PEOPLE
Lab Director
BENJAMIN N. JOHNSON, PH.D.
Associate Professor
Deputy Director of FDU's Clinical Forensic Psychology MA Program
My interests lie in better understanding individuals affected by personality disorders, improving our assessment of non-suicidal self-harm, suicide, and other behaviors often linked to personality disorders, and providing individualized treatment recommendations and integrative treatment approaches derived from both behavioral and psychodynamic traditions.
I am also interested in the role of trauma in the development of personality disorders as well as in the similarities and differences between chronic physical pain and mental pain and the role of self-harm in pain and emotion regulation.
I endeavor to ground my research in improving clinical care for individuals with personality disorders or related difficulties. I also have a love of data analysis and incorporate various forms of latent variable modeling into my research.
I received my PhD from Penn State University, completed my predoctoral internship at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, and am an assistant professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ.
Doctoral Students
5th Year Doctoral Student
MATT SEFCIK
Matt is a fifth-year doctoral candidate in Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program. He received his B.A. in Psychology from Wagner College in 2019, and his M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Fairleigh Dickinson University. His dissertation examines subtypes of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and the behavioral implications of class membership using latent class analysis. He is currently completing his pre-doctoral internship with Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care on the Integrative Primary Care track. His major rotation is at Rutgers Cancer Institute and the Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center, which operates within Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. Following completion of his pre-doctoral internship, he plans to pursue a postdoctoral fellowship that will allow him to continue his clinical training within an academic medical center.
Masters Students
Clinical Forensic Psychology MA Student
AVA ZOLFO
Ava is a masters student in the APA accredited Clinical Forensic Psychology program at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Ava is originally from Old Bridge, NJ, and attended Coastal Carolina University for her undergraduate studies, where she earned a B.S. in Psychology with a concentration in Forensics. Ava has experience working in correctional settings with incarcerated individuals who struggled with substance use and mental health difficulties. Ava's research interests include non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), childhood trauma and development, and the effects of rehabilitation versus punishment.
Collaborators
Kenneth N. Levy, Ph.D.
Lindsey McKernan, Ph.D., MPH
Yogev Kivity, Ph.D.
Lauren M. Lipner, Ph.D.
Igor Galynker, M.D., Ph.D.
Sarah Bloch-Elkouby, Ph.D.
TAPP Lab Pets
Dunkin
Golden Retreiver
Lola
Maltese
Dill
Cat
Melo
Cat
Wilson
Tuxedo
Callie
Calico
Mochi
British Shorthair
Lucy & Ricky
Miniature Schnauzers