Sandra S. Pimentel

Sandra S. Pimentel, Ph.D., is Chief of Child and Adolescent Psychology, Associate Director of Psychology Training, and Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Montefiore Medical Center and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She founded and is director of the Anxiety and Mood Program (AMP), a specialty training program in the Child Outpatient Psychiatry Division, and co-Director of the Becoming an Emerging Adult at Montefiore (BEAM) Program. In 2022, she has received the Psychology Internship Training Program Award for Excellence in Education and in 2023, she received the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Award for Outstanding Mentorship.

Dr. Pimentel received her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from Temple University, followed by a predoctoral internship specializing in children and adolescents at the New York University Medical Center – Bellevue Hospital. She

completed a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) postdoctoral training fellowship at Columbia University/New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI), where she was named a NYS Office of Mental Health Policy Scholar.

Dr. Pimentel then held the position of Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Columbia University Medical Center, where she served as Senior Psychologist and Associate Director of the Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders (CUCARD). She also served as a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) trainer and consultant for a statewide clinician training initiative by the New State Office of Mental Health’s Evidence-Based Treatment Dissemination Center.

After serving in multiple leadership and governance roles, Dr. Pimentel is President-Elect of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT). As a scientist-practitioner, Dr. Pimentel specializes in CBT for youth and young adults. She is a committed clinician, educator, and mentor and has delivered multiple presentations for parents, professionals, and community organizations. She is a health advocate dedicated to creatively engaging communities to optimize care for children and families.