Supervisors

Professionals with a provisional license, including a Mental Health Counselor – Limited Permit (MHC-LP), gain experience under the guidance of licensed supervisors after completing their graduate training.

Supervisors

Karthik Gunnia, Psy.D.

I am a clinical psychologist who is a therapist in private practice and a professor at NYU. I specialize in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). These forms of therapy tend to be structured, goal-directed, and skills based, with extensive research support. Generally, I aim to help people gain awareness into their thoughts, feelings, and behavioral patterns, while developing mindfulness, clarifying values, and reducing avoidance. I have extensive experience assessing and treating individuals that experience psychosis, as well as specialized training in working with individuals that experience chronic pain, as well as working with children/adolescents and their parents. I also have interest in working with BIPOC populations, activists, and artists.

On a larger scale, I am passionate about destigmatizing mental health difficulties and demystifying the process of accessing and receiving mental health treatment. As an Assistant Professor at NYU in their Department of Applied Psychology, and the Director of Clinical Training in the Counseling Psychology doctoral program, I teach classes on mental health, counseling, and ethics. I also provide clinical supervision to doctoral students in our training clinic. I also created and teach a course for undergraduates titled “Mind Playing Tricks on Me: Mental Health in Contemporary Music,” in which students examine songs from diverse artists to explore how music can provide a unique understanding of mental health issues by emphasizing lived experience and open and honest expression. A number of accomplished musicians have graciously agreed to be guest speakers for the course, including Julien Baker, Dessa, Open Mike Eagle, and Sammus.

I have previously taught and/or supervised graduate students at Columbia University, the New School for Social Research, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Pace University, and the Wright Institute. I am also currently a consulting psychologist for The Browning School, a K-12 independent school for boys.

In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my wife and two daughters, complaining about UCLA sports, listening to hip hop, and reminiscing about California beaches and tacos. 

Website — Psychology Today

Sam Klugman, Psy.D.

I am a licensed clinical psychologist providing individual and couples psychotherapy for adults of all ages struggling with emotional distress, relationship and family issues, identity and self-esteem concerns, and significant life events and transitions (e.g., illness, separation, loss). I provide a collaborative and safe environment in which you can feel heard and supported while developing new ways of understanding, coping with, and working through difficulties.

I provide flexible and tailored therapy that blends specific skills with active exploration, helping my clients enhance their inner resiliency, creativity, and confidence in order to meet their goals. My approach integrates cognitive-behavioral, insight-oriented, and multicultural orientations. I am an LGB-, queer- and transgender-affirmative provider.

In addition to my private practice, I am an adjunct clinical supervisor at the NYU Steinhardt Counseling Ph.D. program, and a volunteer clinical evaluator at the Health Right International Human Rights Clinic.  

I am trained in a wide variety of evidence-based treatments and modalities including cognitive and dialectical behavior therapies, mindfulness based interventions, and acceptance and commitment therapy. My areas of clinical specialty include:

  • Anxiety (e.g., chronic worry, social anxiety, phobias, OCD)

  • Perfectionism

  • Struggles with shame, self-criticism, self-worth

  • Depression and mood disorders

  • Bereavement and loss

  • Relationship concerns

  • Major life transitions (e.g., marriage, illness, separation, loss)

  • Coping with chronic illness or pain

  • Workplace issues (career identity, transition, workplace conflict)

  • Identity concerns (e.g., sexual, gender, racial, ethnic identities, acculturative issues, coping with discrimination)

  • Trauma

  • Substance use disorders

Prior to my work in private practice I was a staff psychologist at Columbia University Medical Center. I received my doctorate from Rutgers University and my B.A. from Brown University. I completed my predoctoral internship at the Brooklyn VA Hospital with rotations through PTSD/trauma and substance use disorders clinics, and was a postdoctoral fellow at NYU Counseling and Wellness Services. I am licensed to practice in the state of New York and as an out-of-state telehealth psychologist in Florida.

In addition to my private practice, I enjoy writing and presenting on a variety of topics in the field of clinical psychology. Below is a selection of recent topics I have presented:​

  • Moving beyond crisis: Practical strategies for addressing trainee mental health problems in supervisory and clinical settings. (June 2018)

  • Acceptance and commitment therapy: Conceptualization and treatment approaches for social anxiety. (January 2018)

  • Campus connect: A suicide prevention training for gatekeepers. (October 2017)

  • Motivational interviewing: Principles and applications. (November 2016)

  • Cognitive processing therapy for PTSD. (July 2015)

  • Bridging the gaps: Outreach and advocacy strategies for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer college communities. (February 2012)

    Website — Psychology Today

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