ADAA's professional members play a key role in providing resources and treatment and research information (through ADAA's website, e-newsletters, and social media platforms) to those struggling with anxiety, depression and related disorders. ADAA highlights its members in our Insights bi-weekly newsletter as well as our monthly consumer-focused e-newsletter, Triumph. Learn more about the work our members do, how they came to ADAA, and what they value most about being a part of the ADAA community.

Lauren Wadsworth, PhD

 

I enjoy the conference as a way to connect with other anxiety researchers and clinicians. I appreciate that the conference has historically felt more focused on clinical work and is smaller/more intimate than other conferences I have attended. I also appreciate that ADAA has explicitly committed to increasing the percentage of multiculturally informed presentations and roundtables. Most recently, I have valued serving as a co-chair of the Multicultural Advances Special Interest Group with Dr. Briana Woods-Jaeger.

ADAA has been invaluable in supporting my professional networking, especially with peers/colleagues who hold similar values regarding cultural humility.  

I am so excited to have finally reached my goal of starting an OCD Clinic in my home city of Rochester NY. The city of Rochester and surrounding rural towns have been historically underserved, especially in regards to Evidence Based Treatments for OCD and Anxiety Disorders. After launching Genesee Valley Psychology in July of 2019 we have grown to 12 clinicians- serving over 250 patients with individual therapy, an OCD Intensive Outpatient Program, and numerous OCD/DBT/CBT groups. We are excited to have our first Postdoctoral Fellows and new practicum students joining us in the Fall. I am also excited to be co-authoring "Did that just happen?! Beyond "Diversity"--Creating Sustainable Inclusive Organizations" a forthcoming book (with Dr. Stephanie Pinder-Amaker) on cultural humility in the workplace from Beacon Press. 

Lauren Wadsworth, PhD is the founder and director of Genesee Valley Psychology, a clinic specializing in evidence based treatments for OCD/Anxiety and Trauma/PTSD in Rochester, New York. Dr. Wadsworth specializes in the research and treatment of severe anxiety disorders, including OCD, Social Anxiety, and Panic Disorder. She is also the co-founder of Twin Stars Diversity Trainers, a consultation company offering diversity and identity related trainings to organizations. She is a Clinical Senior Instructor in Psychiatry at the School of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Rochester Medical Center and is a Harvard Medical School/McLean Hospital affiliate, working as an Education and Training consultant for the College Mental Health Program. Dr. Wadsworth is committed to continuously aiming to become a more culturally humble and competent researcher and clinician.

Tanja Jovanovic, PhD

Tanya JovanovicI first became involved in 2008, when my mentors Kerry Ressler and Barbara Rothbaum, who were very active in ADAA, encouraged me to apply for the Travel Award.  I was fortunate to get the award in 2009, and have been coming to the ADAA conference every year since then.  I have found ADAA to be a wonderful place to network with clinicians and researchers—it is small enough to be able to get to know most members, but also bring in new mentees to the field of anxiety. It is an excellent place to learn and grow a career.  Over time I became more and more involved with ADAA and in 2015 Dr. Ressler and I were co-chairs of the conference program. I have now become more involved in mentoring trainees—after several years of being a mentor on the Career Development Leadership Program (CDLP) by ADAA, I am now one of the co-chairs of this program—this allows me to provide the kinds of career opportunities that ADAA gave me more than a decade ago. Now I bring my own mentees every year and have several receive travel awards! 

I consider ADAA to be my scientific “home”, the membership and the community aspects of this organization have always provided a strong base for communicating my research and learning about the best approaches to studying and treating anxiety. In recent years, ADAA has also become the “home” for my lab, with many students, postdocs, research assistants, and junior faculty attending and presenting at the conference every year. I truly enjoy meeting up with outstanding colleagues in the field and being able to introduce them to my mentees. Because ADAA members are so supportive of early career clinicians and researchers it provides a unique opportunity for networking and new collaborations. 

My research is focused on trauma exposure and how it changes the brain in a way that makes individuals vulnerable for depression, anxiety, and PTSD. As an ADAA member, I have a platform in which to present my research to the community that is most invested in the same population, whether from a clinical or research perspective.  Though the conference and webinars, I am also able to learn the most up-to-date developments in trauma research. 

Last year, I moved my lab from Emory to Wayne State University in Detroit to build a program to better understand urban trauma exposure, especially during development. It has been an exciting time, and even in a short time, we have found Detroit families very interested in our research program. Detroit has been especially impacted by COVID-19, and our communities of color have been disproportionately affected.  My lab has been reaching out to our participants to survey and offer resources to those most affected by the pandemic. 

Tanja Jovanovic, PhD is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences and the David and Patricia Barron Chair for PTSD Neurobiology at Wayne State University. Dr. Jovanovic's research program focuses on the interaction of traumatic experiences, neurophysiology, neuroendocrinology, and genetics in stress-related disorders in adults and children in high-risk populations. She directs the Detroit Trauma Project (www.detroittraumaproject.com), which investigates the impact that urban trauma exposure has on the brain. Her research employs psychophysiological (e.g. fear-potentiated startle, skin conductance response, heart-rate variability) and brain imaging methods (e.g. MRI, fMRI) to investigate biomarkers of risk for trauma-related psychopathology, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Her laboratory developed novel human fear conditioning, fear inhibition, and extinction paradigms for PTSD patients. Dr. Jovanovic is the lead investigator on several federally funded grants from the National Institutes of Health and has an independent investigator Award from the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation. She has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers and served on national and international grant review panels.  

https://psychiatry.med.wayne.edu/profile/gr5613

Dominique Apollon, MEd, LPC 

e involved with ADAA in 2018 and have been an active member of the Public Education Committee since. I chose to become a member of ADAA because of how resourceful and current they are with mental health topics.

I enjoy being a part of an organization that is constantly striving to be the best mental health resource worldwide. ADAA is genuine and thoughtful in its approach to provide helpful tips, resources and evidence-based research. I have personally enjoyed being able to write blogs and assist in hosting and presenting webinars as an effort to educate others.  

