Carrie Spindel Bashoff

Featured Therapist Interview

Carrie Spindel Bashoff is a clinical psychologist, licensed in NY and NJ, with a private practice in West Orange, New Jersey. She specializes in the treatment of anxiety, depression, and other related disorders, such as OCD, tics/Tourettes Disorder, and other impulse control disorders. Dr. Bashoff also has advanced-level training in mindfulness-based approaches, including Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy. Her practice is geared towards individual therapy with children, adolescents, and adults, and well as parent training.

After graduating with a bachelor’s of science in Child Development from Cornell University, Dr. Bashoff pursued her doctorate from Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University. Prior to establishing her private practice, she worked as a clinical psychologist at the NYU Child Study Center in both their New York City and New Jersey offices. Dr. Bashoff has a strong interest in teaching and supervising students. She is currently an Adjunct Assistant Faculty member at NYU, and teaches an undergraduate seminar in childhood anxiety. In addition, she is a volunteer supervisor at Rutgers University Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology. To see more about Dr. Bashoff, view www.drspindelbashoff.com

Tips: Opening a private practice can be overwhelming!! It is so important to create a network of colleagues to help with advice and support, as well as to set up a consistent supervision group. Patience is also a key component; it takes time to build the practice infrastructure and a caseload. Furthermore, I recommend reaching out to clinicians in the community to introduce yourself and discuss your practice. This not only helps to create a professional community to be a part of, it also helps build a strong referral network.

Other Professional Activities: Outside of spending time engaging in clinical activities, teaching, and supervision, I enjoy participating in professional organizations. In addition to ABCT, I am a member of the New Jersey Psychological Association and the Academy of Cognitive Therapy. Finally, I enjoy being involved in the local communities near my practice and where I live. I volunteer to give talks and workshops at local school districts and participate in local mental health advocacy events.

Mentors: I have been extremely fortunate to have a number of outstanding mentors throughout my training and career thus far. During graduate school, my mentor Dr. Lata McGinn, Clinical Director of Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, introduced me to CBT and provided me with all of the foundational knowledge one needs to understand CBT’s theory and practice. Upon starting internship, Alec Miller took me under his wing, introducing me to and advancing my expertise in Dialectical Behavior Therapy, while also shaping my ability to work with clients within more challenging environments. Mentorship doesn’t stop, though, when your training ends. I am so grateful for the colleagues I have worked with, especially during my time as an early career psychologist, who mentored me on how to create (and constantly continue to modify) the work-life balance.

Personal Strengths as a practitioner: I have found that a personal strength of mine is my ability to form therapeutic alliances with clients of all ages. I try to create an environment of warmth and acceptance from the very first time I speak with a client on the phone. I’ve heard that clients’ parents call me the “teenage girl whisperer.”

When not practicing CBT…. Outside of work, I love to spend time with my family and friends. I enjoy spending time outside – running, biking, and playing games with my children. I very much enjoy my volunteer job at the local NICU where my daughters were born.

How long have you been a member of ABCT? I have been a member of ABCT since graduate school, a little more than 15 years.

How has ABCT helped me professionally? ABCT provides me with ongoing opportunities to meet like-minded professionals, continue to learn, and advance my training in CBT, as well as learn about new advances in treatment and research from experts in the field.

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer our questions!