Biography

Biography – dramywenzel.com

Dr. Amy Wenzel (full CV [PDF]) is a passionate scholar-practitioner in the field of clinical psychology who divides her time between clinical practice, training and consulting, and scholarly writing and research. In her clinical practice, she delivers cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and other evidence-based treatments to adult and adolescent clients with a wide range of emotional, behavioral, and adjustment problems, such as anxiety, stress, depression, and relationship problems. She established the Main Line Center for Evidence-Based Psychotherapy, located in Bryn Mawr, PA, in 2019. In her consulting work, Dr. Wenzel has provided intensive supervision to over 200 clinicians as they acquired skills to deliver CBT in their own practice. Dr. Wenzel is on the faculty of the Beck Institute of Cognitive Behavior Therapy, serves an Affiliate of the Postpartum Stress Center in Bryn Mawr, PA, and is a trainer-consultant with the Academy of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies. She regularly provides keynote addresses, workshops, seminars, and webinars on CBT. She authors and edits books and treatment manuals on the topics of CBT, adjustment difficulties associated with childbirth, and suicide prevention. In addition, she has been featured in psychotherapy demonstrations filmed by the American Psychological Association.

Dr. Wenzel received her AB with Honors from Duke University and her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Iowa. She completed her clinical psychology internship at the University of Wisconsin Medical School. Her previous academic positions include Clinical Assistant Professor and Research Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Visiting Professor at the American College of Norway, and Assistant Professor at the University of North Dakota, and her previous clinical positions include licensed clinical psychologist at The Center in King of Prussia, PA and at the Family Institute in Grand Forks, ND. In her previous clinical positions, she developed specialized programs that targeted social anxiety and suicide risk. Dr. Wenzel is a member of many professional organizations, such as the Academy of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies, the International Association for Cognitive Psychotherapy, the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, the American Psychological Society, and the American Association of Suicidology, and she has held leadership positions within the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. She was on the advisory board of the Liberty Center for Survivors of Torture from 2004 until its closure in 2009, and she is on the scientific advisory board of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Dr. Wenzel has authored or edited over 20 books and treatment manuals and is an author on over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. Her books have been translated into Italian, Portuguese, Korean, and Japanese. Her seven-volume Encyclopedia of Abnormal and Clinical Psychology (2017, SAGE Publications) was recognized as a 2019 Choice Outstanding Academic Title. An example of Dr. Wenzel’s scholarship can be found in this open access book chapter. Dr. Wenzel’s research has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and the National Alliance for Research in Schizophrenia and Depression (now the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation). She has received awards for her scholarly work from organizations such as the National Institutes of Health, Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy (now the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies), the American Psychological Association, and the University of North Dakota. She is on the editorial board of Cognitive and Behavioral Practice and the Journal of Rational-Emotive and Cognitive-Behavior Therapy.

Dr. Wenzel’s current scholarly focus is on the cultivation and strategic use of the therapeutic relationship in CBT, as well as the application of insights from non-cognitive behavioral theoretical frameworks to optimize the delivery of CBT.