her main research program focuses on capturing and characterizing the neurobiological correlates of dissociation and related states and traits, but her secondary focus is how these states and traits relate to larger social phenomena such as dehumanization, prejudice, and discrimination, particularly in the workplace. Before coming to the New School, Ellen worked in the community violence prevention field as a systems advocate for survivors of interpersonal and domestic violence, and she has previous experience in neuroanatomy and neuroethics research. In her doctoral work, she is passionate about directly considering both complex human experiences and underlying neurobiology. But outside of work, Ellen is passionate about strength training and trying to keep her many succulents alive.
Stephen Kirsch, M.A.
Stephen is a first-year PhD student and the current lab manager. He is interested in the impact of trauma on embodiment, and his current research examines the manners in which complex trauma disrupts and dislocates experiences of the body and processing of emotion. Stephen is interested in whether we can use a temporary experience of embodiment through another body to shift physiological processing in our own bodies. He is also curious to explore co-interoception and the ways in which others’ physiology impacts our own bodies’ response to stressors. Stephen graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where his research focused on the social economy of male bodies. Outside of the lab, Stephen enjoys the occasional casual-turn-serious spikeball match, and he’ll never turn down a game of hearts or cribbage.