Dr. Petruzzelli has been a licensed clinical psychologist, sports psychologist, mental healthcare leader, and mindfulness teacher in the Sacramento region for over 15 years. Dr. Petruzzelli is committed to fostering healing, growth, and sustaining healthy lifestyle behaviors for every individual on their unique journey toward holistic well-being.  Dr. Petruzzelli has significant experience working with athletes, high-performers, and professionals looking to elevate their lives. She is a certified perinatal mental health psychologist on a mission to support athlete moms and perinatal athletes.

Gloria Petruzzelli
Dr. Gloria Petruzzelli

Notably, Dr. Petruzzelli trailblazed the development of the first student-athlete mental health program in the California State University system at Sac State in 2016. She has significant experience working with NCAA D1 athletes and elite athletes. Dr. Petruzzelli has been featured in Triathlete Magazine, Runners World Magazine, MensHealth.Com, Fitness.Com, Women’s Health, and other mainstream publications. Dr. Petruzzelli is also a 2x Ironman triathlete, 15x 70.3 Half-Ironman races, endurance runner, and notably an age group podium finisher at Ironman Texas 2014. She was also the 2015 Sacramento Business Journal 40-Under-40 award winner.

Certifications:

  • Perinatal Mental Health Certification (PMH-C)
  • Koru Mindfulness Certified  Teacher
  • QPR Certified Trainer (suicide prevention)
  • Applied Skills Suicide Intervention Training (ASSIT) Certification
  • Leadership Principles (May 2022), Harvard Business School Online

Education and Licensure:

  • Licensed Psychologist, State of California
  • Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D), Clinical Psychology, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL
  • Dissertation: Performance, Anxiety, and Athletes: Behavioral and Cognitive Approaches to Understanding Performance Anxiety and its Treatment.
  • Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Psychology, Eastern Michigan University

Post-Doctoral Fellowship:

  • University of California Davis, School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Pre-Doctoral Internship:

  • Wichita State University Counseling and Testing Center (primary emphasis area Sport Psychology and Psychological Testing & Assessment)
  • University of Kansas School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry (emphasis on Neuropsychological Testing & Assessment)

Post-Bachelor Research Fellowship

  • National Institutes of Health/ National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in collaboration with National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-Intramural Research Fellowship postbaccalaureate student in the Development and Plasticity Section.

Mindfulness & Meditation Training Experience:

  • Certified Koru Mindfulness Teacher (Sept 2017)
  • Koru Mindfulness Teacher Certification Training at EarthRise Retreat Center 8/2-8/6/15.
  • Ananda 3-day Silent Guided Meditation Retreat
  • 8 week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Program
  • Mindfulness Based Interventions Evidence Based Advancements in Treating Anxiety, Depression and Trauma Across All Ages and Settings (8 hrs)
  • Mindfulness and Meditation in Psychotherapeutic Practice (4 hrs)
  • Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction: Transfer Your Client’s Life With MBSR & Positive Psychology with Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D (8 hrs)

Additional Training Experience: 

  • “Developing Your Knowledge, Skills, and Practice in Sport Psychology” at Ohio Center for Sport Psychology
  • Consulting With Elite Sport by Association of Applied Sport Psychology
  • Association of  Applied Sport Psychology Performance Enhancement with College Athletes
  • Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Treatment for Eating Disorders at JKF University

Memberships and Associations: