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Rebecca Saracino

Rebecca Saracino, PhD

Psychologist

My Role at MSK

Areas of Expertise

My Specialties

  • Psycho-Oncology
  • Clinical Psychology
  • End of Life Care
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Dr. Saracino's Office Information
Languages: English
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About Me

What I Do at MSK
  • Assistant Attending Psychologist
Get To Know Me

I am a licensed clinical psychologist with extensive training in psycho-oncology, end-of-life care, and geriatrics (care for older adults).

I have more than 10 years of experience in working with people with cancer. Throughout my career, I have seen people with many different types and stages of cancer, from diagnosis to post-treatment and end of life.

Read more

I approach each of my patients with curiosity and humility. Each person has a unique story. My collaborative care approach is grounded in:

  • Cognitive behavioral therapy
  • Meaning-centered psychotherapy
  • Supportive psychotherapy

I use these approaches to help my patients understand and better cope with cancer-related stress.

I am also committed to training and mentoring junior faculty, fellows, graduate students, and clinical research coordinators.

As a member of the Psychotherapy and Psycho-Oncology of Aging and Cancer research laboratories in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, my research focuses on three main areas:

  • Improving the accuracy of depression assessment in oncology
  • Psychotherapeutic intervention development for individuals with cancer (with a focus on supportive care and older adults)
  • Enhancing the reach of existing mental health interventions to increase access to evidence-based care in cancer.

I am currently leading two psychotherapy studies funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). One focuses on training homecare nurses to deliver brief meaning-centered psychotherapy to homebound adults with advanced cancer and other medical conditions. The other study is being conducted within the survivorship clinics at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). It is exploring brief behavioral activation for depression in older adult cancer survivors.

I am a member of the American Psychosocial Oncology Society, American Psychological Association, Society of Behavioral Medicine, European Association of Palliative Care, International Society of Geriatric Oncology, and Gerontological Society of America.

My Role at MSK

A psychologist has special training in therapy to help people with mental and behavioral health issues.

Areas of Expertise

My Specialties

  • Psycho-Oncology
  • Clinical Psychology
  • End of Life Care
  • Geropsychology
Education & Honors

Education

  • PhD, Fordham University

Residencies

  • Behavioral Medicine Service, Yale School of Medicine

Awards and Honors

  • National Cancer Institute Loan Repayment Award, National Cancer Institute (2019-2023)
  • Mort Bard Teaching and Excellence Award, MSK (2020)
  • Cornelia Perry Memorial Award, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK, 2019)
  • Best Abstract Award, Multimorbidity Special Interest Group, Society of Behavioral Medicine (2019)
  • Excellence in Leadership Award, Yale School of Medicine (2017)

Fellowships

  • Psycho-Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Board Certifications

  • NYS

Insurance Information

Understanding your insurance options is an important part of managing your cancer care. We have relationships with many common healthcare providers and plans.

Aetna

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS, Transplant

Aetna Medicare Advantage (MTA and NYC retirees only)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Anthem BCBS and other BCBS licensee plans

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

See updates

Anthem BCBS Health Plus

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

See updates

Anthem Blue Cross Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO, DSN

See updates

Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

See updates

Blue Cross Blue Shield states outside of NY/NJ

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS

See updates

Carrum Health

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

Cigna

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Connecticare

In Network Coverage Type
POS, EPO, HMO

Emblem

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Emblem to learn more.

Emblem Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Emblem Medicare Advantage (Medicare Choice PPO Network and VIP Prime Network Only)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

Empire Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Empire Plan / NYSHIP (Blue Cross/UnitedHealthcare split plan)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

See updates

Fidelis

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Fidelis to learn more.

Fidelis Managed Medicaid & HARP

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Fidelis Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

First Health

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Healthfirst

In Network Coverage Type
EPO, HMO, PPO, POS

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Healthfirst to learn more.

Healthfirst Managed Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Healthfirst Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

Healthsmart

In Network Coverage Type
PPO EPO

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (HMO)

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (PPO)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier I (EPO)

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier II (EPO)

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

See updates

Horizon Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

Husky CT Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Magnacare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO

Straight NJ Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Straight NY Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Medicare Part A&B (traditional Medicare)

In Network Coverage Type
Federal Government

Multiplan/Beech Street/PHCS

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

MVP

In Network Coverage Type
PPO/OAP

Non-Participating Plans with Out of Network Benefits

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

NYC Medicare Advantage Plus for City Employees

In Network Coverage Type
TBD

Oscar

In Network Coverage Type
HMO/EPO

Oxford

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, EPO

World Trade Center Health Program (WTC)

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Qualcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Tricare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

UMR

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS

United Healthcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Don't see your carrier or plan? We can help you understand your coverage.

If you don't have health insurance or are worried that your care may not be fully covered, our financial assistance programs may be able to help.

If you have questions about insurance, call us at 646-497-9176.

Make an Appointment

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Current Patients
Request an appointment by logging on to MyMSK or calling your doctor’s office. If you aren’t registered for MyMSK, call 646-227-2593 for your Enrollment ID.

Contact and Location

Dr. Saracino sees patients at two locations.

Office Phone
Location
New York, NY
Rockefeller Outpatient Pavilion
160 East 53rd Street New York NY 10022
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Counseling Center
160 East 53rd Street New York NY 10022
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Looking to see a doctor at a different location? See all MSK locations.

Colleagues

Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering work as teams, with specialists from all different areas. This allows us to consider all your needs together, and to give you the best possible care.

Clinical Trials

Smiling doctors in the lab
Find a Clinical Trial for You

Memorial Sloan Kettering's doctors and scientists are constantly developing new treatments for cancer. MSK is typically running hundreds of clinical trials at a given time.

You may be able to participate in a clinical trial even if you are new to MSK. Search our online directory to find trial information and see more about who can participate.

Search clinical trials

Research and Publications

Publications on PubMed

Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Saracino’s journal articles. Pubmed is an online index of research papers and other articles from the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

See all on PubMed

Disclosures

Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.

MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.

Rebecca Saracino discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

No disclosures meeting criteria for time period


If you’re a patient at MSK and would like more information about your doctor’s external relationships, please talk with your doctor.

The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.

This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2023 through disclosure submission in spring 2024). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at [email protected].


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