Resumé
Dr. Cecilia Dintino is a Clinical Psychologist and Drama Therapist. She an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychology at Columbia University Medical Center, and adjunct faculty at New York University’s Graduate Program in Drama Therapy.
For over 30 years, she has worked with clients using science-based methods and creative approaches to foster awareness, inspire change and deepen connection with self and others.
She holds a doctoral degree from the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University, a Master’s Degree in Drama Therapy from New York University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Theater and Communications from The University of New Hampshire.
Dr. Dintino did her clinical internship in psychology at New York Presbyterian Hospital and has worked as a psychologist and researcher at New York State Psychiatric Hospital and Columbia Medical Center’s Intensive Outpatient Program. She has a private practice in NYC.
Her various practices have included work with populations ranging from veterans suffering from PTSD, the elderly, substance abusers, individuals diagnosed with depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder. She is expert in cognitive behavior therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, psychodynamic therapy, group therapy and creative arts therapy. She is intensively trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy and she has earned certification in Positive Psychology from the Flourishing Center, NYC.
In 2011, in partnership with Emilie Ward, Cecilia co-founded Drama Lab, NYC, a therapeutic theatre company. She was a founding partner of NYU’s As Performance Series, an educational program that investigates the use of theatre for healing. In 2014 Cecilia received the North American Drama Therapy Association Performance Award. She is on faculty with the Institute for Developmental Transformations, an international school in the practice of improvisation for self-discovery and change. She is a board member for the Foundation for the Arts in Trauma.
Most recently she has co-founded, with Hannah Murray Starobin, Twisting the Plot: New possibilities for women over 50. Twisting the plot provides programs for women over 50 looking for new roadmaps and new futures. With Hannah Starobin, Dr. Dintino also has a podcast, Twisting the Plot Podcast.
Dr. Cecilia Dintino writes for Psychology Today, Psychotherapy.net, The Mind’s Journal, Huffington Post, Medium, Arts Plus Magazine, A Women’s Thing, Athena Speaks and Art+Marketing. She has been featured in O, the Oprah Magazine, Women’s World, The Girlfriend from AARP, Covey Club and The Age Buster.
Cecilia’s work with clients has pushed her to keep growing and evolving herself. “A change agent has to be one who can change.”
Writings and Features
Imagine the Possibilities
Jennifer King Lindley, O Magazine | Featuring Cecilia Dintino | June, 2020
And [envisioning the future is] good for more than boosting mood. Cecilia Dintino, an assistant clinical professor of psychology at Columbia University Medical Center and a therapist in New York City, recommends the technique to her clients, many of them women age 60 and older who are unsure about their next chapter.
“I encourage them to just let their imagination go—for example, I will become the foremost authority on surviving divorce with grace. It helps you think outside the box for the new life you want to step into.”
Get prospective: Writing about your future awesomeness, describing it to another person, or drawing yourself
can make you feel better. To help you act on the incredible future you, it’s important to also describe how you
might realize your vision, suggests Dintino...
"How to Build a Future with New Potential"
Cecilia Dintino, Psychology Today | February 2019
Karen sits in my office pounding her fist on the arm of her chair. “This is not where my life was supposed to go. It’s too late for me to do anything new. I made some bad choices, in career and relationships, and at my age, there’s nothing out there for me.”
I ask her how she was so sure her future lacked new potential. She replied. “My proof is my past. It has always been bad.”
It’s a common complaint: The data is in. The findings are set. The future is determined (and it sucks by the way).
I see that we are gazing into a crystal ball that reflects only what’s gone before....
How To Turn Painful Emotions Into Superpowers
Cecilia Dintino, Psychology Today | November, 2018
When Maura was told that her job was in jeopardy she immediately ran out of the office, through the hallway, into the elevator and out to her car. She called me as she was driving, 80 miles an hour, banging on the horn and yelling obscenities to everyone who came into her path.
“I can’t take any more of this sh*t, “ she screamed into the phone. “My whole life has been one failure after another. I am so angry,” she said over and over in between screams and cursing. As soon as she got home she opened a bottle of wine and drank it down. “I can’t cope with things anymore. It’s all too much.”
I guess one could say it wasn’t Maura in the driver’s seat that day. Instead, her emotions took the wheel.
Meanwhile, Maura, an intelligent, reasonable and professional woman, went for the ride.
Can Improvisation Change Your Life?
Cecilia Dintino, Psychology Today | March, 2018
Ellie sat in the therapy chair across from me and repeated things she had said many times before. “I am not good enough.” “I am not smart enough.” “I don’t know what to do.” “I feel hopeless.” The energy was draining from the room. We were both stifling yawns. Ellie wanted change. She felt trapped in a body and identity that she judged and couldn’t abide.
Out of the blue, I threw a light-blinking rubber ball at her as she was talking. For the first time in months she said something new. “What the...” Then she laughed. And threw it back to me.
So I threw it back to her while I said, “Once upon a time there lived a woman named Ellie.” She threw the ball back and said, “She died an old woman with regret in her belly.”
Something in the room had changed. We both had more energy. The moment felt charged with a playful potential.
How to Build a Midlife Worth Living
Cecilia Dintino, Psychology Today | April, 2018
For years I have been teaching and coaching clients to use certain skills during painful times. Lately I've been teaching the skills to middle-aged women.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy—DBT—is a solution-focused, active treatment with the overarching goal to build a life worth living. Instead of just talking, you teach skills and ask the clients to practice them outside the session room. The skills, created by Dr. Marsha Linehan, are research-tested tools for managing thoughts, emotions and behaviors during trying times.
And middle age can be a trying time.
The Best Way to Get Through
Cecilia Dintino, Psychology Today | May, 2018
Has it ever happened that you find yourself, figuratively or literally, banging your fists, head and body against a wall, a wall with a sign that reads: It’s not supposed to be this way?
While you bang on the wall, you hear yourself proclaim: “I can’t take this.” You are suffering. You resist reality.
When midlife hits there are so many things to resist.
How to Be In Love With Your Future Self
Cecilia Dintino, Psychology Today | October, 2019
I asked my 26-year-old niece Mia to tell me about her future self. Who does she envision she will be at 55? She said this wasn’t something she had considered. She was busy worrying about 30.
But what if, I asked, you could imagine yourself beyond 50?
How would that make you feel now?