The Anxiety & Phobia Treatment Center

About The Anxiety & Phobia Treatment Center
Established in 1971 - The first hospital-based clinic in the country

Center Mission Statement
The Center’s mission is to perform the following functions in patient care:

Increase functioning and reduce symptoms of individuals suffering from panic attacks, phobias, and other anxiety disorders
Assist patients in the recovery process
Treat patients with dignity and respect in order to enhance self-esteem, personal satisfaction and improve the patient’s quality of life; increase awareness of the availability and accessibility of resources in the community.

Our Phobia Counselors
Our Phobia Counselors work individually with patients to lay a foundation of cognitive-behavioral therapy and to teach and support patients in desensitization (exposure therapy) to the feared object or situation. Our counselors are graduates of the Center’s Phobia Counselor Certification Program and are supervised by the Center Director, Dr. Fredric Neuman.

Many of our counselors have experienced an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives. They understand the devastating effect anxiety and panic can have on one’s life. They also know that with the proper treatment, one can learn to live a productive and joyful life.

Our Staff:

Judy Lake Chessa, L.M.S.W., Coordinator

Judy Lake Chessa is a Licensed Master Social Worker. She has been the coordinator of the Anxiety & Phobia Treatment Center since 1996. As Coordinator, Judy supervises all operations of the Center, performs all intake assessments, and meets with clients for individual CBT therapy.

Once a patient at the Center, Judy herself possesses a unique combination of both personal and professional knowledge of the treatment of anxiety disorders. “I have suffered with phobias and anxieties and know how life can be affected. I want people to know the freedom and joy that come from overcoming their fears.”

Fredric Neuman, M.D., Director

Fred Neuman, M.D. is the Director of the Anxiety and Phobia Treatment Center. After serving as Associate Director for 21 years, Dr. Neuman assumed the directorship in 1994. Educated at Princeton University and the NYU College of Medicine, Dr. Neuman specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders. He is the author of the following books: Caring: Home Treatment for the Emotionally Disturbed, Fighting Fear: An Eight Week Guide to Treating Your Own Phobias, Worried Sick?: The Exaggerated Fear of Physical Illness, and Worried Sick? The Workbook. Dr. Neuman is also the author of numerous magazine and newspaper articles on the efficacy of Cognitive/Behavioral Therapy/Graduated Desensitization for the treatment of anxiety disorders. Dr. Neuman is a member of the American Psychiatric Society, The American Association for the Advancement of Science and the New York Academy of Science.

Martin Seif, Ph.D., Associate Director

Martin Seif, Ph.D., is a pioneer in the Modern Treatment of Anxiety Disorders. He is one of the seven original founders of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (www.adaa.org), and served on its Board of Directors and Clinical Advisory Board. Dr. Seif directed Phobia Centers in Manhattan and is currently Associate Director of the Anxiety and Phobia Treatment Center of White Plains Hospital. He is on the faculty of New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Board Certified in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP), and creator of Freedom to Fly, a program to help fearful fliers.

John Gregory, Ph.D., group leader

John Gregory, Ph.D., is the Administrative Director of the White Plains Hospital Center’s Department of Behavioral Health--a department that includes an Adult Outpatient Clinic, a Child and Adolescent Service, and a Continuing Day Treatment Program, as well as the Anxiety and Phobia Treatment Center (APTC). Dr. Gregory has worked with the APTC since 1982 and has led over fifty of its workshops for the treatment of phobic anxiety.

Donna Pappalardo, L.C.S.W., Group Leader

Donna Pappalardo is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, who has been a practicing psychotherapist since 1983. In addition to working in a mental health clinic for three years and an outpatient psychiatric program at White Plains Hospital Center for ten years, she has been in private practice since 1989 in Eastchester, NY. Donna joined the Anxiety and Phobia Treatment Center in 1990 as a professional group leader in the Phobia Workshops, having trained under Dr. Manuel Zane. She has been one of the therapists on staff since that time and continues to be a group leader in our Nine-Week Workshops.