Alice Medalia, PHD

Specialties:
Psychology

More specialties

Profile Navigation

Overview
Schedule an Appointment
Location(s)
Insurance Accepted
Credentials & Experience
Research

Overview

Dr. Medalia has been instrumental in raising awareness about the need to address cognition as a central aspect of health related to functional outcome. Her key contribution to psychiatry relates to her application of motivation theories to the treatment of cognitive disorders, and more generally psychiatric rehabilitation. Medalia identified the need for the treatment of cognition to move beyond theories of neuroplasticity, to embrace an understanding of how people learn. She developed the widely used Neuropsychological & Educational Approach to Remediation (NEAR) model of cognitive remediation, which has been disseminated worldwide in psychiatric, educational, forensic, and supportive housing settings and used with people diagnosed with schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and mild cognitive impairment. Dr. Medalia has primary research interests in treating cognition, improving motivation, and facilitating recovery among people with mental illness. She is the principal researcher in several NIMH funded studies, and a prolific writer. Dr. Medalia is a leading proponent for the need to address cognition as a central aspect of health related to functional outcome for people living with persistent mental illness. In 1998, she established and continues to direct the world’s largest conference on this topic, Cognitive Remediation in Psychiatry, now hosted by Columbia University. She lectures and consults to agencies worldwide and conducts training workshops for clinicians to learn the techniques of cognitive remediation for psychiatric patients. By focusing on cognitive health in addition to mental health, cognitive remediation seeks to improve critical thinking skills, enabling people to be more effective in their daily lives and pursue their goals for recovery in a purposeful and meaningful way.

Areas of Expertise / Conditions Treated

Adjustment Disorder
Anxiety
Autism
Depression
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Panic Disorder
Psychotherapy
Psychotic Disorders
Relationship Problems
Research Studies
Social Anxiety Disorder
Stress Management
Work-Related Stress

Academic Appointments

Professor of Medical Psychology (in Psychiatry) at CUMC

Administrative Titles

Clinical Director, NY State OMH Cognitive Health Services
Director, Lieber Recovery Clinic

Hospital Affiliations

NewYork-Presbyterian / Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Languages

Portuguese

Gender

Female

Schedule an Appointment

Phone Appointments

New and Existing Patients: (212) 305-3747

Connect Patient Portal

For existing patients, login to make an appointment, view documentation or contact your care provider.
Connect Sign In

Location(s)

ColumbiaDoctors - Columbus Circle
5 Columbus Cir

New York, NY 10019





Open location in Google Maps

Insurance Accepted

Aetna

Aetna Signature Administrators
EPO
HMO
NYP Employee Plan
NY Signature
POS
PPO
Student Health

CHP Student Health

CHP-NYU

UnitedHealthcare

Behavioral Health (Columbia University Employee Plan)

*Please contact the provider’s office directly to verify that your particular insurance is accepted.

Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

Graduate School of the City University of New York

Honors & Awards

Dr Medalia is the recipient of many awards, such as the Connie Lieber Research Award, the Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award for inspirational teaching, the 2012 Brain Behavior Research Foundation Productive Lives Award, the 2015 Life Achievement Award from the National Council for Behavioral Health, and the 2016 Encontrar-se Award for outstanding contributions to mental health care. She is a member of the Columbia University Colege of Physicians and Surgeons Academy of Clinical Excellence.

Research

Dr. Medalia's research interests focus on the factors that impact a recovery of neuropsychological functions and the motivation to engage in treatment, in people with psychiatric illness.
Dr Medalia is involved in research on the effectiveness of cognitive remediation in various diagnostic groups. Her research on awareness of cognitive dysfunction in people with schizophrenia has led to the development of scales to measure insight into cognitive dysfunction. She has research protocols underway to investigate the role of intrinsic motivation in learning, how various remediation strategies impact intrinsic motivation and learning, and how medications work with cognitive remediation to impact intrinsic motivation and learning.

Research Interests

Treatment of cognitive disorders

Selected Publications

Medalia A and Saperstein A: The Role of Motivation for Treatment Success. Schizophrenia Bulletin 2011;37 Suppl 2: 122-8
Medalia, A and Thysen, J. : Insight into Neuro-cognitive Dysfunction in Schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin 2008;doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbm144
Medalia, A., Revheim, N. and Herlands, T.: Cognitive Remediation in Psychological Disorders, Oxford University Press, New York, NY, USA, 2009
Medalia, A., Opler, L.A., & Saperstein A.M.: Integrating psychopharmacology and cognitive remediation to treat cognitive dysfunction in the psychotic disorders. CNS Spectrums 2013;doi:10.1017/S1092852913000461
Medalia A. & Saperstein AM, : Cognitive Remediation Within a Residential Rehabilitation Setting . Psychiatric Annals 2015;45: 126-130


For a complete list of publications, please visit PubMed.gov