My name is Dr. Chaya Lieba Kobernick and I help women and girls with their emotions. Emotions are vital - there’s a reason Hashem created them - and they can be extremely complicated to navigate sometimes, driving us to toss and turn in bed, push away people who try to help us, and even hurt ourselves in an attempt to escape the pain. Totally natural, because every human has a reflex to pull their hand away from a hot flame. Emotions can be just like that - a hot and painful flame that causes us to react by pulling our hand away. Unfortunately, running from painful emotions tends to cause a whole bunch of problems. I have helped hundreds of people learn to live side by side with the fire.

I received my doctorate in clinical psychology at Long Island University - Post. I trained in cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and supervision from the Beck Institute as well as in evidence-based treatments for PTSD through the Center for Deployment Services. I have extensive experience implementing mindfulness-based treatments for different age groups and different needs, including depression, anxiety, sleep difficulties, trauma, and those struggling with emotion dysregulation and interpersonal difficulties.

I completed my predoctoral internship at Rutgers University Counseling Center and my practicum work at New York Presbyterian Hospital - Westchester Division and Northwell Health - Long Island Jewish Hospital's Behavioral Health College Partnership. I have been trained by and continue to consult with Francheska Perepletchikova, PhD, a world-renowned expert in DBT and the developer of DBT for children. I love working with young women struggling with high-risk behaviors, including suicidality and self-harm, and utilizing my advanced training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to help these individuals with a more comprehensive approach.

I am extremely committed to the spread of treatments that work within the frum community, and to that end founded The CBT/DBT Center. I have maintained a personal mindfulness practice for over ten years which informs my clinical work and enables me to share mindfulness with others effectively. My dissertation research focused on evaluating a culturally-adapted mindfulness school-based program for frum elementary schools, which I continue to direct. I offer individual and group psychotherapy, community psychoeducational workshops, and am available for speaking engagements upon request.