Our Doctors
Dr. Jesse Metzger

Meet Dr. Jesse Metzger

Clinical Psychologist

Dr. Jesse Metzger is a clinical psychologist, licensed to practice psychology in several states, including Connecticut and New York. Her training includes an undergraduate degree in psychology from Williams College, a master’s and doctorate degree in clinical psychology from Columbia University, and a postdoctoral fellowship at McGill University in Montréal, Québec. She has over 15 years of experience providing psychological and psychoeducational assessments, neuropsychological testing, and empirically-supported treatments, and her clinical expertise is in the evaluation and treatment of children, adolescents, and college-age adults.
 
Dr. Metzger completed her doctoral internship at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine before joining the faculty at Columbia University, where she was an adjunct professor and research advisor. Dr. Metzger also evaluated psychoeducational assessments to determine student eligibility for accommodations on college board tests (SAT, PSAT, AP) at the College Board Services for Students with Disabilities, and conducted and supervised psychological and diagnostic assessments at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She currently serves on the faculty at the University of Rhode Island and the Smith College School for Social Work.
 
As a member of Greenwich Psychology Group, Dr. Metzger provides psychological and psychoeducational assessments to children, adolescents, and college-age adults to evaluate performance and educational, behavioral, social, and emotional functioning. Through collaboration with the child, parents, and school personnel, she is able to identify specific learning problems and recommend appropriate accommodations, address school and college placement issues, and illuminate targets for treatment. She also provides consultation regarding your child’s learning, optimization of school and other resources integral to academic success, and overall life functioning. Her goal is to go ‘beyond diagnosis’ to determine the underlying clinical and cognitive processes that impact functioning. She has a passion for the ‘detective work’ of unraveling the various factors that both help and hold individuals back, and is particularly skilled at engaging children and adolescents to decrease their anxiety and elicit their most representative skills and performance.
 
Dr. Metzger has authored numerous journal articles and book chapters, presented her work at national and international conferences, and has long served as an independent writing consultant for students and academic professionals. Dr. Metzger is a member of Mensa, participates annually in the national American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (top 10% in the nation; #1 psychologist!), and is an accomplished Lego® artist and builder of large-scale models on commission.

Honors and Awards

•  APA Division of Psychotherapy (29) Donald K. Freedheim Student Development Award for best paper on psychotherapy theory, practice, or research (Master’s thesis), July 2007
• UJA-Federation Rose Biller Scholarship Award, 2005 – 2006
• Columbia University, Teachers College Scholarship, 2003 – 2006
• Ware Scholarship for Gifted Students, Williams College, 1997 – 2001
• Dean’s List, Williams College, 1999 – 2001

Publications

Perry, J. C., Metzger, J., & Sigal, J. J. (2015). Defensive functioning among women with breast cancer and matched community controls. Psychiatry, 78, 156-169.

Metzger, J. (2014). Adaptive defense mechanisms: Function and transcendence. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 70(5), 478-488.

Perry, J. C., & Metzger, J. (2014). Introduction to “Defense Mechanisms in Psychotherapy” [Special Issue], Journal of Clinical Psychology, 70(5), 405.

Metzger, J., & Farber, B. A. (2013). Clinical psychology Ph.D. program admissions: Implications of the mentor-model approach. Psychotherapy Bulletin, 48(1), 22-26.

Perry, J. C., Petraglia, J., Olson, T. R., Presniak, M., & Metzger, J. (2012). Accuracy of defense interpretation in three character types. In R. L. Levy & S. Ablon (Eds.), Handbook of Evidence-Based Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, Volume II. New Jersey: Humana.

Farber, B. A., & Metzger, J. (2009). The therapist as secure base. In J. H. Obegi & E. Berant (Eds.), Clinical Applications of Adult Attachment. New York: Guilford.

Metzger, J. (2009). Comics/Jokes/Humor [encyclopedia entry]. In C. Clauss-Ehlers (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Cross-Cultural School Psychology. New York: Springer.

Metzger, J. (2007). The relationship between patients’ representations of therapists and parents. Psychotherapy Bulletin, 42(3), 32-45.

Farber, B. A., Manevich, I., Metzger, J., & Saypol, E. (2005). Choosing psychotherapy as a career: Why did we cross that road? Journal of Clinical Psychology, 61, 1009-1031.

Professional Memberships

•  American Psychological Association (APA)
• Connecticut Psychological Association (CPA)
• Society of Neuroscience

Licenses

Licensed Psychologist, State of Connecticut: (#003845)
Licensed Psychologist, State of New York: (#020038)

Affiliations