Deep Structure in New York (DeStiNY) Lab

Founded in Fall 2024, the central focus of the DeStiNY lab is human nature, its development, and diagnosis, assessment, and intervention practices in psychotherapy. We understand all of these constructs through the lens of dynamic complex systems neural functions and the emergent neuropsychology that results; this provides a means to relate the human experience with all the natural systems in which it plays out.

While we work on a wide range of topics, a key advantage of the deep structural framework is that it enables us to integrate, augment, and unify across our different areas of interest. We are based in the Counseling and Human Development Department at the University of Rochester.

Lab NEWS

DeStiNY Lab publishes new psychotherapy meta-analysis in the Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy

[MARCH 2026] Rishika Kannan presents "A Review on the Interaction between the Menstrual Cycle and Quality of Life " at the Warner Research Day 2026, winning a Best Poster Award!

[MARCH 2026] Abigail Weiss presents "Understanding Anhedonia: A Neurophilsophical Review" at the Warner Research Day 2026, winning a Best Poster Award!

[MARCH 2026] Tiana Smith presents "Neuroanatomy in a Counseling Context" at the Warner Research Day 2026, earning a special mention in the poster awards!

[MARCH 2026] Sara Abraha presents "Decolonizing Trauma: Post-Traumatic Growth Among Eritrean War Survivors
and the Limits of Western PTSD Models" at the Warner Research Day 2026

[MARCH 2026] Ty DiPonzio presents "Cognitive Tasks for Psychotherapy and Counseling" at the Warner Research Day 2026

[MARCH 2026] Shrey Dolwani presents "Supporting At-Risk ASD Development Before Primary School" at the Warner Research Day 2026

[MARCH 2026] Ashley Sullivan presents "The Neuroscience of Healing: Addressing Chronic Pain and Stress" with Rebecca Block at the Warner Research Day 2026

[MARCH 2026] Lauren Szymula presents "A Narrative Review of Evidence for the Key Role of Neural Oscillations in Cognitive Representation" at the Warner Research Day 2026

[MARCH 2026] Megan Black presents "Can Attachment Security Be Achieved? A Developmental Model of Change After Trauma" at the Warner Research Day 2026

[MARCH 2026] Ryan Bohman presents "Connecting Your Mind to a Computer" at the Warner Research Day 2026

[MARCH 2026] Kathryn Raffloer presents "Artificial Intelligence and Mental Health: A Literature Review" at the Warner Research Day 2026

[MARCH 2026] Pengzhao Xie presents "Equilibrium: A Multi-level Dynamic Therapeutic Sphere" at the Warner Research Day 2026

[JANUARY, 2026] Ashley Sullivan co-presents "The Neuroscience of Healing: Addressing Chronic Pain and Stress in University Communities" at NASPA 2026 in Chicago, IL

LAB MEMBERS

Abraha, Sara

M.S. Mental Health Counseling Program

With an extensive background working with different marginalized communities, Sara has a fascination for learning how to utilize inspiration in counseling interventions to understand the deep structural changes of those who experience trauma. Born in Eritrea, Sara is interested in studying the experiences of Eritrean war survivors using qualitative research methods to understand and learn from their post-traumatic growth.

Aikman, Ingrid (Inga)

Ed.D. Counseling Program

With a background as a flight attendant herself, Inga is currently studying the impact of psychogeographic perceptions caused by layovers on flight attendants' basic psychological needs, self-determination, and well-being.

Bohman, Ryan

M.S. Mental Health Counseling Program

With a background in the tech industry, Ryan is particularly interested in how software and AI can be leveraged to improve mental health outcomes. He is also interested in group therapy as a modality, exploring how community based collaborative therapeutic environments can enhance individual and collective well-being.

