Dr. Laurie Nisco (Laura K. Nisco) is a clinical psychologist specializing in individual, couples, family, and group therapy. She maintains a private practice in Westchester County, NY. She has over 25 years of experience as a psychotherapist, and worked for 14 years at community mental health centers in Brooklyn and the Bronx prior to transitioning to full-time private practice. Among her areas of expertise are problems such as depression, anxiety, panic attacks, grief and loss, relationship issues, and trauma.
Dr. Nisco is trained in schema therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and psychodynamic therapy, and she integrates these approaches in designing interventions that are tailored to the unique needs and goals of each client. She uses insight-oriented, cognitive, behavioral, and experiential techniques (such as imagery and chairwork) to bring about desired change. She works collaboratively and compassionately with clients to help them:
-- develop awareness of ways of thinking and coping that are no longer serving them (identifying schemas and modes)
-- learn new skills in thinking; recognizing, processing, regulating and expressing difficult emotions; and changing behaviors in order to get one's needs met more effectively
-- heal from emotional wounds, develop self-care and self-compassion, and learn to take care of vulnerable parts of the self
-- strengthen their ability to make wise and healthy choices so that maladaptive behaviors and modes are not running the show and interfering with their goals and life satisfaction
Education
Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Columbia University
B.A. in Psychology from Cornell University
Other Professional Experience
Adjunct assistant professor at Teachers College, Columbia University from 1998 - 2007, teaching and supervising graduate students in psychology. She taught the following graduate-level courses:
Comparative Psychotherapies
Group Dynamics: A Systems Perspective
Ethics and Professional Issues in Psychology
Transference and Countertransference
Fieldwork in Applied Psychology
Clinical Assessment
Adjunct assistant professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice from 2000 - 2003. She taught the following undergraduate course:
Group Dynamics
Licensure
Clinical Psychologist in New York State. License #013926.
Additional Training
Schema Therapy Advanced Certification program- for individuals and couples, ISST (International Society of Schema Therapy)
Post-doctoral training program in Couples & Family Therapy at New York University
Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) externship with Sue Johnson
DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) training with Marsha Linehan
PACT (Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy) Level I with Stan Tatkin
Gottman- The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work
Training Program in Sex Therapy at NYU Dept. of Psychiatry
Certifications
Certified group relations consultant, A.K. Rice Institute for the Study of Social Systems
Professional Activities and Memberships
American Psychological Association (APA)
New York State Psychological Association (NYSPA)
Westchester County Psychological Association (WCPA)
International Center for Excellence in Emotion Focused Therapy (ICCEFT)
International Society of Schema Therapy (ISST)
Organizations related to group processes and relations:
A. K. Rice Institute for the Study of Social Systems (AKRI)
American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA)
Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society (EGPS)
NY Center for the Study of Groups, Organizations, and Social Systems
Publications
Nisco, L., & Meiland, P. (2005). The use of psychodiagnostic and psychoeducational assessment. In S. Austrian, Mental Disorders, Medications, and Clinical Social Work (pp. 231-253). New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
Paper Presentations
Attachment style and relationship quality in caregiver well-being
Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA, August 1998
Attachment style and well-being of daughters who are caregivers
Annual Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, Philadelphia, PA, November, 1998
Awards
Attachment style and well-being of daughters who are caregivers
Gerontological Society of America
Behavioral and Social Sciences Section Dissertation Award, 1998
Attachment style, memories of maternal care, and conflict in caregiver well-being
American Psychological Association Div. 20: Adult Development and Aging, and the Retirement Research Foundation, 1999