Being a member of ADAA benefits my work because I am constantly able to access helpful information to help me learn and grow as a mental health professional. I am grateful to be able to share ADAA as a resource to clients, friends and family and feel proud to say I am a member and advocate. 

I am thrilled to share that my most recent accomplishment allows me to give back to the mental health community! I started Shrink Designs, which is a newly launched chicago-based company that works with therapists, psychologists and all healthcare workers on all things design. Shrink Designs' mission is to assist in cultivating a space to help with work/life balance for healthcare professionals while giving back a percentage of their proceeds to different mental health organizations worldwide. 

received her Masters from DePaul University in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Her clinical experiences include working at a non-profit helping kids, teens, adolescents and adults experiencing trauma. Prior to working at NVisionYou, Dominique worked in private practice specializing in the treatment of anxiety, depression, OCD, specific phobias, trichotillomania and other stress-related disorders. Dominique is a Licensed Professional Counselor and is board certified. Dominique is also on the public education committee for the Anxiety and Depression Association of America where she aims to improve and expand public education and outreach about anxiety, depression, and co-occurring disorders through website content, webinars, blog posts, social media outreach, and other collaborative educational projects.

Kat Harris, PhD

I became involved with ADAA in graduate school. My mentor, Dr. David Valentiner, encouraged me to present at the conference. I presented at ADAA for the first time in 2010 and was hooked!

I absolutely love attending the conferences. They are an incredible way of connecting with colleagues. The presentations are always excellent and help me keep up with the latest innovations and research. I feel reinvigorated every time I go and plan to continue going annually as long as I can.

There are many ways being an ADAA member benefits my work. I own a practice called Oakheart, Center for Counseling, Meditation, and Consultation. I treat primarily individuals with OCD and anxiety disorders on an outpatient basis. I also supervise students and mentor licensed professionals who have an interest in specializing in exposure-based interventions for OCD and anxiety. Therefore, as a practice owner, clinician, supervisor and mentor, it is critical that I continue my education. ADAA provides opportunities for continued education in so many ways! Between the conferencespecial interest groupswebinars, and journal access, I am able to feel confident in my ability to treat OCD and Anxiety and teach others to do so as well.

As a practice owner and practicing psychologist, being a member also benefits me by allowing me to list myself and my specialized staff on the “Find a Therapist” directory. Being a member also allows me to contribute and share via blog posts. I refer community members and my clients to the resources available on the ADAA website frequently.

Last, it has allowed me to volunteer my time in a field that I am passionate about. I am currently a vice-chair of the Women’s Specialty Interest group at ADAA. I have enjoyed building relationships with my colleagues and working to better serve women in mental health. 

Two years ago I opened a private practice with 3 amazing colleagues and friends. We now have 14 employees, 4 students, and 2 locations! I am thrilled to offer evidence-based cognitive behavioral treatment to those with OCD and Anxiety and to have a team of specialists by my side, including one of my co-owners Vanessa Osmer, M.A. We believe in providing high-quality evidence based treatment and I am able to do so with the help of communities like ADAA. I am a proud member!

Kat Harris, PhD is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Co-owner of OakHeart, Center for Counseling, Mediation, and Consultation. Dr. Harris is also an Adjunct Professor and Graduate Faculty Scholar at Northern Illinois University. She obtained her Bachelor's Degree from Michigan State University and her Doctoral Degree from Northern Illinois University where she was a member of the Anxiety Disorders research lab under the mentorship of Dr. David Valentiner. She completed her Pre-Doctoral Clinical Psychology Internship at the Ann Arbor VA in association with the University of Michigan, and her Post-Doctoral Residency at the University of Michigan, Clinical Psychology Consortium under the mentorship of Sheila Rauch, PhD. Dr. Harris is an active member of the ADAA community, serving as the Vice-Chair of the Women’s Mental Health Special Interest Group. She is also a member of the OCD SIG and Social Anxiety SIG.

 

Bryan Balvaneda

Bryan Balvaneda is an advanced doctoral candidate at the University of Massachusetts Boston in Boston, MA. He is interested in studying the interpersonal context of clinical processes and providing alternative mental health service delivery models for reaching underserved populations.

"I was introduced to ADAA upon entering graduate school through the suggestion of my advisor, Sarah Hayes-Skelton. She described ADAA as having a more intimate, connected community of professionals and pre-professionals, and that the conference often provided more opportunities for integrating research into clinical practice. These two factors sounded like a great fit for my career goals, and I have felt that ADAA would be a great professional home for me since my first conference in 2015 .  

As an ADAA member, I've enjoyed the intimate network of community members that allows me to easily connect to others and become aware of opportunities. Often, ADAA members and leadership have presented me with opportunities to become involved with ADAA initiatives that align with my interests and career goals, without me even needing to reach out!  

I have always returned from an ADAA conference with clear ideas and skills for improving my clinical practice, and as a trainee that has been always invaluable. Moving beyond my formal graduate training, I foresee these opportunities to improve my practice continuing given the great work I have consistently seen from ADAA members. In addition, the opportunities to frequently and easily communicate with and interact with ADAA leadership has enabled me to visualize a role in organizational leadership that I had not imagined before.

Recently I was awarded the Distinguished Student Practice Award by APA Division 12 and it has been a great honor to be recognized for my work in outreach and supporting underserved communities. I also matched for internship at the University of California, Riverside and am excited to return to an area I call home and serve my community!"

Arash Javanbkht, MD

 “I was introduced to ADAA through my mentor Dr James Abelson, a longtime member, during my residency. The reason was my passion for research and also clinical work in anxiety and trauma.”

“I love the friendly environment and seeing the same nice faces each year. Also, the balanced combination of basic science and clinical research, and clinical expertise. As a clinician researcher, there are not a lot of venues where I could get such exposure to both my clinical and basic science research passions.”

“I love the ADAA annual meetings and look very much forward to them for the above reasons. I have met brilliant researchers and clinicians at the ADAA, and some have turned to great clinical and research collaborators, and good friends. I also check the website and webinars. Also, as I write for the media a lot, ADAA has kindly been sharing my work with those interested.”

