Courtney Rennicke Ph.D.

Courtney Rennicke Ph.D.

I am an attachment-focused clinical psychologist and trainer. I am currently completing a degree in organizational psychology and change.

CONTACT

Courtney Rennicke Ph.D
Director
P: (212) 337-3565 
CR@rennickeassociates.com

AVAILABILITY

I am collaborating with new clients for individual or family work and intensives, on a consultation basis only (vs. weekly meetings).

CLIENT FOCUS

Adoptees
Adults
Family Therapy
Family Intensive Program
Organizational Consultation

“I think the big shift occurs when you can start seeing yourself as adaptive rather than pathological. The cascading impact on increased self-compassion and the broader lens with which you see the world that unfurls from that change is a privilege to bare witness to.”
Courtney Rennicke

LATEST POST

Hello! My foundation in working with clients and families comes from attachment-focused approaches DDP, AEDP that focus on how our relationships have impacted our capacities to feel and express emotion and cope with the joys and challenges of life. I am passionate about helping people, families, and organizations understand their stories of adaptation in order to form stronger connections within themselves and with others. I am energized by teaching other mental health professionals, parents and organizations about how attachment based principles can improve the quality of their lives and the culture of their groups.

SPECIALIZATION

-Post-Adoption Issues
-Parent-Child Attachment Related Concerns
-Organizational Consultation

TRAINING IN DYADIC DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOTHERAPY (DDP)

I first began my journey with Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP in 2007. When I teach or supervise other professionals, I emphasize creating an atmosphere of emotional safety that celebrates the diversity of identities of who I teach and cultures where I teach, so that trainees can feel affirmed to play, explore and soar in their professional development. I have provided workshops and trainings in the United States, Finland, Greece, the Czech Republic, United Kingdom, North Macedonia, Kenya, New Zealand and Australia and has observed that what is unifying across all these countries is people’s remarkable dedication and tenacity in trying to connect with vulnerable children, and of course the unending awe sparked by resiliency.

RECENT TRAINING SITES

–    Compass Seminars, Brisbane, AUSTRALIA

–    Roots Research Center NGO, Athens, GREECE

–    Play Kenya, Rafiki Mwena, Nakuru, KENYA

–    EFT Association of Netherlands, Utrect, NETHERLANDS

–    Caring Families, Aotearoa for Wellington, NEW ZEALAND

–    SOS Children’s Village, Skopje, NORTH MACEDONIA

–    DDP Connects UK (CIC), Canterbury, England, UNITED KINGDOM

–    Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition, St. Louis, MO, UNITED STATES

–    Adoption/Foster Care Therapist Network, New York, NY UNITED STATES

–   Esperanza, New York, NY, UNITED STATES

EDUCATION

Masters of Change, INSEAD (expected September 2024)
I am studying alongside an incredible group of people from around the world, exploring what the nature of change is in organizations. I hope this new learning will help me make a bigger impact on the organizations I consult with.

Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Columbia University.
My dissertation was part of a project funded by the National Science Foundation and focused on the search for meaning of the events of September 11th among people who were in or around The World Trade Center and its impact on their well-being.

B.S. with Honors in Human Development and Family Studies from Cornell University.
My Honors Thesis was an on-site study of the emotional and systemic impact of trauma on an intensive care burn unit in an urban hospital setting.

PRIOR CLINICAL POSITIONS, ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS, & AFFILIATIONS

Chair of the Board of Directors and Board Member at Large for the United States of the Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy Institute.
An international board dedicated to furthering the training of Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy worldwide.

President and Co-Founder of the Adoption Foster Care Therapist Network
A non-profit organization of attachment, adoptive and foster care specialized mental health professionals.

Consultant for National Institute of Mental Health (R01) Grant “Predicting Heterogeneous Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in School-aged Children with Early Caregiving Adversities”
Under Principal Investigator, Nim Tottenham, Ph.D., Director of the Developmental Affective Neuroscience Lab at Columbia University.

Clinical Psychology Supervisor at Teachers College, Columbia University
Supervising doctoral students in their psychological testing and intake assessment practicum.

ADVANCED CLINICAL TRAINING

Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy © 
Certified Trainer, Consultant & Practitioner.

Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy
Level III Certified Therapist

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Postdoctoral Fellowship at the American Institute for Cognitive Therapy with Robert Leahy, Ph.D.

Collaborative Problem Solving
Level I training in with Stuart Ablon, Ph.D. and Ross Green, M.D.

Emotion Focused Therapy
Level I training with Leslie Greenberg, Ph.D.

Theraplay©
Level 1 Training with Daphna Lender, LCSW

Child Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT)
Introductory training at AFCTN’s 2nd Annual Statewide Training in Albany, NY with Sue Bratton, Ph.D.

PRIOR CLINICAL EXPERIENCE

Clinical Supervisor
At Bellevue Hospital Center, NYU School of Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry providing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy supervision to PGY-III psychiatry residents and psychology interns.

Psychologist
For the Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation and Treatment Program at the New York Center for Child Development, a non-profit organization, provided assessment and treatment services for children aged 0 to 5 with emotional, developmental and attachment related issues in East and Central Harlem.

Assistant Director of Child and Family Treatment and Postdoctoral Fellow
At the American Institute for Cognitive Therapy, a private practice group in midtown Manhattan, provided treatment to children, teens, and adults, supervision to psychology externs, and professional training workshops to mental health clinicians.

