About Me
I am a licensed clinical psychologist in New York State (#027493). As a therapist, I aim to deeply understand your unique journey and to walk with you as you set out on where you want your path in life to lead next. My style is conversational, personable, and humorous where I build a genuine relationship with you as we work together. I conduct therapy from an integrative perspective where I tailor my approach to what you uniquely need, pulling from my advanced training in diverse approaches such as trauma-focused therapies, dialectical behavior therapy, cognitive-behavior therapy, and psychodynamic therapy. In other words, I focus simultaneously on building skills for coping, when needed, and understanding the patterns that may be holding you back from the life you want to live. I have extensive experience in the treatment of chronic depression, anxiety, stress, trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder, interpersonal difficulties, substance use, and relationship problems across various outpatient and medical settings. In both my clinical work and research, I specialize in LGBTQ-affirmative care and couple therapy.
Current Professional Experience
Private Practice (licensed in New York State)
Director, Adversity and Diversity in Adaptation and Personalized Treatment Lab
Assistant Professor, The City College of New York/City University of New York
Training
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I completed a 2-year advanced clinical research fellowship under the mentorship of Dr. John Pachankis, the creator of transdiagnostic LGBTQ-affirmative cognitive-behavior therapy. I conducted research on affirmative therapist practices, provided therapy to clients in research studies, supervised therapists in clinical trials, and trained hundreds of community clinicians in LGBTQ-affirmative therapy.
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I completed my 1-year predoctoral internship/clinical residency at the VA Puget Sound Healthcare System in Seattle, WA. I completed advanced training in the following areas: general mental health, trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder, couple therapy, and substance use disorder. I was also a member of the comprehensive dialectical behavior therapy team.
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I completed graduate school at Stony Brook University, which consistently ranks among the very top clinical psychology programs in the country (US News). I studied under Dr. Dan O’Leary and Dr. Joanne Davila, both top experts in the field of romantic relationships. My training in graduate school emphasized the integration between research and clinical practice.
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I worked for 2 years as a senior research assistant at the Yale School of Public Health where I helped launch and run multiple studies related to LGBTQ-affirmative cognitive-behavior therapy.
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My journey in the mental health field began during my very first year at Penn State when I signed up to volunteer at a local crisis hotline, Centre Helps. Throughout my initial psychology training, I worked in research labs focused on trauma/PTSD (with Dr. Amy Marshall) and psychotherapy processes (with Dr. Louis Castonguay).
I also hold a bachelor’s degree in French and Francophone Studies and minored in Dance.
Research Contributions
I actively publish on topics directly related to my clinical expertise and areas of interest, which means that I keep up with recent advances in the science of therapy so you can be sure that I’m using the most innovative approaches in our work together. Some examples of my published research include:
Sullivan, T. J., O’Leary, K. D., & Davila, J. (2026). Internalized stigma, negative affect, and intimate partner violence perpetration among sexual minority couples. Journal of Family Psychology, 40(3), 321-331.
Sullivan, T. J., O’Leary, K. D., & Bannon, S. M. (2026). A qualitative study of couple therapy exclusion practices related to mutual physical intimate partner violence. Journal of Marriage and Family Therapy, 52(1), e70108.
Brandt, S., Sullivan, T. J., Luginbuehl, T., O’Leary, K. D. & Davila, J. (2025). Associations between internalized heterosexism, verbal intimacy, and affectionate touch provision among sexual minority couples. Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice, 14(1), 40-55.
Sullivan, T. J., O’Leary, K. D., & Davila, J. (2023). A multimethod examination of stress and support among sexual minority couples. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 40(7), 2349-2371.
Vilkin, E., Sullivan, T. J., & Goldfried, M. R. (2022). Conceptualizing the therapeutic relationship: Mediator or moderator of change? Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 32(3), 276-290.