Phone: 212-543-0105

Email: pimentes@childpsych.columbia.edu

Dr. Sandra Pimentel is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology (in Psychiatry) at Columbia University-New York State Psychiatric Institute and a Clinician at the Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders.

Dr. Pimentel received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she was awarded a Faculty Commendation for Excellence in 2000. Following her predoctoral internship at Bellevue Hospital Center/ New York University Child Study Center, Dr. Pimentel completed a NIMH-sponsored Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Columbia University.

Dr. Pimentel specializes in cognitive behavioral treatment for anxious and depressed children and adolescents and behavioral parent training for disruptive behavior disorders. She conducts individual, group and family therapy. Dr. Pimentel has provided clinical services in a number of treatment facilities including the Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorders Clinic at Temple University, Bellevue Hospital Center, and the New York University Child Study Center.

Dr. Pimentel?fs research interests broadly include the assessment and treatment of childhood anxiety disorders. More specifically, she has focused on the dissemination of evidenced-based interventions for child and adolescent disorders and the evaluation of the most effective strategies for training and transporting treatments to school and community settings. Dr. Pimentel has conducted multiple training workshops on the cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) of anxiety and depression in youth for various projects and has served as a CBT consultant for school-based clinicians throughout New York State.

Dr. Pimentel is currently a consultant with the New York State Office of Mental Health?fs statewide clinician training initiative and was named a 2007-2008 New York State Office of Mental Health Policy Scholar.

Dr. Pimentel is actively involved in several professional organizations, including the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies and the Anxiety Disorders Association of America.

HONORS AND AWARDS

2000 Faculty Commendation for Excellence (based on coursework, research activities, collegiality, and professional demeanor). Temple University
1999-2004 Future Faculty Fellow, Temple University
1998-2004 Tuition Award and Teaching Assistantship, Temple University
1995 Summa cum laude Graduate, Drew University
1993-1995 GTE Academic All-American, Drew University
1991-1995 Drew Scholar, Drew University

PUBLICATIONS

Pimentel, S., Robin, J., Comer, J., Regan, J., & Albano, AM.  (2007).  From everyday worries to anxiety disorders in youth: A cognitive-behavioral approach for helping children cope with a scary world.  Child and Family Journal, 10 (2), 31-44.

Kendall, P. C., Hudson, J. L., Choudhury, M., Webb, A., & Pimentel, S. S. (2005). Cognitive-behavioral treatment for childhood anxiety disorders. In E. D. Hibbs & P. S. Jensen (Eds.), Psychosocial treatments for child and adolescent disorders: Empirically based strategies for private practice (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association.

Comer, J., Kendall, P., Franklin, M., Hudson, J., & Pimentel, S. (2004). Obsessing/ worrying about the overlap between obsessive-compulsive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder in youth. Clinical Psychology Review, 24, 663-683.

Kendall, P. C., Pimentel, S. S., Rynn, M., Angelosante, A., & Webb, A. (2004). Generalized anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. In T. Ollendick & J. March (Eds.), Phobic and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents: A clinicians guide to effective psychosocial and pharmacological interventions (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

Choudhury, M. S., Pimentel, S. S., & Kendall, P. C. (2003). Parent-child agreement for diagnosis of anxiety disorders based on structured clinical interview. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 42, 957-964.

Kendall, P. C., & Pimentel, S. S. (2003). On the physiological symptom constellation in youth with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 17, 211-221.

Kendall, P.C., Chu, B. C., Pimentel, S. S., & Choudhury, M. (2000). Treating anxiety disorders in youth. In P. C. Kendall (Ed.), Child and adolescent therapy: Cognitive-behavioral procedures (2nd ed., pp. 235-290). New York: Guilford.