Christiane Manzella, Senior Psychologist & Training Instructor, PhD

Dr. Manzella comes to Seleni with extensive experience as a clinician, administrator, and professor of psychology. For more than 20 years, Dr. Manzella maintained a private practice in New York City where she provided psychotherapy and supervision in several areas, including grief and bereavement, her specialty.

Dr. Manzella specializes in working with parents after miscarriage, stillbirth, and child loss. Her clinical work also includes helping women and couples navigate fertility challenges as well as the complexities of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Her focus is on helping women and couples find ways to draw on their strengths and take the next steps that are right for them.

For those who are grieving, the next step might be letting go. Or it might be recognizing their ongoing bond with and love for the child they have lost. She also focuses on any potential mood or anxiety disorders that can complicate bereavement, and she is particularly skilled at supporting parents as they explore the decision to pursue subsequent pregnancies or build a family in other ways.

Dr. Manzella is also an expert on the relationship between loss and trauma. She is an empathic clinician who uses empirically derived interventions that are proven to be effective treatments for grief as well as mood and anxiety disorders. She continues to embrace and use mindfulness-based clinical interventions, including those she developed through her research and teaching as an international consultant on managing loss and trauma.

Dr. Manzella also provides career assessment and counseling for women making career changes following pregnancy. She addresses practical and psychological elements in career exploration, building on her 20 years of experience as a New York University faculty advisor and professor.

Dr. Manzella earned both her master's degree in clinical psychology and doctorate in counseling psychology from New York University. She carried out her doctoral dissertation research at Beth Israel Medical Center hospice, with postdoctoral supervision in grief and bereavement work.

Dr. Manzella also has had specialized training at Postpartum Support International, the Postpartum Stress Center, and the Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy. Dr. Manzella was named a Fellow in Thanatology: Death, Dying and Bereavement by the Association of Death Educators and Counselors. She has completed a three-year term as a member of their board of directors. She continues to teach at New York University and makes her home in New York City.

How Christiane practices self-care

I believe it is a myth that working in mental health is emotionally tiring. Yes, at the end of a day (or week), there can be emotional or physical fatigue, but if it is a constant or overwhelming, I believe that this is a clue that something needs to be addressed – either in the approach to the clinical work or something in the clinician’s life. Staying present, making sure to keep in mind what my role is with those with whom I work, and seeking guidance or supervision can counter “emotional fatigue.” Full spotlight here.