Associate Dean and Chief Mental Health Officer, University Life
Dr. Wernicke is a licensed clinical psychologist in Virginia. She completed her doctoral degree in psychology at American University. She completed an APA-accredited doctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School (MGH/HMS) where she worked in the Acute Psychiatry Service, the Inpatient Medical Psychiatric Service, and the Adult Outpatient Psychiatry Service. She then worked as a staff psychologist and faculty instructor in the Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders at MGH/HMS following her fellowship. Dr. Wernicke has worked in a number of other clinical settings, most recently in American University’s Counseling Center. She works primarily from a cognitive-behavioral orientation but also integrates other evidence-based approaches. Areas of expertise include college student mental health, anxiety disorders, OCD, PTSD, and perinatal mental health. Current major initiatives she is championing at Mason include engaging the Mason community in a public health approach to suicide prevention in partnership with the Jed Foundation and increasing access to mental health services to under-served students.