Boxell, Oliver

Assistant Professor of Counseling and Human Development

Oliver is Principal Investigator of the DeStiNY Lab and focuses on the theoretical and empirical development of deep structure theory and the deep structure psychotherapy model. He is interested in the interfaces between deep structure, biopsychosocial systems, and emergent technological applications. For more information, visit oliverboxell.com.

de la Fuente, Elisa Rose Marie

M.S. Mental Health Counseling Program

Elisa is interested in psychotherapeutic intervention for familial trauma and stress. With a background in cognitive neuropsychology, she is interested in how the family system impacts cognitive development.

Ding, Ye

Ph.D. Counseling Program (Alumna) and Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin - Superior

Ye investigates challenging clinical practice issues pertaining to cross-cultural counseling, counselor professional development, and client resistance. The aim of her research is to optimize clinical processes and she continues to collaborate with the lab on a factor-analytic project about depression in older adults.

DiPonzio, Tyler

M.S. Mental Health Counseling Program

Ty's research interests include the application of cognitive psychometrics in predicting behavior, response to treatment, and quantifying legal terms relevant to forensic evaluations. He has an interest in forensic psychology and correctional counseling.

Dolwani, Shrey

M.S. Mental Health Counseling Program

With experience in behavioral health and in community mental health with Youth Advocate Programs, Shrey is interested in complex PTSD, emotional intelligence, and emotion regulation. They aim to integrate mind-body practices with wraparound community supports to promote trauma recovery and self-regulation in clinical settings.

Esperance, Todd

Ph.D. Counseling Program

Todd conducts research on extrinsic and intrinsic factors that predict well-being among mental health counselors.

Gan, Audrey

M.S. Mental Health Counseling

Audrey is passionate about psychotherapy for youth and families from diverse cultural backgrounds. She is also interested in exploring cognitive development across all stages of life.

Gao, Sandra

M.S. Mental Health Counseling Program (Alumna)

Sandra focuses on the intersection of cognitive neuroscience and psychotherapy, with a particular emphasis on neuro-informed therapeutic interventions for trauma processing and emotional dysregulation. She is also interested in exploring technology-driven mental health tools—including emerging AI applications—to enhance traditional psychotherapy.

He, Madison

Ph.D. Counseling Program

Madison is interested in how stress is encoded through the mind–body system, how shame shapes relational and emotional processes in counselor education, and the deep structural patterns that emerge under chronic or situational stress. This includes language anxiety among international counseling students and the impact on somatic regulation, attention, and meaning-making in clinical training.

Huang, Yang

Ph.D. Counseling Program

Yang is interested in the cross-cultural application of counseling theories and the underlying mechanisms that contribute to counseling effectiveness across diverse populations, particularly from a neurobiological perspective. She is also interested in how these factors influence counselors' sustainability and motivation, with the goal of promoting long-term well-being and professional fulfillment in the field.

Kannan, Rishika

M.S. Mental Health Counseling Program

Rishika is interested in the gut-brain axis and how mental disorders can be connected to the microbiome and physical health. She is curious about the role of attachment in the emergence of maladaptive traits and how emotional regulation can be used clinically.

Li, Yuning

Ph.D. Counseling Program

Yuning is fascinated by the mind-body connection and somatic, embodied approaches to counseling. Her research interests also explore themes that emerge in intimate relationships, as well as relational dynamics within large social systems.

Ojuro, Wiljar

Ph.D. Counseling Program

Wiljar's research focuses on the impact of intergenerational trauma and family system resilience factors in the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. She hopes this work can inform targeted clinical interventions.

Qiu, Lilin

M.S. Mental Health Counseling Program (Alumna)

Lilin is interested in how counselors can support underserved populations with complex PTSD, with a focus on therapeutic alliance, trauma-informed care, and systemic barriers to healing. Her work explores somatization of suppressed emotions, mind-body healing, and client-centered approaches. She uses qualitative methods to elevate lived experiences in research and training.

Realbuto, Evan

M.S. Mental Health Counseling Program

Evan is interested in emotion regulation, parental accommodation, advancing therapeutic modalities for grief, and exploring how diet and exercise can augment psychotherapy outcomes.

