Amy Wenzel

Biography

Dr. Amy Wenzel is a passionate scholar-practitioner in the field of clinical psychology who divides her time between clinical practice, training and consulting, and scholarly writing and research. In her clinical practice, she delivers cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and other evidence-based treatments to adult and adolescent clients with a wide range of emotional, behavioral, and adjustment problems, such as anxiety, stress, depression, and relationship problems. In her consulting work, she has provided intensive supervision to over 200 clinicians as they acquired skills to deliver CBT in their own practice. Dr. Wenzel is Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, where she collaborates with Aaron T. Beck on research related to the theory and application of CBT, and she is an affiliate at the Postpartum Stress Center in Rosemont, PA. She regularly provides workshops, seminars, and webinars on CBT in her role of a member of the speaker’s faculty at the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Cross-Country Education. She authors and edits books and treatment manuals on the topics of CBT, adjustment difficulties associated with childbirth, suicide prevention, close relationships, and addictions. In addition, she has been featured in psychotherapy demonstrations filmed by the American Psychological Association.

Dr. Wenzel received her AB with Honors from Duke University and her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Iowa. She completed her clinical psychology internship at the University of Wisconsin Medical School. Her previous academic positions include Research Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Visiting Professor at the American College of Norway, and Assistant Professor at the University of North Dakota, and her previous clinical positions include licensed clinical psychologist at The Center in King of Prussia, PA and at the Family Institute in Grand Forks, ND. In her previous clinical positions, she developed specialized programs that targeted social anxiety and suicide risk.

Dr. Wenzel is a member of many professional organizations, such as the Academy of Cognitive Therapy, the International Association for Cognitive Psychotherapy, the Anxiety Disorders Association of America, the International Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Foundation, and the American Association of Suicidology, and she has held leadership positions within the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. She was on the advisory board of the Liberty Center for Survivors of Torture from 2004 until its closure in 2009, and she currently works with local immigration attorneys to conduct psychological evaluations with survivors of torture, persecution, and/or violence to gain asylum in the United States.

Dr. Wenzel has authored or edited 22 books and treatment manuals and is an author on approximately 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. Her research has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and the National Alliance for Research in Schizophrenia and Depression (now the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation). She has received awards for her scholarly work from organizations such as the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy (now the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies), the American Psychological Association, and the University of North Dakota. She is on the editorial board of the Journal of Loss and Trauma and the scientific advisory board of the American Foundation for Suicide prevention.

Areas of Research / Professional Expertise

Cognitive behavioral therapy; perinatal psychology

Books