Meet the Staff
Eric D. Rose, Ph.D.
DIRECTOR
Dr. Rose was born and raised on Long Island, New York, and attended undergraduate college at Yeshiva University in Manhattan. He earned his doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Case Western Reserve University, in Cleveland, Ohio. His graduate research explored the relationship between emotional distress and religious or spiritual lifestyles. In 2010 he returned to New York and completed a clinical internship at the Stony Brook University Counseling and Psychological Services. A year later, Dr. Rose pursued further specialization in university mental health by completing a post-doctoral residency at Princeton University Health Services. Between 2012 and 2016, Dr. Rose was a staff psychologist at the Johns Hopkins University Counseling Center. While at Johns Hopkins he served as coordinator of website and online media initiatives. Dr. Rose's professional interest include contemporary psychoanalysis, psychology of religious belief and practice, and mindfulness meditation. He is licensed as a psychologist in both New York and New Jersey.
Melissa Zarin, Ph.D.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Coordinator OF PREVENTION AND OUTREACH
Dr. Melissa Shuman Zarin is the assistant director of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). She earned her B.A. in Psychology and Drama from Kenyon College, her MA/Ed.M. in Psychological Counseling from Teachers College Columbia University, and her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Fordham University.
Prior to joining Stevens, she worked at Wolf Mehlman Psychological Associates providing therapy to adults and college bound adolescents. For many years, she worked for the Activity and Human Performance Center providing individual therapy and court ordered psychological evaluations for adult and adolescent clients involved with the NJ Division for Youth and Family Services (DYFS). She also worked on-site as a Staff Psychologist at Apostle House Shelter in Newark, NJ providing individual therapy, group therapy, and advocacy to women residents and their children. Before that she worked for the Essex County Juvenile Detention Center as their Staff Psychologist. In addition, she has worked as an Adjunct Professor for both Montclair State University and Union County College teaching a variety of classes including Ethics, Group Counseling, and Supervision. Dr. Zarin is a New Jersey Licensed Counseling Psychologist (#4750), and also licensed as a psychologist in New York State (#021236).
Lauren Poleyeff Psy.D., LCSW
STAFF PSYCHOLOGIST
Lauren Poleyeff Psy.D., LCSW is a staff psychologist at Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). Dr. Poleyeff received her doctorate degree in school psychology at Rutgers University in May, 2015. Dr. Poleyeff completed her psychology internship at Stevens Institute of Technology’s Student Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) a year ago. She previously completed her psychology externships at the Children’s Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center of Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and at the Valley Road elementary schools in Clark, NJ. Throughout her training, she also provided individual and family therapy at Rutgers psychological clinic.
In addition to being a licensed psychologist in the state of New Jersey, Dr. Poleyeff is also a licensed clinical social worker and has over a decade of experience working with children and families in various clinical settings. Prior to returning to graduate school, she provided counseling services at a child an adolescent outpatient clinic through the Jewish Family Services – MetroWest. In addition, Dr. Poleyeff facilitated parent support groups at a school based early intervention program run through the ARC of Essex County. She also worked in foster care and preventive service programs throughout New York City. Her professional interests include relational issues, identity concerns, family of origin issues, support for students with autism spectrum disorders, and acculturation issues. During her internship at CAPS, Dr. Poleyeff co-facilitated a relational process group. She also facilitated a support group for international students and a group for building social confidence.
Mai El-Khoury, Ph.D.
SUPERVISING Psychologist
Dr. Mai El-Khoury is a Supervising Psychologist at Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). She earned her B.A. in Psychology and English from Duke University, and her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from The George Washington University.
Prior to joining Stevens, Dr. El-Khoury completed externships at the Center for Multicultural Human Services (Falls Church, VA), the Program for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (Falls Church, VA), NYU Institute of Trauma and Stress (NY, NY), and Mt. Sinai Hospital (NY, NY). Dr. El-Khoury completed her pre-doctoral internship at Bellevue Hospital/NYU School of Medicine and her post-doctoral fellowship at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey/ War Related Illness and Injury Study Center (of the East Orange Veterans Administration). Dr. El-Khoury's clinical interests include: living with anxiety, interpersonal relatedness, assertiveness, time management, expatriate transitions, as well as cross-cultural dimensions of coping and resilience.
