If you ask Ilana Gratch (Ph.D. ‘25) about her career trajectory, she’ll tell you that a passion for clinical psychology was “always in the family.”
“It’s ultimately not a surprise that I ended up here,” she says. “As a child, I was intensely curious about my parents’ work as psychologists.” Ilana completed her Ph.D. at Teachers College this year, following in the footsteps of her parents, Alon Gratch and Michele Sacks, both of whom are TC alumni.
Prior to attending Teachers College, she worked as a research coordinator in the MIND Clinic for Mood and Personality Disorders at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and volunteered at the Trevor Project, a suicide crisis hotline for LGBTQIA+ youth. “Those experiences solidified my dual interests in empirical research and clinical practice,” she recalls. “I knew I wanted to train somewhere that would allow me to pursue both.”
Ilana was accepted into TC’s Clinical Psychology program and quickly began working on independent research with her faculty advisor, Christine Cha, Honorary Research Associate Professor, in Cha’s research lab. Ultimately, her research in Cha’s lab was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) through a National Research Service Award Individual Predoctoral Fellowship.
“I was thrilled to join Dr. Cha’s lab because she was building an active, rigorous research group that tackled suicide research from different angles,” she explains. At the same time, Ilana pursued specialized psychotherapy training opportunities in hospitals and community clinics throughout the city and at the Dean Hope Center for Educational and Psychological Services at Teachers College.
And 40 years prior, Alon and Michele crossed paths in the same familiar halls of Teachers College. They have been together ever since.
“We both chose Teachers College because it had a reputation for having a clinical psychology program with a psychodynamic orientation and an extremely well-run, community-based training clinic,” explains Michele. “We had excellent supervisors, some wonderful classes and experiences, and just as importantly, we both made life-long connections from our program.”
(Photo courtesy of the Gratch family.)
This year, during TC’s Convocation ceremony, the Gratch family recreated a very special moment in time. In 1989, Michele graduated from Teachers College with her Ph.D. and captured a sentimental photo with her mom, Evelyn. Now 94 years old, Evelyn was able to attend Ilana’s ceremony 36 years later.
“As Ilana exited United Palace Theater after being hooded for her Ph.D. in clinical psychology, we recreated the celebratory, mother-daughter moment ,” shares Michele.
“We are extremely proud of our daughter because she’s already surpassed us in her many accomplishments,” added Alon.
“It was very meaningful to have multiple generations present,” Ilana reflected. Gratch will have her degree officially conferred at Teachers College this fall and plans to assume a new role as a Postdoctoral Fellow focusing on maternal-infant psychology at Weill Cornell Medicine this fall.
“Teachers College offered a very pluralistic education, which can be hard to find, and for which I am very grateful,” she concludes. “I received clinical supervision in multiple therapeutic modalities and mentorship that emphasized a highly interdisciplinary approach to research.”