Biography
Rebecca Ezechukwu, PhD, is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Professor in the UNM Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She currently provides culturally informed, trauma responsive clinical services, training, and consultation. She works with children, adolescents and their families at UNM Programs for Children and Adolescents providing outpatient individual and family therapy. She also works with medical students, residents, and fellows providing clinical service and education through the UNM School of Medicine, Office of Professional Wellbeing.
Dr. Ezechukwu received a B.A. degree in Business Administration, with a dual major in Psychology (2006) from Washington State University. She earned her M.A. degree in Clinical Psychology (2009) and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology (2014), both from the APA Accredited Program at Miami University. Dr. Ezechukwu completed her Pre-doctoral Psychology Internship in the Clinical Child Track of the APA Accredited Clinical Psychology Internship Program at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center (2014). Following her Ph.D., Dr. Ezechukwu completed her Postdoctoral Fellowship within the UNM Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences with an emphasis in Community and Rural Behavioral Health, Trauma-Informed Care with the UNM ACTION Child Trauma Program, and Integrated Behavioral Health at UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center (2016).
Personal Statement
Dr. Ezechukwu has cultivated a professional focus around understanding multicultural stress, identity, resilience, and wellbeing, and promoting resilient outcomes for all individuals. She is especially committed to addressing the role that systemic discrimination, implicit bias, and historical trauma play in present-day health inequities among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. She has conducted clinical service, education, research, and consultation across numerous settings serving both adults and children including juvenile justice, child welfare, primary care, rural and community mental health, school-based mental health, acute psychiatric hospitals, higher education, and medical schools. Dr. Ezechukwu values mentorship and equal access to professional development opportunities. She is a core member of the UNM Clinical Psychology Pre-doctoral Internship Program, providing clinical supervision and psychological training. She is also a member of the American Psychological Association, the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, the New Mexico Psychological Association, and the New Mexico Black Mental Health Coalition.
Areas of Specialty
Dr. Ezechukwu?s area of specialization includes the treatment of child, adolescent, and young adult psychopathology?particularly anxiety, depression, and stress and trauma-related disorders. Dr. Ezechukwu approaches psychotherapy from multicultural, developmental, and constructivist perspectives. She provides a variety of treatment approaches: ?Third Wave? Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Attachment, Regulation, and Competency (ARC) treatment for complex trauma, Trauma Affect Regulation: Guide for Education & Therapy (TARGET), Motivational Interviewing (MI), Parenting Management skills training, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) skills training, and Archetypal and Experiential approaches to psychotherapy. Additional areas of interest and specialization: provider training and education; provider and organizational wellbeing to address burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and cultural bias.
Gender
Female