“I recently received the news from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development that an R01 application to follow a cohort of traumatized Syrian refugee children in the US and their parents, to examine the illness course, and its epigenetic, autonomic, and environmental correlates. Drs. Tanja Jovanovic, Nicole Nugent, Alicia Smith, and David Rosenberg are the great collaborators on this project. I have also been using augmented reality combined with telemedicine for treatment of phobias with great success in a pilot study of fear of spiders. This data was presented at the ADAA last year in a symposium. We are advancing to fear of dogs and humans. I also often write public education pieces for the media, which can be seen on my lab website, and ADAA generously shares those with the members. https://www.starclab.org/media

Dr. Javanbkht went to medical school in Iran, and finished his research track residency at the University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry. Currently, Dr. Javanbkht is an assistant professor of psychiatry specialized in anxiety disorders and PTSD, and director of the STARC. His research is focused on the underlying neurobiological body and brain mechanisms in anxiety disorders and PTSD, and how psychotherapy works. He is specifically interested in the role of personal meaning and cognitive interpretation of (or information about) traumatic events in the way people are differently traumatized by those events. He also researches neurobiology of cognitive, cultural, physical, and temporal context invulnerability or resilience to negative effects of trauma and PTSD. His other area of interest is the use of technology, in diagnosis and treatment of anxiety disorders and PTSD. He uses functional MRI (brain imaging), electrophysiology, and genetic methods in research. In clinical practice, he focuses on a treatment plan specifically tailored for each person based on their psychosocial and life circumstances, personal goals, the meaning of life, and needs. He uses medications, psychotherapy, exercise, nutrition, and improving social life to help patients not only overcome their anxiety and fear, but also achieve their highest potentials in having a better life.

Karen Cassiday, PhD, ACT

"My graduate school advisor, Rich McNally, suggested ADAA would be a great place to join as a student so I could present my research and network with other like-minded people who were really interested in researching and treating anxiety disorders.”

“ADAA has given me many things I needed at different stages of my career that were either unavailable or hard to find.  Early in my career, I was often the only professional who knew about evidence-based therapies for anxiety and I needed a place to be with my own kind without having to explain myself and combat skepticism. Then I needed inspiration from the ideas of scientists and other clinicians so I could improve my clinical skills. ADAA also gave me a multi-disciplinary group that mirrored my daily work life and that felt great. I have really enjoyed the opportunity to share my knowledge by giving presentation. Lastly, ADAA has given me the opportunity to serve humankind in a bigger way by sharing my leadership skills on committees, the Board and as president.”

“I have depended on my ADAA colleagues throughout my career to give me inspiration, encouragement and mentoring for my clinical dilemmas and business dilemmas. The friendly non-competitive atmosphere has made it easy to call up anyone to get their advice. I don't believe that my patients and staff would have fared as well as they have had I not been very involved with ADAA."

Dr. Karen Cassiday is a lively, sought-after speaker and commentator on national media such as Nightline, The Today Show, Animal Planet, The Joy Behar Show, Huffington Post, public radio and many more. She is a TEDx speaker who shared her personal experience as a mother overcoming her own anxious perfectionism in the middle of Walt Disney World! She is the host of the Moms Without Worry radio show. She served as the President of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America and is the founder of the AnxietyTreatment Center of Greater Chicago, the longest-running clinic to first use modern exposure-based treatment for anxiety disorders in the Chicago region. She won the Anxiety and Depression Association of America’s prestigious Clinician of Distinction Award and is a Clinical Fellow. She is also a Diplomate and Founding Fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy, served as Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Chicago OCD Foundation/Beyond OCD, and has been listed on numerous Who’s Who lists.  She has published numerous scientific articles and articles on parenting and managing anxiety. Dr. Cassiday is dedicated to helping mothers overcome the cultural pressure to be perfect and to raise perfect kids. She enjoys using her expertise from over thirty years in the field to help families overcome the dilemmas of parenting in a high-stress digital world. Her goal is to help all mothers embrace the messy hilarity of parenting with unshakable self-confidence so they can raise kids who thrive!

Check out Dr. Cassiday’s newest ventures:
Recent TED talk:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7OaAO4H_Pc
Recent radio show: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/966-moms-without-worry-54275017/episode/moms-without-worry-1-being-a-54461885/
Recent Facebook Live Event: Mental Health America Facebook Live Anxiety Roundtable
 

Dave Carbonell, PhD

“In the beginning, it gave me a clinical focus when it was quite rare to specialize in anxiety disorder treatment, and that has really defined my career.”

Dave Carbonell, PhD is a Clinical Psychologist who specializes in treating anxiety. He is the author of four self- help books: Panic Attacks Workbook, The Worry Trick, Fear of Flying Workbook, and Outsmart Your Anxious Brain: 10 Simple Ways to Beat the Worry Trick. He is the “coach” of the popular self-help site, anxietycoach.com, and has taught workshops on the treatment of anxiety disorders to more than 10,000 therapists in the U.S. and abroad.  He received his doctorate in clinical psychology from DePaul University in Chicago in 1985 and has maintained a practice devoted to the treatment of anxiety disorders in Chicago since 1990. In his spare time, he is the founding member of The Therapy Players, an improvisational comedy troupe of professional psychotherapists in the Chicago area.
 

Sheila Rauch, PhD, ABPP

"I joined ADAA in my first year as a professional psychologist as the organization was a good fit for my budding academic medical career. ADAA was the exceptional organization that included mental health professional from all types of practice as well as patients and their families.  The goal to push science, practice, and recovery was wholly in line with my perspective.  The Scientific preconference had a very good reputation for providing the highest quality of scientific research on anxiety disorders and the quality spilled over into the conference.”  

The multidisciplinary atmosphere of the organization that provides space and value to all scientific practice to support those suffering with mental health issues.”

ADAA helps me to get out of my comfort zone to see what is happening in the larger mental health field. As a clinical researcher, I can easily get stuck in my perspective and people who practice in the same way as me. ADAA gives me connections to very different type of providers and practices while staying evidence based.”

