Lisa Regev, PhD

My Background

 

During my undergraduate years at City University of New York, Brooklyn, I developed an interest in relationships while assisting in research on gender-based perspectives. I also got involved in a research project involving couples at New York University, coaching couples to communicate more effectively using the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP).  This interest led me to enroll in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Nevada, Reno where I had the opportunity to receive both clinical training and research experiences in couple’s therapy, sex therapy, and a broad range of presenting problems, including depression, stress, and anxiety.  To complete my degree, I needed to complete a full-time internship and was fortunate to be selected at the Palo Alto VA Health care system for their nationally recognized program that is affiliated with Stanford University School of Medicine.  Through this experience, I learned a great deal about the psychological factors that accompany various chronic and acute medical problems.  I was fortunate to be selected to stay on for an additional year of specialized training in Behavioral Medicine, which provide the opportunity to provide psychological services to patients with cancer, heart disease, diabetes, chronic pain, and other conditions.  I also gained experience working in Primary Care, seeing patients with very diverse concerns and being immediately referred from their primary care doctor. Through my years of training and beyond, I have written several articles and chapters, taught many classes and gave presentations to varied audiences on issues of sexuality, relationships, psychological treatment for medical problems, and several other topics.  A full list of my scholarly work is available here.

 

Upon completion of my post-doctoral fellowship, I began working in a health maintenance organization, first in Primary Care and then in an outpatient mental health clinic.  Over the years, I have worked with thousands of patients with an extremely wide range of mental health and medical conditions.  I developed extra specialization and experience in post-partum depression, infertility and its treatment, and the Gottman method of couples therapy. As I continued to work with a wide range of people, I kept noticing the frequency with which clients’ intimate relationships were the most powerful determinant in their overall well-being.   This served to re-accentuate my long-standing interest and stimulated the development of this couples’ therapy practice.