Dr. Matweychuk Educational and Professional Background
Dr. Matweychuk attended the William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia. He earned his B.A. (1982) and an M.S. (1984) from the University of Pennsylvania. He then earned an M.A. (1986) and Ph.D. (1990) from Hofstra University. Dr. Raymond DiGiuseppe, Professor of Psychology at St. John’s University and Director of Professional Education at the Albert Ellis Institute of New York, sponsored his doctoral dissertation.
Dr. Matweychuk is a unique practitioner of Cognitive Behavior Therapy as he has worked closely with Dr. Albert Ellis and Dr. Aaron T. Beck, the two founders of cognitive behavior therapy. Dr. Ellis and Dr. Beck have profoundly influenced Dr. Matweychuk’s practical, action-oriented approach to psychotherapy, for which he is very much indebted. Nevertheless, Dr. Matweychuk adheres to the Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy tradition because of, in his view, the distinct advantages of the REBT model of psychotherapy. Dr. Matweychuk writes and lectures on the similarities and critical differences between these two foundational approaches to cognitive behavior therapy.
Dr. Matweychuk first became exposed to Cognitive Behavior Therapy as an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania in 1979. There, he worked at the Center for Cognitive Therapy under the direction of Dr. Aaron T. Beck, the originator of Beck’s Cognitive Therapy. He was Dr. Beck’s scribe during weekly group supervision for over a year. He witnessed firsthand and profited from the training Dr. Beck gave his group of psychologists on correctly applying Cognitive Therapy to treating emotional disorders. He was also very much involved in the Center’s research activities at the time on extending Beck’s Cognitive Therapy model to anxiety disorders.
As a doctoral student at Hofstra University, Dr. Matweychuk completed his clinical internship and fellowship at the prestigious Albert Ellis Institute in New York City. For several years, he worked under the direct supervision of Dr. Ellis, the creator of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. He became a certified supervisor in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. Following his training, Dr. Ellis invited him to join the professional staff, and for several years, he provided outpatient psychological services to the public and clinical supervision to trainees at the Institute. Click here to read Dr. Ellis’s assessment of Dr. Matweychuk’s therapeutic skills and expertise in supervising and training professionals in REBT. Dr. Matweychuk continues to offer REBT clinical supervision and training for mental health professionals interested in REBT and cognitive behavior therapy. Dr. Matweychuk has 34 years of experience practicing Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy.
In addition to his private practice located near New York City’s Grand Central Station on Park Avenue, Dr. Matweychuk is a clinical psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania‘s Perelman School of Medicine. For the second time in his career from 2009 through 2014, Dr. Matweychuk rejoined the staff of the Aaron T. Beck Psychopathology Research Center at the University of Pennsylvania as a senior research associate. There, he assisted and worked with Drs. Aaron T. Beck and Gregory K. Brown on multiple research projects involving suicide prevention, the assessment of the impact of safety plans on suicidal behavior, and the training of mental health professionals in Beck’s Cognitive Behavior Therapy. In 2015, he joined the clinical staff at the Penn Behavioral Health Center of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. There, he conducts psychotherapy with a wide range of outpatients and also trains and supervises doctoral students in clinical psychology on how to effectively practice Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy\cognitive behavior therapy.
Since 2015, Dr. Matweychuk has also been an adjunct professor of psychology at New York University, where he teaches a graduate course on Cognitive Behavior Therapy at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.
Dr. Matweychuk served as a subject matter expert consultant (2018-2019) on a project for the United States Navy. The aim was to develop a brief, evidence-informed mental fitness and endurance classroom program teaching Navy recruits and enlisted Sailors skills for addressing disruptive thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. The Defense Suicide Prevention Office sponsored this project.
Dr. Matweychuk has co-authored Overcoming Your Addictions (2000) with Dr. Windy Dryden. His second book, written for a professional audience, is titled Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy: A Newcomer’s Guide (2017). It is a straightforward guide that introduces the newcomer to the core theoretical principles and therapeutic strategies of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). Dr. Matweychuk’s most recent book, the REBT Pocket Companion Guide for Clients, 2nd. edition (2022), is co-authored with Dr. Windy Dryden. This book is for clients working with an REBT therapist and serves to help them make the most of REBT therapy.
Dr. Matweychuk earned a varsity letter in football at the University of Pennsylvania in 1978. From 1990 to 2002, he completed 13 consecutive New York City Marathons.
His primary interest is disseminating the ideas and strategies of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. His other interests include physical and psychological fitness, music, fine dining, travel, and photography.
Call 212-750-2826 to schedule an appointment in person at his New York location at 71 Park Avenue or via Zoom.