Cindy Smalletz, OTR-L

  • Associate in the Department of Medical Humanities and Ethics
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Overview

Cindy K. Smalletz, MS, MA, OTR/L, BCB

Program Director, Narrative Medicine CPA and Associate Faculty, Department of Medical Humanities and Ethics, and Department of Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine

Cindy Smalletz is an occupational therapist, narrative medicine educator, and instructional designer who created the first online certificate program in Narrative Medicine at Columbia University. She is Program Director, Division of Narrative Medicine and Narrative Medicine CPA, as well as Associate Faculty in the Department of Medical Humanities and Ethics, and Department of Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

She completed the MA in Instructional Design and Technology at Seton Hall University in 2003, and the MS in Narrative Medicine at Columbia in 2012. In addition, she has a career background in education and technology in both corporate and medical education. Capitalizing on this unique blend of experience, she designed and launched the Narrative Medicine CPA program at Columbia in 2017, envisioned as a way to globally connect practitioners to study narrative medicine, which she continues to direct today. As Program Director, Division of Narrative Medicine, she represents the division at Columbia and internationally: organizing and launching new initiatives, giving talks and lectures and supporting the expansion of narrative medicine’s impact and theory across the globe.

Her work in narrative medicine drove Smalletz to complete the MS in Occupational Therapy at Columbia University in 2020. As a registered and licensed occupational therapist, she strives to bridge clinical care with community, and centers education, mentorship, and advocacy across her roles.

Smalletz currently works in multiple settings: supervising students on Level II Fieldwork clinical rotations in community and behavioral health centers, supporting geriatric and mental health patients in skilled nursing facilities, faculty co-coordinator at the CHHMP (Columbia-Harlem Health and Medical Partnership) community clinic in Harlem, speaker / facilitator for LEARN (CUIMC Leadership in Education and Advancement through Research and Networks Program), and Editorial Board Consultant for The Journal of Humanities in Rehabilitation. She is co-authoring a new textbook, Innovating the Occupational Therapy Education Model: A Transformative Narrative Approach - The Student’s Guide, for occupational therapy students centered on narrative medicine in practice.

Academic Appointments

  • Associate in the Department of Medical Humanities and Ethics

Languages

  • English
  • German
  • Sign Language

Gender

  • Female

Credentials & Experience

Committees, Societies, Councils

  • American Occupational Therapy Association
  • National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy
  • Association for Applied Psychophysiology & Biofeedback
  • Biofeedback Certification International Alliance

Editorial Boards

  • 2019 - Present: The Journal of Humanities in Rehabilitation

Research

Selected Publications

Peer-Reviewed Research Publications in Print or other Media

Seo, G. Y, Zhang, B., Keogh-Clark, F., Bogart, J., Smalletz, C., Whalen, S., Tepper, L., Kunzel, C., Morris, M. (March 2025) Enhancing Education Through Narrative Dentistry: Assessing Student Needs & Preparedness. American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADCOR), New York, NY.

Seo, G. Y, Zhang, B., Keogh-Clark, F., Bogart, J., Smalletz, C., Whalen, S., Tepper, L., Kunzel, C., Morris, M. (April 2025) Enhancing Education Through Narrative Dentistry: Assessing Student Needs & Preparedness. Birnberg Research Program, New York, NY.

Charon, R., Irvine, C., Oforlea, A.N., Colón, E.R., Smalletz, C., & Spiegel, M. (2021). Racial Justice in Medicine: Narrative Practices toward Equity. Narrative 29(2), 160-177. doi:10.1353/nar.2021.0008.

Slater, C., Romano Spica, N., Bernegger, G., Delorenzo, C., Eveld, J., Smalletz, C., and Suter, N. (2020). “EVEN FROM AFAR, TO YOU SO CLOSE”: Meditations on Narrative Medicine Virtual Group Sessions in Italian during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Intima, a Journal of Narrative Medicine, Fall 2020.

Kukafka, R., Yi, H., Xiao, T., Thomas, P., Aguirre, A., Smalletz, C., David, R., & Crew, K. (2015). Why Breast Cancer Risk by the Numbers Is Not Enough: Evaluation of a Decision Aid in Multi-Ethnic, Low-Numerate Women. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 17(7). doi:10.2196/jmir.4028

Yi, H., Xiao, T., Thomas, P. S., Aguirre, A. N., Smalletz, C., Dimond, J., Finkelstein, J., Infante, K., Trivedi, M., David, R., Vargas, J., Crew, K. D., & Kukafka, R. (2015). Barriers and Facilitators to Patient-Provider Communication When Discussing Breast Cancer Risk to Aid in the Development of Decision Support Tools. AMIA Annual Symposium proceedings. AMIA Symposium, 2015, 1352–1360. PMID: 26958276; PMCID: PMC4765687

