CBT/DBT Associates
About Lisa A. Napolitano, Ph.D.
New York, NY 10022
212-546-9200


Lisa A. Napolitano, J.D., Ph.D., is the Founder and Director of CBT/DBT Associates. She is a Diplomate and Fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy and has completed advanced intensive training in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). Prior to establishing CBT/DBT Associates, she founded and directed the DBT Program at the American Institute for Cognitive Therapy (AICT) in Manhattan.

Dr. Napolitano has expertise in the treatment of emotion regulation problems, including depression, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, and impulse control disorders. She is co-author of the book Emotion Regulation in Psychotherapy: A Practitioner’s Guide, with Dr. Robert Leahy and Dr. Dennis Tirch. Dr. Napolitano has extensive clinical experience in the treatment of low self-esteem, perfectionism, and relationship issues. In addition to advanced training in CBT and DBT, she completed a 5-day intensive training in Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) with Zindel Segal. She is also trained in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and prolonged exposure for trauma.

Dr. Napolitano is actively involved in the training and supervision of professionals in cognitive therapy. In addition to the training and supervision of doctoral students and psychologists at CBT/DBT Associates, Dr. Napolitano is an Adjunct Clinical Instructor in the Department of Psychiatry, NYU School of Medicine, and the Director of CBT Training in China for the Beijing Suicide Prevention Project. Previously, she served as Chair of the International Training Committee of the International Association for Cognitive Psychotherapy and as an Adjunct Clinical Instructor and Clinical Supervisor for the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University. She has given numerous workshops in cognitive therapy to professionals in the United States and conducted a one-week training for psychiatrists in Beijing, with topics including the cognitive therapy of personality disorders and emotion regulation in cognitive therapy. Dr. Napolitano is a Founding Fellow and past Membership Chair of the NYC-CBT Association. She is an Ambassador and Program Committee Member of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.

Dr Napolitano’s primary research interests concern dichotomous thinking, borderline personality disorder, and the relationship of mindfulness to negative beliefs about emotions. Her research has been presented in the United States and Europe at annual meetings of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, and the International Association for Cognitive Psychotherapy.

Dr. Napolitano graduated from Barnard College with an A.B. in political economy. She earned her doctorate in clinical psychology at Fordham University. Dr. Napolitano completed a pre-doctoral internship at the Manhattan Veterans Affairs Center, where she obtained specialized training in the treatment of trauma, and a post-doctoral fellowship at the American Institute for Cognitive Therapy (AICT). Prior to entering the field of psychology she graduated cum laude from the Cardozo School of law, and was an attorney in Manhattan and Washington, D.C.