Sheila Rauch, PhD, ABPP is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Emory University School of Medicine. She led design and now serves as Deputy Director of the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program and Director of Mental Health Research and Program Evaluation at the VA Atlanta Healthcare System. Dr. Rauch has been developing programs, conducting research and providing PTSD and Anxiety Disorders treatment for over 20 years. Her research focuses on examination of mechanisms involved in the development and treatment of PTSD and improving access to effective interventions. She is an author of the new Prolonged Exposure manual to be released by Oxford University Press in August of 2019.  She is a fellow of the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy (ABCT), was granted membership in the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, and serves as a member of the Board of Directors and Scientific Council of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. 

Dr. Rauch recently received the Mark and Barbara Klein Distinguished Professorship in Mind-Body Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry at Emory University School of Medicine.  This award is both an honor and an opportunity to move her work on the physical health impact of trauma forward.
 

Elizabeth McIngvale, PhD

I have been involved in ADAA as early as graduate school. From conferences, resources to information, ADAA has been an incredible resource to me and our field. I enjoy the community and opportunity to be connected to a national organization with the goal in mind of providing effective care for individuals with an anxiety disorder. ADAA benefits the work that we do in every way from providing research and presentation opportunities, being a part of a community working towards the same goal and allowing us to be in the know about upcoming research and treatment for patients with anxiety and related disorders. I have recently been named the director of the newly formed McLean OCD Institute of Houston (houstonocdprogram.org), previously known as the Houston OCD Program. I am honored to be able to lead a group of amazing clinicians and staff to make a positive impact in lives of those with OCD and anxiety in Houston and across the globe. Thank you to ADAA for all that you do and will continue to do for providers and patients.

Dr. McIngvale is the director of the McLean OCD Institute at Houston, where she maintains and active clinical, research and leadership role. Her clinical interests focus on OCD, anxiety disorders, mental health stigma and access to mental health care. She is the founder of the Peace of Mind Foundation, a non-profit foundation dedicated to OCD. Dr. McIngvale operates ocdchallenge.org, a free self-help website for OCD which is live in 6 languages and serves nearly 4,000 individuals. She was the first ever national spokesperson for the International Obsessive Compulsive Foundation and now serves on their board of directors.
 

Andrew Rosen PhD, ABPP, FAACP

“I became involved with ADAA when it was still the Phobia Society of America around 1990. I met Jerilyn Ross then and in the early 1990s we initiated a plan to have statewide chapters…in that case the Anxiety Disorders Association of Florida. This proved to not be a practical pathway and was phased out. I attended most of the annual conferences and really enjoyed the learning and the culture of the association as more and more professionals around the country developed a dedication to understanding anxiety and later mood disorders. Before the 1990 period there was little attention paid to these diagnostic entities. I have enjoyed presenting at many conferences and participating in the planning of presentations and a few of the conferences in Florida. Being an ADAA member has benefited me as a psychologist as a person and it has added to the recognition that our Center here in Florida has. Recently, I have become a Co-Chair for the Social Anxiety SIG of ADAA and look forward to continuing its development in offering education to interested members. Although we are all disappointed that our meeting in San Antonio could not be, I look forward to providing help to the many, many people who are and will be hurting from COVID and resuming at next year’s meeting.”

Dr. Andrew Rosen is Board Certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). He is also a Clinical Fellow of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) and a Diplomate and Fellow in the American Academy of Clinical Psychology (FAACP). He is an active member of the American Psychological Association (APA), the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology, the Florida Psychological Association (FPA), and the Adelphi Society for Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy. He has previously served as president of both the Palm Beach County Psychological Society and the Anxiety Disorders Association of Florida. Dr. Rosen founded the Center for Treatment of Anxiety and Mood Disorders in Delray Beach, Florida, where he continues to serve as Director and to work as a board-certified, licensed psychologist providing in-person and telehealth treatment options. 

View his recent book HOCD: Everything You Didn’t Know – A Primer For Understanding & Overcoming Homosexual Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Jennifer Sy, PhD

“ADAA is a great place to find topics for continuing education on a wide variety of topics, which is very useful when encountering co-occurring diagnoses/problems. My colleagues at Houston OCD Program and I have used ADAA's webinars (most recently Jonathan Grayson's webinar on Strategic Pressure) as a mini-lunch and learn for our office and had a discussion afterwards about how we could implement aspects of what we learned in our clinical practice.”

Dr. Jennifer Sy is a clinical psychologist at the Houston OCD Program. Dr. Sy’s clinical and research interests focus on optimization of exposure therapy for anxiety disorders, particularly in OCD, panic disorder, and social anxiety. Since many individuals present with co-occurring anxiety and OC-spectrum disorders, she is particularly interested in helping clients identify common behaviors/thought processes that occur across diagnoses so they can apply what they learn in treatment to other areas of their lives.

 

 

Stephanie Woodrow, LCPC NCC


Recently named an “Emerging Leader” by ADAA, Stephanie is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and a National Certified Counselor specializing in the treatment of adults with anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, and related disorders.  
 

Briana Woods-Jaeger, PhD

“I became involved in ADAA in 2017 at the suggestion of colleagues who highlighted the balance between research and practice and opportunities for networking and collaboration.  My first year I was immediately struck but just how true these sentiments are and how many opportunities there are to be actively engaged. I enjoy the opportunity to be a part of a thriving network of committed and engaged researchers, clinicians, and advocates.  In particular, ADAA's interest in and commitment to diversity and multicultural issues has provided a wonderful opportunity for me to connect with others across the country committed to this important work. Being an ADAA member benefits my work by connecting me with amazing colleagues and providing a range of training and dissemination opportunities.”

Dr. Briana Woods-Jaeger is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education at Emory University. She received her PhD and MS in Clinical Child Psychology from the University of Washington. Dr. Woods-Jaeger's research examines social and structural processes that link the experience of child trauma and adversity to mental and physical health disparities. Her work focuses on partnering with communities to identify ways to prevent adverse childhood experiences and support different systems such as education, juvenile justice, and health care in responding to the needs of trauma-exposed youth. She is currently a Principal Investigator on research projects supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention focused on primary and secondary violence prevention and promoting resilience after violence exposure.

