Dr. Spirt completed her residency training in psychiatry at NYU Medical Center and then completed a fellowship in psychopharmacology under the direction of Dr. Norman Sussman. She spent several years post fellowship in supervision with Dr. Donald Klein. She earned her BA in Chemistry from SUNY Binghamton, graduating with honors, and was awarded the prize for outstanding performance in chemistry at graduation.

 

Her research as an undergraduate student included studying the effect of various psychotropic medications on rat behavior as well as partaking in the development of oral chemotherapy agents. She worked as a counselor for the campus hotline and spent summers as a volunteer therapy aide in a psychiatric hospital. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

 

During medical school she spent her elective year at various psychiatric hospitals throughout the country, gaining experience treating a diverse patient population.

 

Her research during her fellowship focused on the safety and efficacy of several agents used to treat panic disorder and generalized anxiety.

 

Post residency she worked for two years as a staff psychiatrist at a local outpatient hospital in lower Manhattan, followed by 1 ½ years as a unit chief of an acute psychiatric ward of a city hospital. In addition, she was one of the first Medical Directors of a managed care company when this health insurance product first became available.

 

She has been a member of the American Psychiatric Association since 1987, the Bellevue Psychiatric Association since 1989, and the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology since 1995.

 

Dr. Spirt believes that most patient’s can be treated to remission and is dedicated to working with all patients to achieve this goal.