Dr. Agnes Lenda is a licensed psychologist, Board Certified in Behavioral & Cognitive Psychology and Director of Center for Integrated Behavioral Health’s Dialectical Behavior Therapy Center. She earned her doctoral degree in Combined School and Clinical Psychology from Kean University and completed her pre-doctoral internship at the Brattleboro Retreat in Brattleboro, Vermont and a post-doctoral residency in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) at the Center for Integrated Behavioral Health (CIBH).
Dr. Lenda has previous training throughout behavioral health facilities in New York and New Jersey, including the South Beach Psychiatric Center, together with the South Richmond Outpatient Department’s DBT program, Kean University Psychological Services, and the Kean University Counseling Center. She is a licensed school psychologist in the state of New Jersey, and completed her training in the Rahway Public School District.
Dr. Lenda’s areas of specialization and expertise are in the application of DBT for individuals struggling with multiple problems associated with difficulties regulating intense emotions. She provides individual DBT and group skills training for individuals struggling with borderline personality disorder, eating disorders, non-suicidal self-injury, mood disorders, trauma, and substance abuse. She also has extensive training and expertise in applying CBT to adolescents and adults with anxiety and mood disorders.
In addition to clinical practice, Dr. Lenda has presented posters, workshops, and symposia at several conferences, including the Association for Behavioral and Cognitives Therapies’ national conferences, and the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science’s international conference. Most recently, Dr. Lenda co-authored a chapter in The Mindfulness-Informed Educator: Building Acceptance and Psychological Flexibility in Higher Education (2016), published by Routledge.
Dr. Lenda believes that fostering present moment awareness and adopting a nonjudgmental stance are key ingredients to developing an open, collaborative relationship with patients. She is open, genuine, compassionate, and goal focused. Dr. Lenda supports the use of empirically validated treatments and structures treatment to enhance new learning and skill practice. She will be more than just an active listener in therapy.