Wellness Program Practitioners
Meet our: Psychologists | Acupuncturists | Mind/Body Specialist | Yoga Instructors
Psychologists
Shelley S. Lee, PhD
Dr. Lee has extensive training in cognitive therapy and clinical psychology, as well as significant experience working with couples facing the stresses associated with infertility treatment and IVF. She also has particular expertise in all aspects of oocyte donation, including donor and recipient evaluation and treatment issues.
She received a BA in English Literature from the University of Wisconsin, as well as an MA in Psychology and a PhD in Clinical Psychology from The New School for Social Research. She completed a psychology internship and post-doctoral fellowship in the Division of Reproductive Medicine and Infertility, in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center.
Prior to joining NYU Fertility Center, Dr. Lee co-led a women's support group. She also conducted a RESOLVE™ group for women with premature ovarian failure, and she initiated and led a group for women whose pregnancies were the result of ART treatment.
In addition to her training in psychology, Dr. Lee has received extensive training, and is an experienced performer in modern dance. She has experience teaching and working with diverse cultural groups, as well as practicing the mind-body techniques that she brings to her infertility patients.
Dr. Lee is a member of the American Psychological Association, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, and the Society for Research in Child Development.
To schedule an appointment, please call (212) 263-0054.
Mindy R. Schiffman, PhD
Dr. Schiffman provides individual, couples and group counseling, as well as psychological evaluations for Program patients. Her specialty is in assisting people to cope with the emotional stress of medical illnesses, including infertility, chronic pain syndrome, and loss and bereavement issues. She has extensive experience working with infertility and cancer patients from diverse cultural backgrounds and lifestyles; and is certified to offer sex therapy to individuals and couples.
Dr. Schiffman received her BS and MBA from Simmons College. After receiving her PhD in clinical psychology from Columbia University's Teachers College, Dr. Schiffman completed fellowships in psycho-oncology on the gynecology unit at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and in Human Sexuality at New York Hospital/Cornell Medical Center.
Prior to joining NYU Fertility Center, Dr. Schiffman worked in one of the first IVF programs in the United States and during the past 17 years as a private practitioner, she has worked to help patients come to terms with infertility or pregnancy loss, including helping them through the adoption process.
Dr. Schiffman is a member of the American Psychological Association, the New York State Psychological Association, the Society for Sex Therapy and Research, as well as the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. She is certified in sex therapy by the American Board of Sexology.
To schedule an appointment, please call (212) 263-0054.
Acupuncturists
Lara Rosenthal, L.Ac.
Lara Rosenthal, LAc is a licensed acupuncturist and board certified Chinese herbologist specializing in women's health and fertility. She is a faculty member at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in New York, and a clinical supervisor at the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases' Initiative for Women with Disabilities. Lara is a professional member of RESOLVE™ and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. She has a BS in Biological Sciences from Stanford University, is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, and studied and worked in Taiwan for three years. Lara regularly conducts lectures for both the general public and for practicing physicians on the uses of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine to enhance fertility and treat common gynecologic issues. Her work on acupuncture and in vitro fertilization has been published in Fertility and Sterility, and the Journal of Chinese Medicine.
Lara provides services at NYU Fertility Center, as well as her private practice in Manhattan. For more information, please visit http://www.lararosenthal.com/.
To schedule an acupuncture appointment, please call (212) 807-6769 or email info@lararosenthal.com.
Belinda Anderson, Ph.D., L.Ac.
Belinda Anderson, PhD, LAc is currently the Academic Dean at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in New York City and maintains a private clinical practice. She is recognized as an expert in the use of acupuncture in conjunction with in vitro fertilization (IVF), having published the first comprehensive review of the research investigating the use of acupuncture for improving IVF outcomes.
Dr. Anderson earned her PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Sydney (Australia) and her Masters degree in Chinese and Japanese Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine from the New England School of Acupuncture (NESA, Boston, MA). She has over 20 years of teaching, academic administrative and research experience. Recent research positions were at the Sloan Kettering Institute and at NESA in collaboration with Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Anderson is widely published, serves as an editor for several complementary and alternative medical journals, and regularly participates on National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) expert panels to determine research-funding allocation.
Belinda provides services at NYU Fertility Center in coordination with Lara Rosenthal, LAc. To schedule an acupuncture appointment, please call (212) 807-6769 or email info@lararosenthal.com.
Brooke Fries, LAc
Brooke Fries, LAc is a Licensed Acupuncturist in the state of New York and is nationally certified to practice Chinese Herbology (NCCAOM). She pursued her interests in health and healing as an undergraduate at Stanford University by studying Human Biology and Dance. After a professional dance career in NYC, Brooke earned her MS in Traditional Chinese Medicine at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. She received the Kamwo Award upon graduation, which is given to the valedictorian of each graduating class.
Brooke is invested in the full cycle of reproductive health, from fertility to pregnancy and beyond to pediatric medicine. She has done post-graduate training in fertility, Chinese medical gynecology, and pediatrics and has experience working with women at all stages of the fertility process.
