Melany Rivera Maldonado
Assistant Professor of Psychology and Director of the Safran Center for Psychological Services
Email
riveram3@newschool.edu
Office Location
G - 80 Fifth Avenue
Download vCard
Profile
Melany Rivera Maldonado is Assistant Professor of Psychology and Director of the Safran Center for Psychological Services.
(pronouns: she, her, hers) Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Dr. Rivera Maldonado moved to New Jersey in 2015 to continue developing her professional and academic career. She is a licensed bilingual-Spanish psychologist in New Jersey and New York. Her career has been focused in promoting the professional and personal development of psychology students, as well as developing programs that serve immigrant communities. Her clinical work integrates multicultural issues, psychoanalitical and psychodynamic theories, and the impact of early relationships across lifespan. She previously served as the Director of Clinical Training at Felician University, as well as the Director of the YCS Institute for Infant and Preschool Mental Health, where she lead an APA Accredited Doctoral Internship Program.
Connected with the community and committed with social justice initiatives, she participates in the several immigration advocacy groups, and provides consultation and workshops to non-profits on topics such as, equity, diversity and inclusion, child development and trauma informed care. She is the current Chair of the Early Career Committee for the New Jersey Psychological Association and served in the past as a Member-at-Large for the Latinx Mental Health Association of New Jersey. In 2020, she received the NJPA's Distinguished Teacher Award.
Degrees Held
PhD 2016, University of Puerto Rico
BA 2010, University of Puerto Rico
Recent Publications
Torres, A., & Rivera-Maldonado, M. (2017). Tools for Treating Trauma-Related Disorders Among Latinos. In Toolkit for Counseling Spanish-Speaking Clients. Springer. Chapter submitted for publication. Martínez, S., Félix, J., Ruiz-Alfaro F., Rivera-Maldonado, M. (2015). El desarrollo de competencias interdisciplinarias en el trabajo con estudiantes de Educación Especial [Developing Interdisciplinary Competencies in Psychology Professionals Working with Children with Special Needs]. Pedagogía, 48 (1), pp. 155-176. Vale-Nieves, O., Rivera-Maldonado, M. (2015). Creación y Validación del Cuestionario de uso de mensajería de texto en el salón de clases [Creation and Validation of the Questionnaire on Text Messaging in Classroom]. Puerto Rican Journal of Psychology, 26(1), 40-54. Vale-Nieves, O., Rivera Maldonado, M., Wagner, C. (2014). Mensajería de texto en el salón de clases: uso y prácticas de estudiantes universitario [Text-messaging in Classroom: Use and Practices of College Students]. Revista Internacional de Aprendizaje y Cibersociedad, 19(2), 91-103. Rivera-Maldonado, M. (2013, November). Imaginería [Imagery]. (a)Palabra Bulletin, 4, pp.1-2 Rivera-Maldonado, M. (2012, December). Sobre la fotografía de los cuerpos que mueren. [On the Photography of Dying Bodies]. Psychoanalytic Newsletter, 16, pp.7-8. Rivera-Maldonado, M. (2011, December). Sobre el suicidio o esa otra forma de morir: la poesía de Alejandra Pizarnik [On Suicide or that Other Way to Die: Pizarnik's Poetry and the Passage to the Act]. Psychoanalytic Newsletter, 14, pp.3-4.
Research Interests
multicultural issues, psychoanalitical and psychodynamic theories, and the impact of early relationships across lifespan, immigration, psychology training and supervision