DBT-RU Student Clinicians

Jayati Bist (she/her): Jayati Bist is a second-year clinical Psy.D. student at GSAPP. She completed her M.A. from Boston University and B.A. from St. Xavier’s College, India. She has prior experience working as clinical research at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School and a graduate assistant at Center for Anxiety and Related Disorder. Her research interests include transdiagnostic cognitive and affective mechanisms underlying anxiety and mood disorder as well as development of culturally adaptive evidence-based interventions.

Alma Bitran Alma Bitran is a third-year clinical psychology PhD student at Rutgers University, where she is jointly mentored by Drs. Shireen Rizvi and Evan Kleiman. After receiving her B.S. in Psychology from Yale University in 2021, she worked as a research assistant at the Translational Research on Affective Disorders and Suicide Lab at Columbia University, where she carried out research identifying short-term predictors of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in adolescents. Alma’s research examines 1) key mechanisms of change in dialectical behavior therapy, and 2) how suicide-related disclosure unfolds between adolescents and their parents. 

Sofia Moore Sofia Moore is a second-year Clinical PsyD student at Rutgers University’s Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP). She received her B.A. in Sociology from the University of San Francisco and her M.A. in Developmental Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University. Her clinical and research interests include emotional regulation, developmentally informed interventions across the lifespan, and matrescence (life stage of becoming a mother). She has provided clinical services through GSAPP’s Center for Psychological Services (CPS) as well as Rutgers’ Counseling, Alcohol and Other Drug Assistance Program & Psychiatric Services (CAPS).

Ace Oh Ace is a first-year clinical Psy.D. student at GSAPP and a licensed psychotherapist in New York, where she provides individual and group therapy for adults with complex PTSD and for individuals and families impacted by borderline personality disorder. She received her B.A. in Psychology from UCLA and her M.A. in Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness from New York University, where she was awarded the NYU Steinhardt Outstanding Clinical Service Award. Clinically, she has trained at the Crime Victims Treatment Center, providing trauma-focused therapy for survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, childhood abuse, and PTSD. She has also held research assistant positions at Rutgers, UCLA, and Weill Cornell Medicine. Her interests include borderline personality disorder, emotion dysregulation, complex PTSD, and culturally responsive interventions with Asian American communities.

Alejandra Sanchez-Sarmiento (she/her): Alejandra Sanchez-Sarmiento is a second-year clinical Psy.D. student at GSAPP. She received her B.H.S. and B.S. in Psychology from the University of Florida and completed the Post-Baccalaureate Clinical Fellowship at McLean Hospital’s 3East DBT Partial Hospital Program. Previously a clinician at Rutgers’ Counseling, Alcohol and Other Drug Assistance Program & Psychiatric Services (CAPS), Ale now works at DBT-RU. Her research and clinical interests include suicide and self-harm, BPD, emotion dysregulation, and DBT implementation in Hispanic and Latino communities.

Kelly Shah (she/her): Kelly Shah is a third-year clinical Psy.D student at GSAPP. She received her B.A. in Economics from Lehigh University and found her way to the clinical field while working at a mental-health startup. At Rutgers, Kelly is focused on becoming a skillful and effective clinician. In addition to her training in the DBT Clinic, Kelly will continue to treat children, adolescents, and adults at the Rutgers Anxiety Disorders Clinic for a second year. She has also treated college students with anxiety and depression at Rutgers CAPs.  Her interests are wide and include emotion dysregulation, trauma, and treatment of religious populations.

May Stern (she/her): May Stern is a second-year clinical Psy.D. student at GSAPP. After receiving her B.A. from Brown University, she worked at the Renfrew Center Eating Disorder Clinic in Philadelphia as a behavioral health counselor and as a research assistant at CHOP’s Eating Disorder Research Program. She also worked at Stanford University’s Eating Disorder Program for two years as a research coordinator, investigating the etiology of and novel interventions for eating pathology. May’s prior clinical experiences include Rutgers’ Counseling, Alcohol and Other Drug Assistance Program & Psychiatric Services (CAPS). Her clinical and research interests include eating pathology, emotion dysregulation, self-harm, and self-efficacy.

Neiva Teka (she/her): Neiva Teka is a first-year clinical Psy.D. student at GSAPP. She completed her B.A. in Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh and earned her M.A. in Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. At Teachers College, she was a researcher at the Laboratory for Clinical and Developmental Studies, focusing on youth and developmental psychopathology. After graduating she worked as a psychiatric counselor in the     behavioral health emergency department at MedStar Harbor Hospital in Baltimore. Currently, Neiva is continuing her training at DBT-RU. Her interests include emotion dysregulation, self-harm and suicide among youth, and trauma-focused therapies.