Dr. Woods serves as a co-chair on ADAA’s Multicultural Advances SIG.
 

Amanda Baker, PhD


Dr. Amanda Baker is a research and clinical psychologist and Clinical Director at the Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders in the Psychiatry Department at Massachusetts General Hospital and Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School where she has worked since 2013. Dr. Baker received her Ph.D. from Boston University in 2013 and completed her pre-doctoral internship and post-doctoral training at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Dr. Baker is an active member of Anxiety and Depression Association of America where she is vice-chair of the Early Career Special Interest Group. Dr. Baker's clinical and research interests focus on the development, validation, and dissemination of empirically based psychosocial treatments for anxiety and related disorders. She has a current NARSAD Young Investigator Award from the Brain and Behavior Foundation examining the use of ecological momentary assessment and wearable psychophysiological assessment to develop intra-individual networks of panic disorder and assess change in CBT.
 

Jamie Micco, PhD ABPP

“My first ADAA conference was in 2001 as a first-year graduate student. This was when it was still acceptable to present a student research poster on construction paper! Since then, I have attended many more ADAA conferences because of their perfect balance of in-depth clinical content, cutting edge research presentations, and networking opportunities. I served five years on the Conference Committee, and I am now Chair of the Professional Education Committee, promoting the dissemination of new research and empirically supported treatments on a year-round basis.

“Though I always enjoy the annual conference, my ADAA membership also provides me with top quality, low cost clinical training through our webinars — and new this year, our online mental health forum! Being a member of ADAA has given me the opportunity to connect with colleagues whose work intersects with mine. This has led to some rewarding collaborations. For example, without ADAA, I would not have met Patricia Zurita-Ona, PsyD—my conversations with her led to us developing and presenting clinical workshops comparing and contrasting different approaches to the treatment of youth anxiety and OCD.

“I’m happy to announce the opening of my new group practice: The Concord Center. Located outside of Boston, MA, we provide CBT and DBT for people with anxiety, OCD, depression, mood disorders, and more. Check us out at www.concordcbt.com.”

Dr. Jamie Micco is a licensed clinical psychologist and a Lecturer in Psychology, Part-Time, at Harvard Medical School. She is Board Certified in Cognitive and Behavioral Psychology through the American Board of Professional Psychology. She specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for children, adolescents, and adults with anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and depression. She has first-authored or co-authored many peer-reviewed publications on topics related to child/adolescent anxiety and depression, CBT, and information-processing biases. She is also the author of “The Worry Workbook for Teens: Effective CBT Strategies to Break the Cycle of Chronic Worry and Anxiety,” published by New Harbinger (June 2017).

 

Ashley Clausen, PhD

“I joined ADAA in 2013 during my first year of graduate school. My graduate school mentor, Dr. Robin Aupperle, provided an incredible opportunity for me to attend ADAA’s annual conference in 2013. My experience at the conference highlighted the strong commitment of ADAA towards early career professionals in anxiety, depression, and trauma-focused disciplines and provided a supportive outlet for professional development. ADAA has been one of the few communities that has provided interdisciplinary opportunities combining my interests in neurobiology, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder. ADAA quickly became my professional home and I became more and more involved in the ADAA community. My involvement in ADAA has not only increased my professional network, but my own confidence and expertise as a scientist-practitioner, as well through online trainings and seminars. In 2018 I joined the Early Career SIG leadership and further expanded my appreciation for all ADAA has to offer to its community! I look forward to cutting-edge research, having really excellent and stimulating conversations with experts in the field every year at the annual conference!”

Dr. Clausen is currently a post-doctoral research fellow at the VA VISN 6 MIRECC and the Duke Brain Imaging and Analysis Center in Durham, NC. Her research focus relates to the relationships between combat-related PTSD, neural (neuropsychological as well as neurobiological), and physical health in Veteran populations. Clinically, Dr. Clausen has advanced training in neuropsychological assessment, PTSD treatment, and health psychology interventions.
 

Simon A. Rego, PsyD ABPP ACT

“I have been an active member of the ADAA since joining in 2007! I started getting involved by presenting a poster at the annual conference in Savannah, Georgia in 2008 and don’t think I’ve missed a conference since joining! I love the mission, focus, and multidisciplinary membership of ADAA. It’s also just the right size to be comprehensive in what it can offer, while still being nimble enough to address emerging issues in the field and meet the needs of its members.”

“There’s a real sense of community –and not just at the conference. It creates opportunities to connect throughout the year with colleagues with research and clinical backgrounds, at all levels of training, and across various disciplines.”

“Over the years, I’ve been able to participate in the association as a poster presenter, as well as both a panelist and chair of several clinical roundtables and workshops. I’ve also been able to get involved in the association’s governance, first as a committee member, then as a committee chair, and finally, as a member of the Board of Directors! More recently, I was honored to have been selected to lead a master clinician session at the 2020 conference in San Antonio, TX. Following this, I, along with my esteemed colleague here at Montefiore Medical Center-Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Dr. Jonathan Alpert, will be co-chairing the 2021 conference in Boston, MA! All of this has helped my work in terms of making connections for collaborations, strengthening my CV for academic promotion, and helping with patient referrals for my practice.”

“It really is an organization with something for everyone. It is especially welcoming of more junior members and emphasizes integrating diverse perspectives. We are all going to work with patients with anxiety and depression during the course of our careers, so I can’t imagine why someone in our field would not want to join! What better way to stay on top of current developments?”

Dr. Rego is the Chief Psychologist, Director of Psychology Training, and Director of the CBT Training Program at Montefiore Medical Center, the academic medical center and University Hospital for Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York. He is also an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, one of the nation's premier institutions for medical education, basic research and clinical investigation.

Sanne van Rooij, PhD

I became an ADAA member in 2015 when I started as a postdoc at the Grady Trauma Project with Tanja Jovanovic and Kerry Ressler, who co-chaired the conference that year in Miami (the one with the great waterfront dance party). The thing I enjoy the most about ADAA is the community, all the members I have met in the last 5 years. ADAA has also provided me many new opportunities for research and collaboration. I have really enjoyed co-chairing the Genetics & Neuroscience SIG 2017-2019 with Sahib Khalsa. It was a great way to get to know the ADAA organization better and learn more about the conference and what people are most interested in.

