Our Team
Meet the Team
We are two local psychologists with a passion for bringing responsible and heartfelt mindfulness-based programs and training to our local community. Please be in touch with any curiosities or questions about who we are, what we do, or how we might be a resource for you.
Joshua R. Cohen, PhD
Dr. Cohen has long had a fascination with the relationship between the brain and behavior. After earning his bachelor’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University, he earned a doctorate in psychology at the University of Michigan. He then completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan Hospital in Rehabilitation Psychology and Neuropsychology where he used his knowledge of the brain-behavior relationship to help patients. He brings a similar interest in the brain-behavior relationship to the field of mindfulness. Dr. Cohen has practiced mindfulness meditation since 2008. He incorporated mindfulness into interventions with patients while working in adult and children’s hospitals, and continues to involve mindfulness in the work he now does with people in private practice.
In 2018, he and Dr. Mendoza founded the Two Rivers Mindfulness Institute. Through the Institute, Dr. Cohen has co-led several mindfulness based courses, including Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Unwinding Anxiety, community sits, mindfulness training of teachers at school systems, continuing education events, Mindfulness for Performance Enhancement, Awareness, and Knowledge (mPEAK), and others. Dr. Cohen has earned qualifications in a system developed by Brown University mindfulness researcher and neuroscientist, Judson Brewer, MD, PhD that combines mindfulness and behavioral neuroscience to facilitate habit change. Dr. Cohen is also certified as an mPEAK Coach through the University of California San Diego School of Medicine’s Center for Mindfulness. Furthermore, he has participated in other mindfulness based professional training, including programs in mindfulness and compassion based practices, and enjoys ongoing pursuit of personal and professional education in these areas. For more information about Dr. Cohen, visit: https://www.rehabneuropsy.com/
Erin Mendoza, PsyD
Dr. Mendoza is a licensed clinical psychologist in New York and New Jersey. She completed her graduate training, predoctoral internship, and postdoctoral fellowship in California, where she received advanced training in mindfulness-based psychotherapies and interventions. Throughout her career, Dr. Mendoza has brought mindfulness practices and programming to clients across a variety of settings, including county jail systems, community mental health centers, psychiatric hospitals, VA clinics, and more. She currently runs a private practice, where she specializes in mindfulness and acceptance-based psychotherapies for adults presenting with a variety of clinical concerns, including psychological trauma, anxiety, depression, and complicated grief.
Following a decade of dedicated personal mindfulness practice, Dr. Mendoza became a qualified Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction teacher in 2019 through the UCSD Mindfulness Based Professional Training Institute, where she continues to receive advanced training and work closely with senior mindfulness teachers. She pursues additional training in various mindfulness programs as possible. She recently completed courses 101 and 102 (Mindfulness in the classroom) of the Mindful Schools program, as well as part 1a of the mindful behavior change program created by Dr. Jud Brewer. Dr. Mendoza also successfully completed the Advanced Teacher Training Intensive program for established MBSR teachers through UCSD, and she attends personal retreats to deepen her practice. Dr. Mendoza and her colleague, Dr. Cohen, established the Two Rivers Mindfulness Institute in 2018. Together, they offer mindfulness-based programming, including MBSR, Unwinding Anxiety, mPeak, personalized mindfulness training and more. Additionally, Dr. Mendoza and Dr. Cohen regularly offer professional presentations, and continuing education events.