Joanna Lipari, Psy.D. was born in New York. After graduating from Manhattanville College with a degree in English Literature, she studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City with famed teacher Sanford Meisner. She received a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology in 2004 from Pepperdine University. Dr. Lipari completed her post-doctoral fellowship at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She has been on faculty at both Pepperdine University and UCLA for several years.