Dr. El-Khoury is licensed as a Clinical Psychologist in New Jersey (35SI00521700) and in New York (018186).
Susan Polkowski, Psy.D.
Post-DOCTORAL Psychology fellow
Susan Polkowski is a post-doctoral psychology fellow at Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). She earned her BA in psychology, with a dual major in economics from Rutgers College, her MBA from Rutgers Business School, and her Psy.D. from the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP) at Rutgers University. Susan completed her pre-doctoral psychology internship at the Stevens Institute of Technology CAPS.
Prior to joining Stevens, Susan gained extensive training at the World Trade Center Health Program at Rutgers University working with 9/11 First Responders suffering from PTSD. Additionally, she gained clinical and assessment experience as a school psychology practicum student at Marlboro High School in NJ. Susan completed externships at both Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) and Damon House, Inc. While at RWJUH, she worked closely with pediatric patients and their families. At Damon House, Inc. Susan was responsible for providing treatment to individuals suffering from substance use disorders, co-occurring mental illness, and trauma histories. Susan has experience facilitating groups and most recently ran interpersonal process groups at the counseling center at Rutgers University. Susan’s clinical interests include interpersonal relatedness, anxiety management, trauma and resilience, substance use disorders, and group psychotherapy.
Sebastian Sobzcyk, B.A.
Social Work Intern
Sebastian Sobczyk is a Social Work intern at Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ. He earned his B.A. in Sociology from William Paterson University, and is currently working towards attaining a Masters of Social Work from Kean University.
Prior to joining Stevens, he amassed experience through many different facets of the mental health system by working one on one with adolescent youth to eliminate undesired behaviors, then progressing to providing support in inpatient psychiatric units to diverse populations, and until recently working with the Involuntary Outpatient Commitment (IOC) program of Passaic County in extending the continuum of care for the acutely mentally ill adults from the inpatient setting to the community. Sebastian’s experience has allowed him to bring forth a client centered approach that is based on one’s strengths and goals to achieve the client’s vision of wellness.
Sebastian’s professional interests include cognitive behavioral therapy approaches, depressive symptomatology, substance abuse disorders, anxiety management, and current psychological research and evidence-based treatment of psychopathology.
Daniel Bascara, M.D.
Staff Psychiatrist
Dr. Daniel Bascara is a part-time Staff Psychiatrist at Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). He is Board-Eligible, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and Board-Certified, American Board of Internal Medicine and is licensed to practice in New Jersey. Presently, he is also employed with Hoboken University Medical Center and Mental Health Clinic of Passaic. He has extensive experience in working with the late adolescence and young adulthood population.
Michael Jackson, M.D.
Staff Psychiatrist
Dr. Michael Jackson is a part-time Staff Psychiatrist at Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). He graduated from the UMDNJ- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway, NJ. He continued his medical training as a psychiatric resident psychiatry department to be the chief resident of the program. After finishing his residency, Dr. Jackson completed the Saint Vincent's Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship.
Dr. Jackson maintains affiliations with both New York University School of Medicine and UMDNJ - Robert Wood Johnson Medical School where he actively lectures and supervises fellows in their Forensic Psychiatry programs. Dr. Jackson also teaches and lectures residents, fellows and other physicians on various General, Forensic, and Addiction Psychiatry topics.
Myrna Giannini
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
Myrna Giannini joined the office of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) in September 2016 as an administrative assistant. She has been at Stevens since 2005 in the Enrollment Division. Prior to working at Stevens, she worked as a confidential secretary in the Office of the President at Rutgers University and has held several other duties at other universities here in New Jersey as well as in Florida. For the first part of her career, she worked as a New State Medicaid expediter, a position she held for 16 years. She also held a position as staff assistant to the Office of Students with Disabilities at Valencia Community College and as a technical secretary for Middlesex Community College.