Meet Our Team

Founder of OTI

Andrew Hartz is a practicing clinical psychologist and was formerly a professor in the clinical psychology doctoral program at Long Island University. For several years, he’s written about political issues and mental health and recently served as a Writing Fellow at Heterodox Academy. He completed his Ph.D. at Long Island University and his clinical internship at Columbia University Medical Center.

Senior Advisor

Sally Satel is a practicing psychiatrist and lecturer at the Yale University School of Medicine. She examines mental health policy as well as political trends in medicine. Her publications include “PC, M.D.: How Political Correctness Is Corrupting Medicine,” “The Health Disparities Myth,” “When Altruism Isn’t Enough: The Case for Compensating Organ Donors,” and “One Nation Under Therapy” coauthored with Christina Hoff Sommers. Her recent book, “Brainwashed – The Seductive Appeal of Mindless Neuroscience” with Scott Lilienfeld, was a 2014 finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in Science.

Senior Advisor

Larry Amsel serves as an Attending Psychiatrist and a Research Psychiatrist at Columbia University. Dr. Amsel studied mathematics at Columbia University before entering Yale University School of Medicine. After completing residency training, he joined the Columbia faculty completing two National Institute of Mental Health research fellowships and obtained a Masters in Public Health (MPH) specializing in mental health statistics and Child Psychiatry Research. As an expert in the effects of traumatic experiences, after 9/11, Dr. Amsel co-directed the Trauma Studies and Services Division at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Dr. Amsel serves as an expert witness in matters related to psychiatry and has expertise in complex legal issues in psychiatry.

Senior Advisor

Michael Strambler is an Associate Professor of psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine, where he is the Director of Child Wellbeing and Education Research. He received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of California at Berkeley. He has received awards from the Ford Foundation, the American Psychological Foundation, and the W. T. Grant Foundation. He has served as an ad hoc reviewer for numerous publications and has written extensively on social-emotional learning and other topics.

Senior Advisor

Val Thomas is a UK-based psychotherapist, writer, and formerly a counsellor educator. Recently, she has focused on drawing attention to the encroachments of Critical Social Justice on the therapy field. She co-founded the online platform Critical Therapy Antidote and recently edited a book of essays, “Cynical Therapies: Perspectives on the Antitherapeutic nature of Critical Social Justice.” She has also published two other books “Using Mental Imagery in Counselling and Psychotherapy” and “Using Mental Imagery to Enhance Creative and Work-Related processes.”

Senior Advisor

Pamela Paresky holds an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in human development and psychology from the University of Chicago. She has taught at the University of Chicago, the U.S. Air Force Academy, and Johns Hopkins University. She’s the author of the guided journal “A Year of Kindness,” and was the primary researcher and in-house editor for the bestselling book “The Coddling of the American Mind.” Her current project is “Habits of a Free Mind: Psychology for Democracy and the Good Life.” An example of this work can be found here.

Clinical Director

Camilo Ortiz is a practicing clinical psychologist, an Associate Professor, and the director of clinical training in the clinical psychology doctoral program at Long Island University-Post. He is also a fellow with the “Flourishing in Action” project at the Archbridge Institute’s Human Flourishing Lab. He received a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Head of Research

Craig Frisby recently retired from the School Psychology training program at the University of Missouri, Columbia. He has been an associate editor for the journals School Psychology Review and Psychological Assessment, and he is currently associate editor for the Journal of Open Inquiry in Behavioral Science. He serves on the American Institutes for Research (AIR) National Center on Intensive Intervention Academic Screening Technical Review Committee. He is the co-editor for the “Comprehensive Handbook of Multicultural School Psychology,” “Cultural Competence in Applied Psychology,” and is the author of “Meeting the Psychoeducational Needs of Minority Students.” He is the lead editor for an upcoming book to be published in 2022-23 entitled “Ideological and Political Bias in Psychology: Nature, Scope and Solutions.”

Head of Research

Richard Redding is a professor of Psychology and Education and Ronald D. Rotunda Distinguished Professor of Jurisprudence, at Chapman University. He was previously a professor at Villanova University, Drexel University, and the University of Virginia. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Society for Psychological Science. Among Dr. Redding's publications are "Sociopolitical Diversity in Psychology: The Case for Pluralism" (American Psychologist, 2023), "Sociopolitical Values: The Neglected Factor in Culturally-Competent Psychotherapy" (in Prejudice, Stigma, Privilege, and Oppression: A Behavioral Health Handbook, 2020), Ideological and Political Bias in Psychology: Nature, Scope, and Solutions" (Springer, 2023), and "Sociopolitical Values as the Deep Culture in Culturally-Competent Psychotherapy" (Clinical Psychological Science, 2023).

Chloe Carmichael is a clinical psychologist and has instructed courses at Long Island University and the City University of New York. She has been featured as an expert on VH1, Inside Edition, ABC Nightline, and she’s been quoted in the New York Times, Forbes, Vanity Fair, Shape, Cosmopolitan, Rolling Stone, Women’s Health Magazine (Hearst), and Psychology Today. She is the author of “Nervous Energy: Harness the Power of Your Anxiety.” She is currently a consultant at the law firm Baker McKenzie.

Neil Kressel holds a Ph.D. in Psychology and Social Relations from Harvard University, and he is currently a Professor of Psychology at William Paterson University where he chaired the Department of Psychology and directed the Honors Program in the Social Sciences. He has authored many books, scientific studies and popular articles in psychology and related fields. He practices CBT (cognitive-behavior therapy) and REBT (rational-emotive behavior therapy).

Paul Garcia-Ryan is a New York based psychotherapist in private practice with a clinical focus in trauma, dissociation, and identity development. He holds a Master of Social Work from Hunter College's Silberman School of Social Work and completed graduate training in LGBT behavioral health at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center. He currently serves as the president of the organization Therapy First.

Katherine Cullen has written extensively on mental health issues and was previously an assistant editor at Psychology Today. Currently, she’s a psychotherapist who practices Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). She is particularly sensitive to concerns specific to the Catholic Christian community and has experience working with a range of different faith populations.