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology
At the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University, taught a core component of their curriculum, clinical interviewing, as well as provided supervision for first-year clinical psychology doctoral students conducting intake assessments

Group Therapist
At A Caring Hand, The Billy Esposito Foundation, a non-profit bereavement center that provides treatment and other services to families from diverse neighborhoods and cultural backgrounds throughout the metropolitan New York area, lead a group for adolescent girls.

Pre-doctoral internship
At Columbia University Medical Center in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Outpatient Adult Psychiatry Clinic, conducted outpatient psychotherapy with children, adolescents, families, and adults in the Disruptive Behavior Disorders, Consultation Liaison (patients from medical units at the hospital), and Long-Term Treatment clinics.

 

MEDIA

Rennicke, C. and Wright, J.A. (2012)
Helping Your Decision to Adopt, Part 2: Understanding the Role of Family Therapy in Supporting Healthy Attachment. Webinar for the Gladney Center for Adoption.

Rennicke, C. (2009-present)
Advisory Team Member and Mental Health Contributor for NYC Private Schools Blog:
Post 1: Yet Another Reason to Kill Your Television…
Post 2: The Fear of Falling Behind
Post 3: Making Sense of the Chaos: Identifying Triggers for your “Challenging” Child
Post 4: The Proactive, Purposeful, Power of Empathy: Preventing Chaos
Post 5: Drawing Restraint: Marshmallows and Metacognition

Rennicke, C. (May 28, 2008).
Is Creativity a Side Effect of Bipolar Disorder? HealthTalk Radio.

WORKSHOPS & PRESENTATIONS

Integrating AEDP into a DDP Family Intensive
Presented at the DDP Annual Conference in Kingson, Ontario, CANADA October 31,2017 with Leah Langsam, Psy.D.

Surprise! Using the Brain as a Guide to Heal Blocked Trust
Keynote Talk Presented at Fostering Kids New Zealand Annual Conference in Christchurch, NEW ZEALAND, September 29, 2017

Reawakening the Capacity to Connect in Hurt Children,
Workshop Presented at Fostering Kids New Zealand Annual Conference in Christchurch, NEW ZEALAND, September 28, 2017

Safe Brains Learn Best:
The Basic Attachment-Focused Principles of Helping Traumatized Children and Adolescents Learn and Thrive at School

Webinar Presented to MN Adopt on June 8, 2017

Healing Blocked Trust and Blocked Care:
The Basic Attachment-Focused Principles of Helping Traumatized Children and Adolescents at Home, Foster Care and School Presented at the NATAMA Conference

Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC on May 12, 2017

Healing Blocked Trust and Blocked Care:
The Basic Attachment-Focused Principles of Helping Traumatized Children and Adolescents at Home, Foster Care and School

Presented in Tampere, FINLAND on November 11-12, 2016

DDP Practice in NYC
Presented at the Annual DDP Conference in Stony Point, New York, USA on November 1, 2016 with Leah Langsam, Psy.D.

Putting Attachment Focused Family Therapy to Work for Children in Foster Care and Their Families.
Rennicke, C. (2013). Presentation at the VOLAG Quarterly Meeting at New York City Administration for Children and Families Headquarters in New York, NY.

Changing the Lens: Understanding Children in Foster Care through Attachment Theory.
Rennicke, C. (2012). Presentation to the Adoption Action Network in New York, NY.

Attachment Focused Family Therapy: What is Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy?
Rennicke, C. (2011). Presentation to the New York State Citizen’s Coalition for Children 22nd Annual Foster Care and Adoption Conference in Albany, NY.

The Socio-Emotional Health of Toddlers and Older Children Adopted form China and Taiwan.
Stanley, W., Rennicke, C., and McAleer, E. (2010). Workshop given at the 30th annual Adoptive Parents Committee (APC) Conference, Brooklyn, NY.

Overview of Adoptees Testing Results and Treatment Needs.
Rennicke, C. (2010). Presentation given to the Gladney Center for Adoption, New York, NY.

Beyond Stickers and Star Charts: How to Enhance your Treatment of “Difficult” Kids by Using Empathy, Attachment Theory, and Problem Solving.
Rennicke, C. (2009). Workshop given for mental health professionals at the American Institute for Cognitive Therapy in New York, NY.

PUBLICATIONS

Treating Explosive Kids: The Collaborative Problem Solving Approach.
Rennicke, C. (2008). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Book Reviews, 4, 5, 1-3.

Enhanced Creativity in Bipolar Disorder Patients: A Controlled Study.
Santosa, C.M., Strong, C.M., Nowakowska, C., Wang, P.W., Rennicke, C.M., Ketter, T. (2007). Journal of Affective Disorders, 100, 1, 31-39.

Self-Enhancement Among High Exposure Survivors of the September 11 Terrorist Attacks in New York City.
Bonanno, G., Rennicke, C., Dekel, S. (2005). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 6, 984-998.

Personality and Temperament Differences in Euthymic Bipolar Disorder Patients.
Rennicke, C.M., Strong, C.M., Santosa, C.M., Sachs, N., Wang, P.W., Winsberg, M.E., Ketter, T.A. (2000). Poster session presented at the 153rd Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, Chicago, IL.

LICENSURE

Psychologist, New York State
Psychologist, New Jersey  

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