Work
Clinical Practice
& Research
DBT Program
Linehan Board Certified therapist (DBT-LBC) and founding director of the Stony Brook Medicine Outpatient DBT Program.
Dr. Mahaffey directs a comprehensive DBT program providing evidence-based treatment for individuals with severe emotion dysregulation, chronic suicidality, and self-harm. The program offers the full DBT model — individual therapy, skills training groups, phone coaching, and consultation team — and serves as a training site for the next generation of DBT clinicians.
Her DBT research extends the treatment to underserved populations, including transgender and gender diverse youth at high risk for suicide, and autistic individuals with significant emotion dysregulation. This work reflects a broader commitment to ensuring that effective treatments reach the people who need them most.
Emotion Dysregulation
DBT and related interventions for severe emotion dysregulation, borderline personality features, and chronic suicidality across diverse populations.
High-Risk & Underserved Populations
Adapting evidence-based treatments for transgender and gender diverse youth, autistic individuals, and other populations with elevated suicide risk.
OCD & Perinatal Mental Health
Exposure and Response Prevention for OCD, with particular expertise in perinatal OCD, postpartum anxiety, and birth trauma.
Trauma & Physical Health
PTSD, medical trauma, and the intersection of trauma with physical health and substance use in disaster-exposed populations.
Therapeutic Approaches
Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Linehan Board Certified therapist (DBT-LBC). Comprehensive DBT for emotion dysregulation, suicidality, and self-harm — including individual therapy, skills groups, phone coaching, and consultation team. Research on DBT adaptation for marginalized and underserved populations.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Evidence-based, goal-oriented treatment focusing on the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Including Exposure and Response Prevention for OCD and anxiety disorders.
Mindfulness & Behavioral Medicine
Mind-body integration for stress reduction, emotional wellbeing, and resilience. Developer of the Stony Brook Health Enhancement Program (SB-HEP) and Disaster Worker Resiliency Training Program.
Research
Intervention development and clinical science focused on reducing suffering in high-risk populations.
DBT for High-Risk Populations
Research on adapting DBT for underserved populations with elevated suicide risk. Current work focuses on transgender and gender diverse youth and autistic individuals with emotion dysregulation — populations with high rates of suicidality and self-harm who face significant barriers to accessing quality care.
Intervention Development & Evaluation
A sustained program of developing, testing, and validating clinical interventions. This includes NIH-funded randomized controlled trials of the Disaster Worker Resiliency Training Program, development of the Stony Brook Health Enhancement Program (SB-HEP), the SMART Mom Program — a resilience training program for women experiencing elevated pregnancy-specific stress based on the 3RP — and the creation of clinical assessment tools including the Pandemic-Related Pregnancy Stress Scale (PREPS), now used internationally.
Perinatal & Reproductive Mental Health
International research on mental health during pregnancy and postpartum, with a focus on perinatal OCD, anxiety trajectories, and the development of perinatal-specific assessment tools. Research spans seven countries and has significantly advanced understanding of maternal mental health during crisis. An emerging line of inquiry examines suicidality in midlife women and the role of sex hormone fluctuations — particularly estrogen — during perimenopause, extending her reproductive mental health expertise across the lifespan.
Trauma, Emotion Dysregulation & Physical Health
Examination of the pathways connecting trauma exposure, emotion dysregulation, and adverse health outcomes — including work with World Trade Center disaster responders on PTSD, respiratory health, and smoking cessation. This early work laid the foundation for the current focus on emotion dysregulation as a transdiagnostic treatment target.
Center
Mind-Body Clinical
Research Center
As Operations Manager, Dr. Mahaffey leads efforts to advance evidence-based mind-body interventions at Stony Brook. The center focuses on developing, testing, and implementing treatments that integrate psychological and physical health.