Our Staff

Dr. Tadayon-Nejad is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA and Visiting Associate faculty in Neuroscience at California Institute of Technology.

His clinical focus is on treatment of refractory OCD, depression, and comorbid OCD-Depression by using multimodal treatment options of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), advanced pharmacology and Exposure and Response Prevention therapy. He has been treating patients in the UCLA Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Intensive Treatment Program since 2017.

Dr. Tadayon-Nejad is also the director of UCLA OCD Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) program in collaboration with UCLA department of neurosurgery.

Shana Doronn LCSW, PSY.D is a licensed Clinical Social Worker and Doctor of Psychology in the UCLA OCD Intensive Treatment Program. She worked in the program from 2003-2008 and returned January 2013. Dr. Doronn specializes in treating children, adolescents and adults diagnosed with OCD and other anxiety disorders, (as well as patients diagnosed with a variety of chronic and terminal illnesses).

Dr. Doronn grew up in Southern California and received her MSW at USC and her PSY.D at Universityof San Francisco. Dr. Doronn frequently presents on OCD and related disorders in workshops and symposiums throughout the country. She was also a featured therapist on A&E’s reality documentary “Obsessed” from 2008-2010. In addition to her current work in the OCD Intensive Treatment Program, Dr. Doronn also treats patients with OCD and other anxiety disorders in her private practice in Los Angeles and Orange County.

Dr Ana Ribas is the Assistant Clinical Director of the UCLA Adult OCD Intensive Treatment Program, and a licensed psychologist. She is also a cognitive-behavioral therapist and clinical supervisor in the program, bringing over 20 years of clinical experience with a variety of clinical issues in both the US and Europe, including 8 years as a staff psychologist at UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services, working with students with anxiety, OCD and mood disorders. Dr Ribas heads cognitive and psycho-educational groups, and provides supervision in the treatment of OCD and related disorders to the behavioral coaches of the program. In addition to being part of the OCD treatment team, Dr Ribas also maintains a private practice in Beverly Hills, where she specializes in OCD, anxiety, mood disorders and trauma in adults.

Dr Ribas is multilingual and can provide services in Spanish and Portuguese. She worked as a licensed psychologist in Portugal for several years before completing her PhD in Clinical and Rehabilitation Psychology at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. She has extensive experience in rehabilitation of persons with disabilities, including in the recovery from severe mental illness. Dr Ribas completed her internship at Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center and later worked as a clinical supervisor at USC’s department of Psychology. She specializes in Exposure and Response Prevention, Mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment therapy, and in Emotion Focused Therapy.

Website:www.anaribasphd.com

Tom Cohn is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Clinical Specialist working in the UCLA OCD Intensive Treatment Program, providing individual and group therapy. For the past 15 years, Tom has been treating anxiety and mood disorders, trauma and relationship issues in individuals, couples and families, both in Europe and the US. Originally born in Germany, Tom received his undergraduate degree at University College London (UCL). He trained as a Systemic Family Therapist at the Institute of Family Therapy and Birkbeck College, University of London, England. In his first MFT appointment he trained in and provided CBT to Sickle Cell and Thalassemia patients and developed Cultural Awareness and Communication Skill courses for healthcare providers.

In 2010, Tom was recruited to run and expand a school-based child abuse prevention program in Los Angeles. During his tenure, tens of thousands of children, their parents and educators were educated and Tom gained extensive experience in treating teens and adults with trauma-focused CBT for childhood trauma, anxiety disorders and depression. In recent years, Tom has developed an interest and expertise in OCD and OCD-related challenges.

In addition to his clinical responsibilities at UCLA, Tom provides individual, couple and family therapy to teens, adults and families in his private practice.

Dr. Distler is a psychiatrist and helps patients in the UCLA OCD IOP with medication management. She earned her MD and PhD from the University of Chicago. Her PhD studies focused on the genetic and molecular basis of anxiety. She completed her psychiatry residency at UCLA, where she was the chief resident in the Anxiety Disorders Clinic and participated in clinical and basic research on anxiety and depression. Dr. Distler has several clinical duties in addition to her work in the OCD IOP. She directs the Anxiety Disorders Clinic, an outpatient program, treats college students with mental illness, and is the medical director of the UCLA Aftercare program, where she treats patients with first-episode schizophrenia.

Denise Nelson, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist. At the UCLA OCD Intensive Treatment Program, she runs the family education and support group; she also conducts initial interviews to evaluate a patient’s appropriateness for treatment in the program. Previously, Dr. Nelson was also a therapist in the UCLA Child/Adolescent UCLA OCD Intensive Treatment Program.

Dr. Nelson graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Chicago. Thereafter, she earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Nelson has published several academic papers, given numerous conference presentations, and received a National Research Service Award.

Dr. Nelson has worked in the area of anxiety disorders for over 17 years. She is on the clinical faculty at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and has trained medical residents in the Cognitive-Behavioral treatment of various anxiety disorders.

In addition to her current work at UCLA, Dr. Nelson also sees patients in her private practice.

www.drdenisenelson.com

(310) 794-7305

Dr Kronemyer is on the clinical faculty of the UCLA Anxiety Disorders Program and the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP). He also has an appointment at UCLA as a research scientist. His main role at the OCD IOP is patient evaluation and assessment. His research interests are:

• Emerging brain stimulation technologies and neurological interventions for patients with persistent psychiatric issues;
• Problematic epistemic styles, particularly as expressed in psychiatric syndromes characterized by intrusive thinking and difficulties with emotion modulation;
• Translational applications of concepts derived from cognitive science, philosophy of psychology, philosophy of mind and semiotics with an emphasis on Wittgenstein, Heidegger, Lacan and other post-modern theorists; and
• Operationalizing topics in mathematical psychology, and psychology as physics, to anxiety and mood disorders (e.g. Partially Hidden Markov Processes, Grainger causality, Bayesian logic, probability theory, Lotka-Volterra equations).

Dr. Yuri Tsutsumi is a licensed psychologist working at the UCLA OCD Intensive Treatment Program. She is also a Clinical Assistant Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine. She specializes in treating Eating Disorders, OCD, and Anxiety related disorders utilizing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), and Existential-Humanistic interventions. She received clinical training at the UCLA Intensive Outpatient Program treating those diagnosed with severe OCD. She completed her internship at Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital’s OCD clinic and treated patients diagnosed with OCD in various level of care settings including partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, and outpatient. Dr. Tsutsumi completed her fellowship at Stanford’s School of Medicine and worked at the Rodriguez Translational Therapeutics Lab researching and studying treatments for patients diagnosed with OCD and hoarding disorder.

Kara Johnson is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and works as a behavioral coach at the UCLA OCD Intensive Outpatient Program. She has over 12 years of experience as a therapist, receiving her Master’s in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine. Kara has extensive training in evidence-based therapies, including Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for OCD, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and is a Linehan board-certified in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Kara has experience working at all levels of care - residential, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, and outpatient settings, treating clients with OCD, mood disorders, personality disorders, and substance use/addiction. In addition to working at the UCLA OCD Intensive Outpatient program, Kara has a private practice where she does individual and couples therapy.

www.karajohnsontherapy.com