Dr. Sanne van Rooij is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Neuroscience from Utrecht University (the Netherlands) in 2015. Dr. van Rooij's research aims to identify neurobiological predictors for PTSD development and treatment response and the investigation of novel brain-based treatments. As part of her PhD training with Drs. Kahn and Geuze, she performed a pre- and post-treatment neuroimaging study on war veterans with PTSD. She identified predictors for poor treatment outcome, such as a smaller hippocampus and increased amygdala activation. As a postdoctoral fellow with Drs. Ressler and Jovanovic, she studied the role of the hippocampus in the development of PTSD in acutely and chronically traumatized civilians and children. She is an active member of the Neuroimaging Group of the PTSD psychiatric consortium. Dr. van Rooij collaborates with Emory's Department of Neurosurgery to assess the effect of amygdala ablation and direct amygdala stimulation on PTSD symptoms and biomarkers. She has been an active member of ADAA since 2015.

Krystal M. Lewis, PhD

“My graduate school advisor, Thomas H. Ollendick, encouraged his students to join ADAA and doing so was such a great decision. ADAA has been my professional home since 2008 and during that time I have presented posters and talks at the annual conferences, participated in the Career Development Leadership program (CDLP), co-chaired Special Interests Groups (SIG), mentored with the CDLP, and volunteered to help with several other endeavors. ADAA is an amazing organization and a provides great opportunities for young professionals to volunteer, network, and experience immense professional growth. I’m excited to continue working with ADAA as my own professional goals align nicely with the organizations mission.”

“I really enjoy the collaboration with professionals around the country. ADAA provides an opportunity to learn about research by attending talks at the conference, participating in webinars, and reading about new insights via email or social media. I especially enjoy the relationships that have developed from participating with the different SIGs. The Child and Adolescent SIG has monthly peer consultation calls which allows us to engage with specialists within our organization and obtain clinical consultation for challenging, unique cases. It’s a space for clinicians at all stages of development to talk with one another, share insightful tips and tools, and be part of a community of providers who are passionate about providing the best clinical care to children and adolescents.”

“Being an active ADAA member contributes to my work in a variety of ways. I have at hand a group of professionals whom I can call on when I need clinical advice, researchers who I can collaborate with on projects or involve in SIG meetings to present their work, and a professional home where I feel most comfortable. I encourage students and trainees to join this organization which will contribute to their professional growth and maintain their excitement about their work.”

Nina Rifkind, LCSW, ACS, ACT

I originally joined ADAA and attended my first conferences in the mid 1990’s. I rededicated myself to the organization several years ago, when I went full time with my private practice. It was important for me to have a community that would facilitate professional growth and provide me with a network of expertise to draw on and contribute to.

ADAA has satisfied those expectations and done much more. What I’ve enjoyed most is the sense of comradery and partnership among members and the ADAA staff. When I participate in Special Interest Group meetings, I know I will be learning, whether I present a case or not. Others’ willingness to share their experience and knowledge as well as their most challenging clinical issues, is always validating and gives me the support I need, as an independent practitioner. The annual conferences are by far, the best place I’ve found for highly specialized trainings and a nice way to connect with everyone I meet on a virtual basis throughout the year.”

“Being an active member of ADAA, attending SIGs, conferences, and webinars has benefited my work in immeasurable ways. I have the confidence to take on some of the most challenging cases and help those who may not have many options for effective treatment. I’m proud to help promote evidence-based treatment and offer it with the expertise that ADAA has helped me build and sustain, with ongoing developments in research and clinical practice. I believe my involvement in ADAA, has in large part, led to referrals from some of the most well-respected residential programs around the country.”

“When I’m asked by colleagues how to effectively treat OCD or help kids and adolescents with debilitating anxiety, I encourage them to join ADAA and take advantage of access to the most current research, trainings and consultations. To me, participation is key, to gain and maintain the skills to be an effective, specialized clinician and the best possible resource for your patients.”

I am currently a member of the OCD SIG and Professional Education Committee.

Nina Rifkind is the owner of Wellspring Counseling, LLC located in Denville, New Jersey, specializing in evidence-based treatment of OCD and Anxiety Disorders in children, adolescents, and adults.

Julia Martin Burch, PhD

“A supervisor encouraged me to join ADAA in 2016 because of the excellent learning and networking opportunities for students and early career psychologists. I joined on her recommendation and soon after became part of the Child and Adolescent SIG leadership team and attended my first conference. I was blown away by the quality of the conference programming - I often wanted to attend three or four workshops per time slot - and left with many new evidence-based clinical insights and ideas. Since then, ADAA has become my favorite professional organization by far, due to the exceptional annual conference, professional development and networking opportunities, and the robust SIG programming. There are also so many ways to engage with the organization, such as the CDLP mentoring program or writing blogs for the lay public. I now encourage my own supervisees to join ADAA to build their professional networks and participate in the best conference around.”

Julia Martin Burch, PhD, is a clinical psychologist who works with children, teens, and parents in the McLean Anxiety Mastery Program. She specializes in evidence-based treatments, including cognitive behavior therapy and exposure and response prevention therapy, for youth anxiety and obsessive compulsive and related disorders. Dr. Martin Burch is also a member of the McLean School Consultation Service which trains school-based mental health staff around Massachusetts in the use of scientifically proven mental health treatments. She is interested in disseminating to the lay public scientifically proven practices for child anxiety, including writing blogs focused on child anxiety for Harvard Health and the American Psychological Association. To accompany child-oriented educational picture books, she also writes “Notes to Parents and Caregivers,” which include proven strategies to support anxious children.

Brian Schmaus, PhD

ADAA “helps me stay connected with the latest research and clinical practice for treating anxiety and related disorders. I first joined ADAA in 2008 and attended my first conference that year. It was towards the end of my graduate school training that I first learned of ADAA. One of my supervisors encouraged me to join ADAA and attend the annual conference. I enjoy being involved in a community where I get to meet and connect with a great number of people with similar clinical interests.” 

