Merle Keitel

Merle Keitel

Ph.D.

Counseling and Counseling Psychology

113 West 60th Street
Room 1016A
212-636-6468
[email protected]


Office hours:
Tuesdays: 3 - 4 p.m. EST 
Wednesdays: 3 - 4 p.m. EST
Hours also availalbe by emailing for an appointment.

Merle Keitel is a licensed psychologist. She has taught counselors and psychologists in training for more than 30 years. Keitel has also worked in various mental health settings (e.g., a college counseling center, VA hospital, a child and adolescent clinic, a comprehensive cancer hospital and research center, and in private practice).

She has coauthored (with Mary Kopala) Counseling Women with Breast Cancer (2000), and co-edited (with Mary Kopala) The Handbook of Counseling Women (2003, 2017). Keitel has written numerous book chapters and articles, and has presented at national conferences primarily in the areas of health psychology, stress and coping, and women's issues.

Most recently, her areas of interest within health psychology include infertility, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and family responses to anorexia and eating disorders, plus women's mental health broadly defined.

  • PhD in Counseling Psychology, State University of New York at Buffalo
    BS in Psychology, State University of New York at Binghamton

    • Eating Disorders
    • Stress and Coping
    • Infertility
    • Health Psychology
    • Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
    • Women's Issues
    • Social Emotional Learning in Schools

    Recent Doctoral Student Research

    Ott, E., Keitel, M., & Bigony, C., (August 2018). Caring for a son with anorexia: The psychosocial impact on fathers. Proposal accepted for presentation at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco.

    Uzun, M. Keitel, M., Torrell, A., Zabludovsky, L., & Harris, A. (February, 2018). Choosing to be childfree: Exploring the experiences of black, hispanic and latina women. Proposal accepted for presentation at the Teachers College Winter Roundtable, Columbia University.

    Uzun, M. Keitel, M., Torrell, A., Zabludovsky, L., & Harris, A. (August, 2018). Choosing to be childfree: Exploring the experiences of black, hispanic and latina women. Proposal accepted for presentation at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco.

    Terranova, K., Keitel, M., & Marsh, R. (August, 2018). Young women’s recovery from bulimia nervosa: A CQR Investigation. Proposal accepted for presentation at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco.

    Brawer, M., Keitel, M. & Cunningham, S. (August, 2018). The lived experiences of young adults of single mothers who were depressed. Proposal for presentation at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco.

    Ott, E., Keitel, M., & Parisi, M. (November 2017). It’s (Also) a Boy’s Problem: Supporting Fathers Caring for a Son with Anorexia. Presentation, National Eating Disorders Association Conference, Brooklyn, New York.

    Lamm, A., Keitel, M., Stewart, J., & Terronova, K. (August 2017). The lived experience of men with testicular cancer. Presentation at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Washington, DC (APA Division 17 Health Psychology Section).

    Simon, S. Keitel, M., Annunziata, R., & (August 2017). Distress in women with PCOS: The role of attachment, illness representations, and coping. Presentation at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Washington, DC

    Giardino, J., Keitel, M., Patelis, T., & Takooshian H. (2017). The impact of weight stigma on decisions about weight loss surgery. Stigma and Health. Advance online publication.

    Lamm, A., Keitel, M., Stewart, J., & Terronova, K. (June 2017). The lived experience of men with testicular cancer. Presentation at the Society for Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology (APA Division 5), New York, New York.

    Whitney, J., Keitel, M., & Parisi, M., (Sept. 30, 2016). Treating boys with anorexia: Clinical implications and supporting caregivers. Presentation, National Eating Disorders Association Conference, Chicago.

    Whitney, J., Keitel, M., Ponterotto, P., Parisi, M., Gerstel-Friedman, J., Wertz, H., & Ting, L. (August 2016). Caring for a son with anorexia: The psychosocial impact on mothers. Poster at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Denver.

  • Books

    Kopala, M., & Keitel, M. (2017). Handbook of Counseling Women. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Keitel, M., & Kopala, M. (2000). Counseling women with breast cancer: A guide for professionals. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Recent Book Chapters

    Keitel, M., Lipari, K., & Wertz, H. (2017). Gender differences in meaning-making after treatment for cancer. In E. Altmaier (Ed.) Reconstructing Meaning after Trauma: Theory, Research and Practice. Elsevier.

    Keitel, M., Kopala, M., Lamm, A., Moadel, A., & Berman, J. (2017). Helping Women Negotiate the Cancer Experience. In M. Kopala & M. Keitel (Eds.) Handbook of Counseling Women. Thousand Oaks, CA.: Sage.

    Parisi, M., Stack, L., Miller-Alexander, M., & Keitel, M. (2017). Counseling women with eating disorders. In M. Kopala & M. Keitel (Eds.) Handbook of Counseling Women, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Keitel, M., Tennenbaum, E., & Ticinelli, I. (2017). Infertility and recurrent miscarriage. In M. Kopala & M. Keitel (Eds.) Handbook of Counseling Women, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Keitel, M., Moadel, A., & Lamm, A. (2016). Family caregivers of breast cancer patients: Emerging trends and clinical recommendations. In J. G. Grzywacz & G. Welch (Eds.) Living with a Chronic Health Condition: Helping Families Survive and Thrive, New York: Springer.

    Selected Articles

    Giardino, J., Keitel, M., Patelis, T., & Takooshian H. (2017). The impact of weight stigma on decisions about weight loss surgery. Stigma and Health. Advance online publication.

    Simon, S., Keitel, M., Brawer, M., & Uzun, M. (2015). Symptoms of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Self-Esteem, Distress, and Quality of Life in College Women. Prevention and Health Promotion: Research, Social Action, Practice and Training, 8, 14-27.

    Bennett, J.K., Fuertes, J. N., Keitel, M., & Phillips, R. (2011). The role of patient attachment and working alliance on patient adherence, satisfaction, and health-related quality of life in lupus treatment. Patient Education and Counseling, 85, 53-59.

    Keitel, M., Parisi, M., Whitney, J., & Stack, L. (2010). Salient stressors for mothers of children and adolescents with anorexia nervosa. Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment and Prevention, 18(5), 1-10.

    Miles, L., Keitel, M., Jackson, M., Harris, A., & Licciardi, F. (2009). Predictors of distress in women undergoing infertility treatment. Journal of Infant and Reproductive Psychology, 27(3), 238-257.

  • Clinical Instruction Application of Theory to Practice (PSGE5633)

    Clinical Instruction and Counseling Process (PSGE5623)

    Counseling Theory and Practice (PSGE5631)

    Doctoral Practicum in Counseling Psychology I: Humanistic (PSGE7654)

    Field Experience in Counseling I/II (PSGE6652/6653)

    Foundations in Professional Counseling and Consultation (PSGE5621)

  • Dr. Keitel was honored with the Scanlon Award for significant contributions to the Graduate School of Education at Fordham as well as the James C. Hansen Humanitarian Award from SUNY at Buffalo Graduate School of Education.