Sullivan, Ashley

M.S. Mental Health Counseling Program

Ashley is interested in understanding the effects of our modern-day society on mental health from a deep structural and evolutionary perspective. She is focused on psychotherapy modalities that can be used to treat the root of mental disorder.

Wang, Kaixin (Amber)

M.S. Mental Health Counseling Program (Alumna)

Amber is interested in how early relational experiences shape attachment patterns and contribute to complex post-traumatic stress disorder. She focuses on how attachment theory combined with trauma-informed approaches can support the formation of secure attachment in this population. Currently, Amber is working on longitudinal functionality survival for patients discharged from an intensive inpatient unit.

Wang, Xuanya

Ph.D. Counseling Program

Xuanya is interested in mother-daughter relationships, body image, disordered eating behaviors, and gender identity development. She is passionate about exploring how relational dynamics and emotions shape mental health and inform psychotherapeutic practices.

Wei, Zhen

M.S. Mental Health Counseling Program

Zhen's research interests focus on recursive neurocognitive reconstructing processes that occur in psychotherapy sessions, and how these relate to the nature of mental disorders. His main focus is on how neural backpropagation may be associated with memory reconsolidation and how trauma-focused therapy, such as EMDR, may be stimulating such processes.

Weiss, Abigail

M.S. Mental Health Counseling Program

Abigail is interested in the intersection of psychology and philosophy in counseling with a focus on trauma, emotion processing, motivation, and the development of meaning.

Xu, Longchuan

Ph.D. Counseling Program

Chuan is interested in studying the process of change, especially from neurological and psychological perspectives. He focuses on how community activities contribute to and/or damage mental wellness, and his work uses mixed-methods approaches.

Yang, Luna

Visiting Assistant Professor of Counseling and Human Development

Luna's interests center around the experience of international counseling students, cultural humility in teaching and counselor training, the use of AI in counseling and counselor education, transnational bereavement, and gender and queer studies. She is focused on qualitative methodology.

Zhu, Minghao (Gomez)

M.S. Human Development Program

Gomez is interested in mental health and how neuron connections from different areas of human brain activate to form circuits underwriting cognitive processes, childhood trauma, and other stressors.

REPRESENTATIVE Lab publications (2025-present)

Boxell, O., Esperance, T., Sullivan, A., Kannan, R., Realbuto, E., de la Fuente, E.R.M., Bohman, R., Wang, K., Huang, Y., & Weiss, A. (In press). Exploring the Dodo-Bird Effect in psychotherapy: A transmodal, transdiagnostic, and factor-analytic meta-analysis of effects and rates-of-change. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy.

Boxell, O. (2025). Deep Structure Theory: An introduction to a unifying theoretical framework for the analysis of human neuropsychology. Journal of Mind and Behavior, 46(2), 121-157.

Boxell, O. (2025). Neuropsychological Deep Structure: The Electromagnetic Emergence of Human Nature, Psychopathology, and the Scope of Clinical Mental Health Intervention. Proquest Global.

Boxell, O. (2025). Deep Structure Psychotherapy. In B. Owens & K. Campbell (eds.), The Encyclopedia of Mental Health Modalities, Trainings, Certifications, and Credentials. Tucson, AZ: ONBLLC Publications.

Marquis, A. & Boxell, O. (2025). An integral analysis of the etiology and treatment of substance use disorders. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 35(3), 196-220. (Winner of Editor's Choice Award)

Roth, A., de la Fuente, E.R.M., & Boxell, O. (2025). Fetal alcohol syndrome consultation, education, and trainings. In B. Owens & K. Campbell (eds.), The Encyclopedia of Mental Health Modalities, Trainings, Certifications, and Credentials. Tucson, AZ: ONBLLC Publications.

REPRESENTATIVE Lab pRESENTATIONS

2026

Yang, L., Wang, X., & Huang, Y. (2026, April 10-12). Understanding how use of AI impacts individual development. New York Mental Health Counselors Association, Albany, NY.