Dr. Brian Schmaus is a clinical psychologist at the Anxiety Treatment Center of Greater Chicago.  He earned his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science.  Dr. Schmaus has received training from leading experts in the fields of anxiety and related disorders.  He uses empirically supported treatments and tailors every treatment plan to the specific clinical needs of the patient. Dr. Schmaus has extensive experience working with anxious patients on the Autism Spectrum, and he has given several presentations at national conferences on the topic.  He has also presented on anxiety and anxiety related disorders and has authored publications in peer-reviewed journals. He teaches patients how to manage their worries and fears so they can learn how to tolerate uncertainty. 

Gordon Asmundson PhD R.D. Psych FRSC

Holly Scott, MBA, MS, LPC

  • Live & Recorded Webinars for CE credit
  • Mass General Hospital Psychiatry Webinars
  • Annual Conference Clinical Sessions, Research Symposium, & Exhibits
  • Social Anxiety Special Interest Group
  • Co-hosting an Hour of ADAA Twitter Q&A
  • Working toward Clinical Fellow status

This membership allows me to feel confident that I am maintaining a high level of training on the latest evidence-based practices to treat Anxiety and Depression.

Ken Goodman, LCSW

The Anxiety Solution Series, a 12-hour audio course, Stress Free, a compilation of six guided meditations, and The Personal Growth Series, a collection of seven hypnosis sessions.  Although my practice in Los Angeles was focused on treating anxiety disorders and OCD, I did not know other therapists who shared the same specialty.  Attending my first ADAA conference in 2013 changed that. The presentations from other experts filled the gaps in my knowledge and I met Kimberly Morrow, another LCSW. I joined her Membership Committee and we gave a presentation together two years later at the conference in Miami. Since then I have given talks at three other conferences, ran the Dine Around program for new conference attendees, and met many wonderful people who I now consider friends. The articles I wrote and the webinar I did for the ADAA website have not only reached thousands of people, they have generated several patients for my private practice. I recently completed writing Break Free from Anxiety and I am working on my next book. As member of ADAA's Public Education Committee, I plan on hosting upcoming webinars and writing more blogs for the ADAA website.  

Mary Alvord, PhD

Rachel Aredia, LCPC, NCC

headshot-rachel-aredia-1000px_0.jpg"I joined the ADAA earlier this year when Dr. Kissen recommended it to me as I was starting out in full time private practice. After looking at the resources available and networking opportunities, I decided to join. The ADAA is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to anxiety, depression and other related topics and I felt that this would help support me in enhancing my knowledge base for my clients. I also loved that they provided webinars and CEU’s at a reasonable cost for professionals as well as providing webinars to the public. One of my missions in the mental health community is to help break the stigma that surrounds mental health diagnosis and getting treated for them in the public, whether it be talk therapy and medication therapy or one or the other. I felt that given the ADAA provides webinars and resources to the public aligns with that mission. I am also so grateful for the opportunities the ADAA has given me in publishing one of my blogs. The community is so supportive and encouraging. I am very much looking forward to the opportunities, future CEU’s, and conferences the ADAA provides.”

Michelle Lozano, AMFT

Tonic on the Coping newsletter the most, though its early in my membership so I'm excited to see what's next.  It's also a cool feeling to have my friends and family know what it is I do, since therapists don't always have this luxury due to confidentiality. I'm especially excited for my first ADAA national conference in March."  

Kevin Chapman, PhD

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"I joined ADAA in 2008 and became involved in 2010 when I discovered that ADAA is a natural outlet for my research. I soon realized after joining ADAA that a number of my colleagues not only attend ADAA's annual conference but are also actively involved in the organization's governance. I enjoy my ADAA membership for several, interrelated reasons. ADAA has increasingly valued diversity and makes issues pertaining to diversity salient throughout all facets of its educational programming. Additionally, I thoroughly enjoy my time at ADAA conferences where I can not only spend time catching up with colleagues, but also attend an exceptionally diverse program pertaining to anxiety and related concerns. Presenting at ADAA is always extremely enjoyable and the increased emphasis on technology and social media is absolutely refreshing! Additionally, ADAA is truly innovative in leveraging the intersection between consumers and mental health providers. By engaging constituents through monthly Twitter Chats (one of my favorite components), webinars, and blog posts, ADAA truly facilitates dissemination and public education." 

Douglas Mennin, PhD, Scientific Council Chair 

Chair of the Scientific Council, I am excited to actively contribute to that multi-pronged mission and aid the organization in elucidating the science of anxiety and depression as well as providing my services to help ADAA get the word out to the public and improve the lives of those suffering from these conditions." 

Dr. Douglas Mennin has developed an active program of research in clinical trials and basic research into the nature of chronic and recurring bouts of anxiety and mood disorders, particularly worry, stress, and depression. He has conducted numerous studies of the basic psychological and physiological mechanisms of generalized anxiety and depression and regularly conducts psychotherapy outcome and mechanism research. Specifically, he has been developing an emotion regulation-based approach to treatment that integrates basic affect science and neuroscience and delineates a number of cognitive, physiological, and neural mechanisms that may help explain how the therapy is effective. Along with colleagues at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and in Denmark, he has also recently adapted this approach to treat distressed caregivers of patients with cancer. Read more about Dr. Mennin

Martin Paulus, PhD, Scientific Council Co-Chair 

Dr. Paulus is the Scientific Director and President of the Laureate Institute for Brain Research (LIBR) in Tulsa, OK. Dr. Martin Paulus joined the Laureate Institute for Brain Research (LIBR) in Tulsa, Oklahoma as the Scientific Director and President in May 2014. Prior to this transition, he had been a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and the Director of Telemental Health at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Health Care System (VASDHS). Dr. Paulus had been at UCSD since arriving as a postdoctoral fellow in 1986 and has been funded continuously by the NIH since 1997. LIBR focuses on using neuroscience approaches to develop better assessments for diagnosis or prognosis of mental health problems and to develop neuroscience based novel interventions. Dr. Paulus' research focuses on pragmatic academic psychiatry, i.e. how to use neuroscience-based measurements to generate individual level predictions that can be useful for clinicians. Moreover, Dr. Paulus is interested in whether computational approaches can be useful to better develop explanatory basis for psychiatric disorders that can be submitted to rigorous scientific examination. In particular, Dr. Paulus is interested whether individuals with increased levels of anxiety have difficulty differentiating random fluctuations from probabilistic but useful information.

