Cara Settipani, PhD
Cara Settipani, PhD is a licensed psychologist specializing in evidence-based treatment of anxiety, OCD, and related concerns. Cara has expertise in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) approaches, including exposure and response prevention (ERP) for the treatment of OCD. Her therapeutic style is collaborative and warm. She helps people develop effective skills for coping with anxiety and make meaningful behavior change that is consistent with their values and goals. When working with children and adolescents, she draws upon her knowledge of child development and identifies how anxiety is impacting their functioning at school, home, and with peers to provide a comprehensive treatment approach.
Cara has over 15 years of experience working in a variety of healthcare settings, including academic medical centers, pediatric hospitals, and private practice. She was mentored by internationally recognized leaders in the field of youth anxiety, Dr. Philip Kendall and Dr. Anne Marie Albano. Her extensive research training informs her evidence-based treatment approach.
Cara graduated with Honors in Psychology from Northwestern University. She received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Temple University and completed her predoctoral internship at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Cara completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University Medical Center, where she became an Instructor of Psychology within the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Cara worked in Toronto, Canada as a research fellow at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and as a psychologist at CBT Associates. She later co-founded a specialty practice for the treatment of anxiety and OCD in the San Francisco Bay Area. Cara then returned to the East Coast and worked in the Division of Strategy and Innovation at Memorial Sloan Kettering, where she had the opportunity to lead the application of evidence-based psychology to healthcare innovation. Cara was an executive clinical director at Lumate Health prior to founding the Anxiety and OCD Evidence Based Treatment Center.
Cara enjoys actively participating in professional societies, including as a reviewer of self-help books for the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy (ABCT). She previously served as President of the Child and Adolescent Anxiety Special Interest Group of ABCT and was awarded the Alies Muskin Career Development Leadership Program Award from the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA). Cara has published over 20 research articles and book chapters on the assessment and treatment of youth anxiety and related disorders.
Cara is licensed to provide services in New York (021379), New Jersey (35SI00714100), Connecticut (4477), and California (PSY30648).