Huang, Y., Wang, X., & Yang, L. (2026, April 10-12). Culturally responsive counseling with Chinese international students in an era of global uncertainty. New York Mental Health Counselors Association, Albany, NY.

Yang, L. (2026, April 9-11). Acculturative stress and coping among Chinese counseling students. American Counseling Association Annual Conference and Expo, Columbus, OH.

Abraha, S. (2026, March 21) Decolonizing trauma: Post-traumatic growth among Eritrean war survivors and the limits of Western PTSD models. [Poster]. Warner Research Days: Student Research Showcase, Rochester, NY.

Black, M. (2026, March 21). Can attachment security be achieved? A developmental model of change after trauma. [Poster]. Warner Research Days: Student Research Showcase, Rochester, NY.

Bohman, R. (2026, March 21). Connecting your mind to a computer. [Poster]. Warner Research Days: Student Research Showcase, Rochester, NY.

DiPonzio, T. (2026, March 21). Cognitive tasks for psychotherapy and counseling. [Poster]. Warner Research Days: Student Research Showcase, Rochester, NY.

Dolwani, S. (2026, March 21). Supporting at-risk ASD development before primary school. [Poster]. Warner Research Days: Student Research Showcase, Rochester, NY.

Kannan, R. (2026, March 21). A review on the interaction between the menstrual cycle and quality of life. [Poster]. Warner Research Days: Student Research Showcase, Rochester, NY. (Winner of Best Poster Award)

Raffloer, K. (2026, March 21). Artificial intelligence and mental health: A literature review. [Poster]. Warner Research Days: Student Research Showcase, Rochester, NY.

Smith, T. (2026, March 21). Neuroanatomy in a counseling context. [Poster]. Warner Research Days: Student Research Showcase, Rochester, NY. (Special mention in Best Poster Awards)

Sullivan, A. & Block, R. (2026, March 21). The neuroscience of healing: Addressing chronic pain and stress in university communities. [Poster]. Warner Research Days: Student Research Showcase, Rochester, NY.

Szymula, L. & Boxell, O. (2026, March 21). A narrative review of evidence for the key role of neural oscillations in cognitive representation. [Poster]. Warner Research Days: Student Research Showcase, Rochester, NY.

Weiss, A. (2026, March 21). Anhedonia as lack of mean: A neurophilosophical review [Poster]. Warner Research Days: Student Research Showcase, Rochester, NY. (Winner of Best Poster Award)

Xie, P. (2026, March 21). Equilibrium: A multi-level dynamic therapeutic sphere. [Poster]. Warner Research Days: Student Research Showcase, Rochester, NY.

Block, R. & Sullivan, A. (2026, January 15-17). The neuroscience of healing: Addressing chronic pain and stress in university communities. 2026 National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) Conference, Chicago, IL.

2025

Boxell, O. (2025, May 1-3). On making the ontological leap from brain to mind: Neuropsychological deep structure theory. Society for Philosophy and Neuroscience (SPAN) Conference, St. Louis, MO.

Sullivan, A., Kannan, R., de la Fuente, E. R. M., Bohman, R., Realbuto, E., Wang, K., Huang, Y., Esperance, T., Weiss, A., & Boxell, O. (2025, April 5). The Dodo-Bird of Minerva still flies at dusk (but not during the day): A transtheoretical meta-analysis of psychotherapy interventions [Poster]. Warner Research Days: Student Research Showcase, Rochester, NY. (Winner of Best Poster Award)

Boxell, O. (2025, April 4). The effectiveness of deep structural priming as an augmentation for traditional psychotherapy [Poster]. Warner Research Days: Faculty Research Symposium, Rochester, NY.

RECENT EARLIER EXAMPLES (2020-4)

Boxell, O. (2024, April 19). Deep Structure Psychotherapy (DSP): Using neuropsychology to integrate and augment counseling approaches [Poster]. University of Rochester Breaking Down Silos Symposium, Rochester, NY.

