Our Mission

Dr. Diana Antinoro Burke is the founder and Executive Director of the New Jersey Center for OCD and Anxiety, LLC.  She is a licensed clinical psychologist and has formidable expertise using cognitive behavioral treatment with individuals with OCD, anxiety disorders, tics, and body-focused repetitive behaviors. She was the former Clinical Director of COTTAGe, at the University of Pennsylvania, the Training Director at The Center for Emotional Health and a postdoctoral fellow at CTSA at the University of Pennsylvania. She has made significant contributions to the research and training of professionals in these areas and is committed to improving the lives of people with anxiety, OCD, tics, and BFRBs.

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Prior Training and Experience:

• Bachelor of Arts, New York University, CAS Honors Program

• Doctor of Psychology, Rutgers University, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology

• Postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Treatment and Study of Anxiety (CTSA), a world-renowned research center and institution

• Clinical Director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Child/Adolescent OCD, Tic, Trich, and Anxiety Group (COTTAGe) 

• Senior Psychologist and Practicum Training Director, The Center for Emotional Health of Greater Philadelphia

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Participation in Research and Training:

• Adult and child research projects evaluating the effectiveness of exposure and response prevention for OCD

• The investigation of the effectiveness of habit reversal for trichotillomania and tics

• Prolonged exposure research project for teens with post-traumatic stress disorder

• Supervision and training of postdoctoral candidates and psychiatry fellows at the University of Pennsylvania and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

• Training of graduate students in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, currently a clinical supervisor at Rutgers University GSAPP doctoral program

• National and local presentations at conferences specific to Dr. Diana’s areas of expertise

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Shelley Avny, PhD is clinical psychologist with expertise in assessing and treating anxiety and related disorders in children and adolescents. Dr. Avny relies on evidence-based practices, and in addition to using cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to treat the full spectrum of anxiety disorders, she also has specialized training in exposure and response prevention (ERP) for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), PCIT-SM for selective mutism (SM), prolonged exposure (PE) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), habit reversal training (HRT) for body focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs), and pediatric sleep disorders. 

 

In 2016, Dr. Avny developed WeSpeak - the first intensive group behavioral treatment for preteens and teens with selective mutism (SM). Each year, families travel nationally, and sometimes internationally, to participate in the program. WeSpeak has been presented at various conferences in an effort to disseminate knowledge and techniques to other providers. 

Inspired by a former supervisor who was relentless in his therapeutic efforts, Dr. Avny strives to identify ways to optimize treatment outcomes for youth with anxiety disorders. She is not only committed to reducing symptoms, but also to improving functioning with friends, at school, and with family. She is particularly interested in identifying mechanisms to translate the progress made in sessions to the real world.

In her free time, Dr. Avny enjoys spending time with friends and family, cooking, and traveling.

Past Experience:

• Founder, Child & Adolescent Anxiety Practice (CAAP)

• Director of Training, Kurtz Psychology Consulting

• Director of the Selective Mutism Program, Kurtz Psychology Consulting

• Director of Mighty Mouth Kids, Kurtz Psychology Consulting 

Training:

• Postdoctoral Fellow, Anxiety and Mood Disorders Center, Child Mind Institute

• Predoctoral Intern, Child Clinical and Pediatric Psychology, University of Florida Health Science Center 

• Extern, Pediatric Sleep Center, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)

• Extern, Family Stress and Illness Program, CHOP

• Extern, Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety (CTSA), University of Pennsylvania

• Extern, Child & Adolescent OCD, Trich, Tic, and Anxiety Group (COTTAGe), University of Pennsylvania

• Extern, NYU Child Study Center, NYU Langone Health

Education:

• PhD, Clinical Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University

• MS, Clinical Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University

• BS, University of Maryland - College Park