Biography
Meet Dr. Wenzel
Dr. Amy Wenzel is an internationally recognized clinician, scholar, researcher, trainer, and supervisor in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). She has published over 25 authored and edited books and over 125 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. In addition, she has been featured in many video demonstrations of CBT published by the American Psychological Association. Dr. Wenzel is known for her expertise in innovative applications of CBT, CBT for suicide prevention, and CBT for perinatal distress. She recently developed Therapeutic Relationship-Focused CBT, an application of CBT that harnesses the power of the therapeutic relationship in serving as both a facilitator and an agent of change.
Current Interests
Dr. Wenzel currently maintains three main areas of scholarship.
First, Dr. Wenzel has developed an approach called Therapeutic Relationship-Focused CBT (TRF-CBT). The central premise of TRF-CBT is that therapists balance attention to the cultivation of the therapeutic relationship with cognitive and behavioral change strategies. Therapists who deliver TRF-CBT are mindful of seven principles as they implement cognitive and behavioral change strategies from a client-centered framework. TRF-CBT is an approach that integrates relationship-related constructs, including those that are prominent in other schools of psychotherapy (e.g., transference and countertransference and the real relationship), in order to advance the goals of CBT.
Dr. Wenzel's second area of scholarship is in adapting CBT for perinatal distress. She specializes in developing ways to make CBT effective for new parents who are overwhelmed and sleep-deprived. In addition, her work considers innovative ways to adapt exposure for pregnant women with anxiety disorders.
Finally, Dr. Wenzel is extending her interest in women's mental health to develop an adaption of CBT for menopausal distress.
Clinical Practice
Dr. Wenzel continues to be struck by how quickly and thoroughly CBT brings relief to people who struggle with depression, anxiety, and life stress, as well as by its applicability to almost every problem for which people seek psychotherapy. She practices CBT in an evidence-based manner, meaning that she uses strategies that research has shown to be effective, and she also measures the degree to which each strategy brings about the desired changed within each client. Moreover, she applies these strategies in an individualized manner that is unique to each client’s current problems and strengths.
Dr. Wenzel is Founder and Director of the Main Line Center for Evidence-Based Psychotherapy, located in Bryn Mawr, PA. This is a small treatment center that specializes in the delivery of evidence-based psychotherapies, including CBT and its variants (e.g., Dialectical Behavior Therapy). For more information about the Main Line Center for Evidence-Based Psychotherapy, please see http://mainlinecenter.com.
Educational & Professional Background
Dr. Wenzel received her AB with Honors from Duke University, double majoring in psychology and religion, and her MA and PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Iowa. She completed her psychology residency at the University of Wisconsin Medical School, specializing in the treatment of adult mental health disorders.
Dr. Wenzel has served on the faculties of the University of North Dakota (Department of Psychology), the American College of Norway, and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (Department of Psychiatry). She served as a trainer-supervisor for the national CBT rollout effort spearheaded by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, she is a trainer-consultant with the Academy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapies, and she is an adjunct faculty member with the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy.
Dr. Wenzel's research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (now Brain and Behavior Research Foundation). She is currently on the editorial boards of Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, the Journal of Rational Emotive and Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, and the International Journal of Cognitive Therapy.