Crew, K.D., Sivasubramanian, P.S., Aguirre, A.N., Smalletz, C.K., Ngan, M.C., Xiao, T., & Kukafka, R. (2013). Abstract P1-11-02: Identifying women at high-risk for breast cancer in the primary care setting. Cancer Research, 73 (24_Supplement): P1-11-02. doi:10.1158/0008-5472.SABCS13-P1-11-02

Xiao, T., Crew, K.D., Sivasubramanian, P.S., Aguirre, A.N., Smalletz, C.K., & Kukafka, R. (2013). Abstract C03: Development of a patient-centered decision aid to improve accuracy of breast cancer risk perception. Twelfth Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research; Oct 27-30, 2013. doi: 10.1158/1940-6215.PREV-13-C03

Levine, J., Edelstein, B., Chinn, C., & Smalletz, C. (2013). Engaging Pediatric Dentists with Registered Dietitians to Improve Children's Oral Health and Dental Care. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 113(9), A94. doi:10.1016/j.jand.2013.06.333

Albert, D., Williams, S., Ward, A., Wiesenfeld, C., Meyers-Wright, N., & Smalletz, C. (2013). Tobacco Cessation Guidelines for Dentistry: Implementing a 5AS Program for Dental Students. National Oral Health Conference. https://www.nationaloralhealthconference.com/pdfs/2013-NOHC-Program-Book...

Non-authored Publications

Bulseco, D. (2026). Where It Hurts: Dispatches from the Emotional Frontlines of Medicine. The Experiment. Acknowledge in print by the author for being the faculty advisor for the postgraduate fellowship from Columbia which officially initiated the journal, The Intima, of which led to this first published anthology.

Campbell, B. H. (2021). A fullness of uncertain significance: Stories of surgery, clarity, & grace. Ten|16 Press. Acknowledged in print by author for consultation on process and content.

Charon, R., DasGupta, S., Hermann, N. Irvine, C. Marcus, E.R., Colón, E.R., Spencer, D., & Spiegel, M. (2020). Medycyna narracyjna: Teoria i praktyka (M. Potoniec & H. Syzdek, Trans.). Medycyna Praktyczna. (Original work published 2017). Consulted with translators throughout the project on interpretation of English language text.

Invited and Peer-Selected Presentations

Regional

Smalletz, C.K. and Eveld, J. E. Invited Keynote lecture, “Creating Connections with Narrative Medicine: Community, Self, Care.” Narrative Medicine and Mental Health Wellness, What's the Connection? symposium at New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, 2023.

Smalletz, C.K. Guest lecture, “Narrative Medicine and Grief.” Minerva Course, Union College, 2021.

Smalletz, C.K. Lecturer and facilitator, “Narrative Medicine Workshop.” Wellness Retreat for Southern California Permanente Physicians, 2021.

Smalletz, C.K. Keynote lecture, “Exploring the Role of Narrative Medicine in Healthcare Communication.” The City Tech Health Communication Symposium, New York City College of Technology, Brooklyn, NY, 2019

Smalletz, C.K. Keynote lecture, “Narrative Medicine.” IRIS: Integrating Research in Science at Wake Forest University, 2019

Smalletz, C.K. Hospital lecture, “Narrative Medicine for medical students, residents, and staff.” Medical Humanities & Bioethics Program, Saint Barnabas Medical Center, Livingston, NJ, 2017

International

Smalletz, C.K. and Caroline Shooner, “Poetic medicine: An introduction to narrative methods”

Smalletz, C.K. Panelist, “Telling the Stories Behind COVID: Narrative and Graphic Medicine.” Seton Hall University and Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine Interprofessional Health Sciences Library, 2021.

Smalletz, C.K. Conference presentation, “Narrative Medicine’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.” 19th International Conference on Communication, Medicine, and Ethics (COMET), 2021.

Smalletz, C.K. Conference presentation, “Narrative Medicine Without Borders.” COVID-19 beyond Borders, Universität Wien, 2021.

Smalletz, C.K. Keynote lecture, “Exploring Narrative Medicine: Perceptions and Practice in Clinical Care.” Medycyna narracyjna at Wydział Lekarski Collegium Medicum UMK, Bydgoszczy, Poland, 2019

Smalletz, C.K. Keynote lecture, “The Experience of Narrative Medicine: Bodies, Stories, & Selves.” Medycyna Narracyjna at Uniwersytecie Warszawskim, Poland, 2018.

Smalletz, C.K. Conference presentation, “Bridging the Gap: An Innovative Approach to Narrative Medicine Education.” Creating Spaces VIII: Fostering Critical Thinking Through the Arts & Humanities at Dalhousie University, Halifax, 2018

Smalletz, C.K. Keynote lecture, “Narrative Medicine: The Art of Listening, The Act of Curing.” Happen: Best In Class Stories, New York, 2014

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