About Dr. V.
Dr. Pallavi Visvanathan (Dr. V.) is a licensed clinical psychologist in NYC with over 25 years of experience working in mental health. She started her professional life on the west coast where she received her bachelors degree in psychology from Whittier College in California. She moved to Colorado to obtain her doctorate (Ph.D.) at the University of Denver, completed a residency at the Denver Health Medical Center, and then worked for several years in the field of community mental health and substance use prevention. She moved to NYC in 2013 and has a keen appreciation for the rewards and challenges that life in this city presents to its inhabitants.
Mission
Dr. V. is dedicated to providing high-quality evidence-based mindfulness and CBT interventions tailored to the needs and goals of her patients. She aims to empower them by providing tools to foster emotion regulation, self-compassion, and skillful communication to cope with daily stressors, enhance relationship quality, and make wise and healthy decisions to improve quality of life. Dr. V. believes that effective therapy is culturally sensitive and relevant and helps individuals identify their own personal values and then to live in accordance with these values.
Client Focus
Dr. V. works primarily with adults. She is experienced in working with individuals from marginalized communities including LGBT/queer individuals and people of color as well as individuals coping with medical issues such as cancer recovery & heart disease.
Research
Dr. V. has worked alongside colleagues at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and Cleveland Clinic to develop and test an abbreviated version of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy called MBCT-Brief. MBCT-Brief is used in the treatment of depression and anxiety, including among people with chronic physical health concerns (including cancer recovery, hypertension and heart disease, epilepsy, migraine). Dr V. has a particular interest in developing mindfulness interventions that are accessible to people from socioeconomically and culturally diverse backgrounds.
Training & Expertise
Dr. V. is an expert in cognitive-behavioral and mindfulness-based treatments for depression, anxiety disorders, stress management, and insomnia. The anxiety disorders she treats most frequently are Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Panic Disorder, and Social Phobia (or Social Anxiety Disorder). See here for a complete list of disorders and problems that Dr V. treats. She specializes in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) and is one of only a few psychotherapists in NYC fully certified to teach Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).
Credentials - Mindfulness
Dr. V. has had a personal practice of mindfulness and meditation since 2009. She began training to teach Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) in 2010 and became fully certified in 2017. She continues to deepen her personal and professional practice by attending silent retreats and mindfulness training courses offered by well-regarded Buddhist and mindfulness teachers in the US and abroad. She is also engaged in ongoing supervision, mentorship, and additional training to enhance her skills as a teacher and supervisor in mindfulness interventions. She adheres to the Good Practice Guidelines of the British Association of Mindfulness-Based Approaches (BAMBA) for teaching and supervision.
Mindfulness Mentor Training - Ongoing - Banyan Together
Mindfulness-Based Supervisor Training Level 1 - September 2025 - The Mindfulness Network
Inquiry Essentials (MBCT) - March 2025 - University of Toronto, Centre for Mindfulness Studies
Advanced Teachers Training (MBCT) - March 2018 - UCSD Center for Mindfulness
Certified MBCT Teacher - February 2017 - UCSD Center for Mindfulness
MBCT Teacher Training Intensive - March 2011 - UCSD Center for Mindfulness
MBCT Foundational Training - April 2010 - UCSD Center for Mindfulness