Brooke has treated patients in a variety of settings, including St. John's Riverside Hospital, Grand Meridian Clinic, and her private practice Acupuncture for All Ages, located in Manhattan. She believes that Chinese medicine is a powerful tool for physical, emotional, and spiritual growth and she feels privileged to assist her patients on their journey to truly balanced living.
Brooke provides services at NYU Fertility Center in coordination with Lara Rosenthal, LAc. To schedule an acupuncture appointment, please call (212) 807-6769 or email info@lararosenthal.com.
Mind/Body Specialist
Helen Adrienne, LCSW, BCD
Helen Adrienne’s heart has been in private practice since 1979 both as a general therapist, working with a multitude of issues, and as a specialist providing mental health services for infertility or reproductive and gynecologic patients in New York City, Manhattan, and Bergen County, New Jersey A graduate of Rutgers University and Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service, Helen went on to train in family therapy, mind/body medicine, cognitive therapy, guided meditation and Ericksonian clinical hypnotherapy.
Helen has served as adjunct instructor of ob-gyn at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and New York Medical College. While on the life-long learning faculty of Rockland Community College, she led workshops on menopause and premenstrual syndrome. With a grant from the American Association of University Women and the support of Rockland Community College and the Rockland County Mental Health Association, she designed and ran a conference on complementary treatments for menopause. More than 200 women attended this conference in 1993, which was a cutting edge approach to the topic at that time.
Helen is a founding member of the New York City chapter of RESOLVE™, a national infertility organization. For many years she has run mind/body support groups through Resolve for the infertile patient.
She has been invited to share her expertise in the area of infertility at the conferences of two prestigious organizations, the Milton H. Erickson Foundation and the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis. Helen presents at local conferences as well.
Furthermore, Helen is an approved consultant for the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis and is on the faculty of the New York Society of Ericksonian Psychotherapy and Hypnosis.
Helen has been published on the topic of the emotional aspects of infertility and is the monthly columnist for the infertility website INCIID. She now publishes her own bi-monthly newsletter, The Baby Manifest-O. To register for this newsletter, go to http://www.mind-body-unity.com.
The idea that the mind and the body are an inseparable unit (commonly called the “bodymind”) is documented scientifically and seems like common sense to us today. As a member of the Association for Spirituality and Psychotherapy, Helen is oriented toward providing mental health services to the place where mind, body and spirit meet.
Whether a medical condition triggers emotional issues or emotional issues impact the body, Helen is attuned, well-trained and devoted to providing appropriate therapeutic interventions and facilitating relief, healing and resolution of emotional strain and physical symptoms. Helen continues to provide services for men, women, couples and groups.
Helen is a licensed Social Worker in New York and New Jersey, and is a Board Certified Diplomat in Clinical Social Work. She provides services at NYU Fertility Center, as well as her private practice in Manhattan. For more information, please visit http://www.mind-body-unity.com.
To schedule an appointment, please call (212) 758-0125 or email helen@www.mind-body-unity.com.
Yoga Instructors
Laura O'Brien Donath
Laura O’Brien Donath has been practicing yoga since 1997. She found yoga while being an avid runner and needed an alternative to pounding the pavement. Laura was certified through Integral Yoga in 2002 and has been teaching ever since. Since then she has also studied and received certification to teach Post Natal through Karma Kids/Joythi Larson, Prenatal through Integral Yoga Institute of New York, Restorative through Yoga Works/Jillian Pransky and Kids Yoga through Next Generation Yoga/Jodi Komitor. Laura teaches Mommy and Me, Kids Yoga and Fertility and Flexibility at Devotion Yoga Studio in Hoboken, New Jersey.
She has also developed a yoga program with NYU Fertility Center that aims to decrease the feelings of stress, anxiety and depression women can experience during infertility treatment. Her goal is to be able to teach yoga to anyone at any stage in life because she has experienced the profound benefits of yoga and wants to share it with others.
To register for yoga at NYU Fertility Center, please call (917) 208-8984 or email lobyoga@yahoo.com.
Tracy Toon-Spencer
Tracy Toon-Spencer is an Anusara-inspired Yoga teacher and a certified professional life coach. She has been practicing yoga for over 15 years and studying and teaching Anusara Yoga since 2003. It was her own struggles with conceiving and wanting holistic and peer support that lead her to create a class specifically for women on the path to pregnancy, to help them create a community of positive support and maintain a physical, mental and spiritual environment that would enrich fertility.
She has been teaching ongoing Fertility Yoga classes at World Yoga Center in Manhattan since 2005. She completed the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine clinical training with advanced specialty training in infertility in 2005, and co-leads 8 week mind/body support groups for fertility in Manhattan. Her coaching practice specializes in helping women cope with fertility challenges. For more information, please visit www.fertilelifenyc.com.
To register for an off-site yoga class with Tracy, please call (212) 375-1688 or email TLToon@aol.com.
