Fred Penzel, Ph.D.

E-mail: penzel85@yahoo.com
Phone: (631) 351-1729
Fax: (631) 424-4041

Fred Penzel, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist, and holds both an M.A. and Ph.D. from Hofstra University in School and Clinical Psychology, and graduated from there is 1985. He is the founder and executive director of Western Suffolk Psychological Services. Within his practice, he specializes in the Cognitive/Behavioral treatment of OCD, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Body-focused Repetitive Behaviors such as Hair-Pulling Disorder (Trichotillomania) and Excoriation Disorder (compulsive skin-picking), Panic and Agoraphobia, phobias, and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. He has been engaged in the treatment of these disorders since 1982. Dr. Penzel is a founding member of both the International Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Foundation (IOCDF) and the TLC Foundation for BFRB’s Science Advisory Boards. He has presented yearly at the conferences of both organizations since their beginnings. In 2011, Dr. Penzel was given the Patricia Perkins International OCD Foundation Outstanding Achievement Award, and in 2019 he was given the TLC Foundation’s Christina Pearson Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service. He is also a member of the advisory board of the United Kingdom’s Anxiety UK organization. Dr. Penzel is the author of “Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders: A Complete Guide To Getting Well And Staying Well,” a self-help work covering OCD and other O-C spectrum disorders, as well as “The Hair Pulling Problem: A Complete Guide to Trichotillomania,” a more specialized self-help work. Dr. Penzel is also a frequent contributor to IOCDF’s newsletter and In Touch, the newsletter of the TLC Foundation. He has served numerous times as an instructor in both the IOCDF Behavioral Therapy Institute, and the TLC Professional Training Institute. Over the years, he has lectured both nationally and internationally on topics relating to OCD and Body-focused Repetitive Behaviors, and has made guest appearances on numerous TV and radio shows. In addition, Dr. Penzel is an adjunct faculty member and community supervisor for the doctoral psychology program at Long Island University (C. W. Post campus). As a side note, Dr. Penzel holds an MFA in Theater Design and Technology from the Yale Drama School, and wrote “Theater Lighting Before Electricity,” the first written history of theater lighting.