Doctor Ramani

Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Best-Selling Author, Professor of Psychology, Distinguished International Speaker, & Workplace Consultant

Dr. Ramani Durvasula is on a mission to demystify and dismantle the toxic influence of narcissism on all of our lives. She is a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice in Santa Monica and Sherman Oaks, CA and Professor of Psychology at California State University, Los Angeles, where she was named Outstanding Professor in 2012, and a visiting professor at the University of Johannesburg. She was also the national recipient of the American Association of University Women Emerging Scholar Award.

The focus of Dr. Durvasula’s clinical, academic and consultative work is the etiology and impact of narcissism and high-conflict, entitled, antagonistic personality styles on human relationships, mental health, and societal expectations.  She has spoken on these issues to clinicians, educators and researchers around the world.

Her work has been featured at SxSW, TEDx, and on a wide range of media platforms including Red Table Talk, the Today Show, Oxygen, Investigation Discovery, Bravo, and she is a featured expert on the digital media mental health platform MedCircle.  

Dr. Durvasula’s research on personality disorders has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and she is a Consulting Editor of the scientific journal Behavioral Medicine. Dr. Durvasula has also been a participant in the governance of the American Psychological Association, and most recently as the Chair of the STAY-MHSAS Training Advisory Committee of the Minority Fellowship Program.

Dr. Durvasula is an honest, authentic, and brutally honest voice on the struggles raised by narcissism and high conflict, antagonistic personality styles in the US and globally.

  • B.S. (magna cum laude), University of Connecticut, Psychology
  • M.A., University of California, Los Angeles, Psychology
  • Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles, Clinical Psychology (Minor: Health Psychology)
  • Pre-doctoral Internship, UCLA Department of Psychiatry, Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital
  • Clinical Licensure, State of California – Psychologist
  • 2015 Recognition of Exceptional Service to Students – California State University Los Angeles
  • 2012 California State University, Los Angeles Outstanding Professor Award
  • 2003 California State University, Los Angeles, Distinguished Woman Award
  • 2003 Golden Key Honor Society – Honorary Member (recognition by students)
  • 2002 Innovative Instruction Award – California State University Los Angeles (“A Classroom Based Program for Individualized Research Development”)
  • 2002 American Association of University Women (AAUW) Recognition Award for Emerging Scholars (awarded to one untenured woman nationally to recognize excellence in research, teaching, and mentorship)
  • 1996 Mabel Wilson Richards Scholarship (awarded in recognition of academic excellence)
  • 1993 American Psychological Association Science Directorate Award
  • 1992-1994 NIMH Health Psychology Pre-Doctoral Fellowship
  • Chair of the Advisory Committee for the Services for Transition Age Youth Program of the APA Minority Fellowship Program
  • APA Key Contact – to Congressman Xavier Becerra (34 th District)
  • Organizing Committee: From International to Transnational: Transforming the Psychology of Women Global Summit Satellite Meeting of the American Psychological Association Annual Convention
  • Former Coordinator, MA Program, California State University, Los Angeles
  • Former Chair of APA Committee on Psychology and AIDS
  • Former Vice Chair of the APA Committee on Psychology and Women
  • Former Chair of the APA Committee on Socioeconomic Status
  • Board Member – Ganley Foundation
  • Mentor – StepUp Women’s Foundation
  • APA Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology Association

Personality Disorders, Decision Making and Sexual Risk:
National Institute of General Medical Science
R. Durvasula, Ph.D. – P.I.
1SC1MH093181-01A1

Personality Disorder and Medication Adherence in HIV+Adults:
National Institutes of Health
R. Durvasula, Ph.D. – P.I.
MBRS-SCORE GM08101

Personality Disorders and Risk in HIV+ Adults.
National Institutes of Health
R .Durvasula – PI
3S06GM008101-36S1

  • American Psychological Association
  • Western Psychological Assocation
  • Association for Psychological Science
  • Society for Behavioral Medicine

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