Jessica Maples-Keller, PhD

Congratulations to Dr. Maples-Keller — the 2017 Donald F. Klein Early Career Investigator Award recipient! 

R. Nicholas Carleton, Ph.D., R.D. Psych

Cropped_Nick_Website_2017_nick_pic_0.pngI joined ADAA in 2004 as a new Master's student enrolled in the University of Regina graduate psychology program. The ADAA conference that year was held in Miami and would involve several firsts for me; specifically, my first conference attendance, my first poster presentations (I was fortunate enough to have two accepted), and my first time in Miami. Every aspect of the conference was spectacular and, for a nascent student, the experience was enthralling, but surreal. I was able to attend numerous symposia, many being presented by researchers I had read about and cited who suddenly became tangibly larger than life. I was able to interact with a tremendous number of like-minded researchers who were as excited about anxiety-related research as myself, as well as more welcoming and inclusive than I would have ever imagined. The entire experience was engaging and invigorating, and from that point on I was hooked — I have attended the ADAA conference every year since and the experience has been consistently excellent! I now have the privilege of giving back to an organization that has been such a salient and supportive part of my own professional growth. My own graduate students regularly attend the ADAA conference with me, which then make this terrific organization part of their own professional adventure. I look forward to many more years of growing together and I hope everyone reading continues to join us. I am certain we can all collaborate to continue building on the successes we have seen in improving mental health. 

Noah B. Clayman, LCSW-R, ACT 

Neal Sideman, Public Education Committee Co-Chair

Neal Sideman recovered from disabling panic disorder & agoraphobia in 1998. For the last 19 years, he has served as a self-help advocate, and an internationally-known coach and teacher for people recovering from panic disorder and agoraphobia. Neal's website, paniccure.com, has reached over 400,000 people. Since 1999, Neal has provided support, guidance and coaching to over 3,000 people working for their recovery from panic disorder, agoraphobia and social anxiety disorder. 

ADAA was essential to Neal's recovery. In 1997, he came across Jerilyn Ross' book "Triumph Over Fear." He contacted ADAA, and found his amazing CBT therapist as a result. After completing his recovery work, Neal joined ADAA. He attended his first ADAA conference in San Diego, in 1999. The following year, the journal of the ADAA, The ADAA Reporter, published Neal's essay: "How I Achieved My Cure of Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia: An Open Letter to Those on the Healing Path." Neal started giving presentations at ADAA conferences in 2005. In 2011, Neal was invited to participate in the newly-formed ADAA Public Education Committee, under Sally Winston's leadership. Sally initiated the public education webinars the following year, and Neal began hosting and then helping to organize the webinar series. Neal is excited to continue contributing to ADAA's mission! 

Dr. Kissen is the Clinical Director of the Light On Anxiety Treatment Center. Dr. Kissen specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for anxiety and related disorders. Dr. Kissen is the author of the Panic Workbook for Teens and is an active contributor to the Huffington Post and shares information on empirically supported treatment for anxiety and related disorders. Dr. Kissen has completed advanced training in CBT for Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs), including skin picking, hair pulling and nail biting. Dr. Kissen also has a special interest in the principles of mindfulness and their application for anxiety disorders. 

I was lucky enough to do my early practicums under the leadership and guidance of Dr. Karen Cassiday who is now president of ADAA. I learned from Dr. Cassiday that time spent with ADAA is one of the best professional investments that I could make. Through continuing education, professional connections and additional contact with mental health consumers, ADAA is truly my professional home. I have always had a passion for enhancing dissemination of empirically supported treatment protocols to mental health consumers. The public education committee offers a wonderful opportunity to create innovative programming to reach mental health consumers where they are, not just in the treatment room. I hope the future of mental health care delivery will allow for many more opportunities to expand access to mental health care through public education initiatives such as those spearheaded at ADAA. 

Karen Martinez, MD, MSc

Karen G. Martinez, MD, MSc is a child and adolescent psychiatrist in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She is an assistant professor at the University of Puerto Rico where she directs the Center for the Study and Treatment of Fear and Anxiety. As the director of this Center, Dr. Martinez leads an interdisciplinary team in the development of research and treatment protocols aimed at improving the assessment and treatment of anxiety in Puerto Ricans. This Center consists of an interdisciplinary group of psychiatrists, neuroscientists, psychologists and occupational therapists studying the role of physiological fear on anxiety disorders and cultural adaptation of treatments for anxiety disorders. She is also the principal investigator and director of the NIH funded Hispanic Clinical and Translational Research Education and Career Development Program at the University of Puerto Rico. Dr. Martinez completed a Post-doctoral Master's in Clinical Research in 2006 and has then continued to receive institutional, NIH and Susan G. Komen Foundation support for her research. Her multiple awards recognize her research work including the Career Development Award from the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), and a Minority Faculty Award from the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP). She is an active member of several professional organizations, such as the ADAA where she has spearheaded multiple projects in order to increase outreach to diverse population including being the co-chair of the Multicultural Special Interest Group. 

Jessica Graham-LoPresi, PhD

Jessica Graham-LoPresti, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Salem State University. Graham-LoPresti graduated from Williams College with a B.A. in Psychology and American Studies and received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Massachusetts Boston in Boston, MA. Graham-LoPresti received and American Psychological Association Minority Fellowship during her predoctoral training and completed her predoctoral internship training at the VA Boston Healthcare System in Boston, MA. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship in the National Center for PTSD, Women's Health Sciences Division in Boston, MA. Dr. Graham-LoPresti's clinical and research interests include barriers to care underserved and marginalized populations as well as the impact of racism on stress and anxiety for individuals of color. Dr. Graham-LoPresti serves as the co-chair for the multicultural special interest group through the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. 

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