Boxell, O. (2024, February 2). Neuropsychological deep structure and its clinical applications in counseling [Invited Talk]. Greater Rochester Licensed Mental Health Counselors’ Google Group Meeting. Rochester, NY.

Boxell, O. (2021, October 5-10). How the mind emerges from the brain and what this means for counselors and counselor educators [Poster]. Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Conference, Atlanta, GA.

Boxell, O. (2021, September 10-11). Direct brain stimulation as an intervention for treatment resistant mental health disorders: A meta-analysis of clinical efficacy and prospects for integration with counseling [Poster]. 2021 Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling Conference, Cincinnati, OH.

Boxell, O., Lane, J., & Sörensen, S. (2020, May 21-24). Visuospatial and narrative memory predict verbal learning capacity in older adults: The effects of executive function and mental health [Poster]. 32nd Association for Psychological Science Annual Convention, Chicago, IL.

Boxell, O. (2020, April 16-19). STEM students’ basic psychological needs [Poster]. American Counseling Association 2020 Conference and Expo, San Diego, CA.

Boxell, O. (2020, April 16-19). Contextual effects on mental health stigma [Poster]. American Counseling Association 2020 Conference and Expo, San Diego, CA.

NEWS ARCHIVE

2025

Lab member Ashley Sullivan co-authors a new paper on best practices for first psychedelic experiences in the Harm Reduction Journal
Lab PI Oliver Boxell interviewed by NPR WXXI News on the effects of artificial intelligence on human development
Congratulations to lab members Lilin Qiu and Amber Wang for graduating from the M.S. Clinical Mental Health Counseling program!
Congratulations to Dr. Ye Ding who graduated from the Ph.D. program and has been appointed Assistant Professor of Counseling at the University of Wisconsin - Superior
Congratulations to Dr. Luna Yang who graduated from the Ph.D. program and has been appointed Visiting Assistant Professor of Counseling and Human Development at the University of Rochester
Boxell publishes new paper on Deep Structure Theory in the Journal of Mind and Behavior
Chapter on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs) published in the Encyclopedia of Mental Health Modalities by Alicia Roth of Mt. Hope Family Center with lab members Elisa Rose Marie de la Fuente and Oliver Boxell
Chapter on Deep Structure Psychotherapy published in the Encyclopedia of Mental Health Modalities by Oliver Boxell
[MAY 3, 2025] "On Making the Ontological Leap from Brain to Mind: Neuropsychological Deep Structure Theory" presentation by Oliver Boxell at the Society for Philosophy and Neuroscience (SPAN), hosted by the University of Washington in St. Louis, MO
[APRIL 5, 2025] GO TEAM! DeStiNY Lab wins first prize for its meta-analysis poster at the Warner Research Day 2025
[APRIL 5, 2025] Ashley Sullivan, Elisa Rose Marie de la Fuente, Rishika Kannan, Ryan Bohman, and Amber Wang present the lab's meta-analysis of different psychotherapy modalities at the Warner School Research Day 2025
[APRIL 4, 2025] Oliver Boxell presents "The Effectiveness of Deep Structural Priming as an Augmentation for Traditional Psychotherapy" at the Warner Research Day 2025: Faculty Symposium
[MARCH, 2025] New Publication: Dr. Andre Marquis and Lab P.I. Dr. Oliver Boxell co-author a new integral analysis on the etiology and treatment of substance use disorders. It appears in the Journal of Psychotherapy Integration.

Oliver Boxell at Warner Research Day 2025: Faculty Symposium

Ashley Sullivan, Amber Wang, Elisa Rose Marie de la Fuente, Rishika Kannan, and Ryan Bohman at Warner Research Day 2025

Ashley Sullivan, Amber Wang, Elisa Rose Marie de la Fuente, Oliver Boxell, and Rishika Kannan at Warner Research Day 2025