Psychodynamic Formulation

About the Author

The Psychodynamic Formulation Collective is a group of psychiatrists and psychoanalysts who came together following George Floyd's murder and nationwide protests against police brutality to address the historical neglect of sociocultural context in psychodynamic formulation, in particular the effect of social oppression.

Shirin Ali, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. A graduate of the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research, she enjoys teaching and supervising psychiatry residents in psychodynamic psychotherapy. In her clinical practice, she focuses on mood and anxiety disorders, psychosis, culture and identity, and emerging adulthood.

Deborah L. Cabaniss, a professor of clinical psychiatry at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, associate director of the Adult Psychiatry Residency Program in the Columbia University Department of Psychiatry, and a training and supervising analyst at the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research. Her teaching and writing focus on psychotherapy education, and she practices psychiatry and psychoanalysis in New York City.

Sabrina Cherry, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University. She is also an associate director and training and supervising analyst at the Columbia Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research where she teaches candidates and conducts research on psychoanalytic career development. She practices psychotherapy and psychoanalysis in New York City.

Angela Coombs, an associate medical director at Alameda County Behavioral Health, where she focuses on increasing access to county mental health services and supports clients in East Oakland, California. Her scholarly work focuses on mental health inequities facing Black American populations and other minoritized and/or marginalized groups.

Carolyn J. Douglas, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and an adjunct associate professor of clinical psychiatry at Weill-Cornell Medical College. She has been closely involved in psychiatric residency training throughout her career, has published several articles about teaching psychodynamic psychotherapy, and has won teaching awards from residents in psychiatry both at Columbia and at Weill-Cornell for her didactic courses and supervision in supportive psychodynamic psychotherapy.

Jack Drescher, a distinguished life fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a clinical professor of psychiatry at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. He is also an adjunct professor at New York University’s Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis and a training and supervising analyst at the William Alanson White Institute.

Ruth Graver, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. She teaches and supervises at the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Teaching and Research where she is currently the co-chair of the Columbia Academy for Psychoanalytic Educators (CAPE), a new program designed to hone skills relevant to treating and supervising candidates. Her scholarly interests include clinical technique, attachment theory, and psychoanalytic writing. She conducts her clinical practice of psychotherapy and psychoanalysis in New York City.

Sandra Park, a training and supervising analyst at the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research and an assistant professor of psychiatry at the Weill Cornell Medical Center. She has a private practice in Manhattan, and she teaches and supervises at Columbia and Cornell.

Aaron Reliford, vice chair for diversity, equity and inclusion and an associate clinical professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at New York University. He is also the training director of NYU’s Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship, and both the director of child and adolescent psychiatry and the associate medical director of Behavioral Health Sunset Terrace Family Health Center of NYU Langone Brooklyn. Dr. Reliford’s clinical research interests include telepsychiatry, racial health disparities in pediatric mental health, cultural psychiatry, pediatric psychopharmacology, effects of early trauma on development of psychopathology, child parent psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, and dynamic/insight oriented psychotherapy.

Anna Schwartz, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons. She is also a faculty member of the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research, where she has taught and supervised psychotherapy trainees for many years. She is in private practice in New York City.

Susan C. Vaughan, the Aaron R. Stern Professor of Psychodynamic Psychiatry at Cornell University. She also served as the Director of the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research from 2017 to 2022. She has special interest in LGBTQ issues and teaches about sexuality, gender, and the intersections between psychotherapy and neuroscience.