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Pictured: Alici Yesne

Yesne Alici, MD

Psychiatrist

4.9 | 65 reviews

Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Coping with cancer
  • Cognitive changes
  • Mood changes

My Specialties

  • Psychiatry and psychiatric care
  • Psychopharmacologic treatment
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Dr. Alici's Office Information
Languages: English & Turkish
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Get to Know Me

I am a psychiatrist who specializes in psycho-oncology and geriatric psychiatry. I see people with all types of cancer but have a particular interest in helping people with brain tumors and older adults with cancer. I work in both inpatient and outpatient settings.

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In inpatient settings, I focus on delirium. This is a state of confusion that can happen in people who are ill. I also help people manage such symptoms as depression, anxiety, fatigue, and sleep disturbances. In my outpatient practice, I see people who are dealing with depression, anxiety, cognitive changes, fatigue, and other psychosocial distress.

In my research, I study ways to manage cancer- and treatment-related cognitive changes. I work on the dissemination of screening methods for delirium and other cognitive changes across care settings and disciplines. I am working on a communication skills programs for doctors who treat older adults with cancer. 

I also supervise fellows, residents, nurse practitioner students, and medical students who rotate through the Psychiatry Service.

What I Do at MSK

A psychiatrist (sy-KY-uh-trist) is a doctor with special training in mental, emotional, and behavioral health. They can prescribe medication to help with these conditions.

  • Vice Chair, Clinical Operations, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
  • Clinical Director
  • Associate Attending Psychiatrist
  • Medical Director, Biobehavioral Health Clinic
Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Coping with cancer
  • Cognitive changes
  • Mood changes
  • Adjustment disorders
  • Agitation
  • Anxiety
  • Appetite changes
  • Attentional Disorders
  • Cachexia
  • Chemo brain
  • Confusion
  • Coping difficulties
  • Coping with cancer treatment
  • Delirium
  • Depression
  • Demoralization
  • Existential distress
  • Fatigue
  • Memory and concentration problems
  • Sleep problems

My Specialties

  • Psychiatry and psychiatric care
  • Psychopharmacologic treatment
Education & Honors

Education

  • MD, Istanbul University Cerrahpasa School of Medicine (Turkey)

Residencies

  • Drexel University College of Medicine (Pennsylvania)

Fellowships

  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center/Weill Cornell Medical College
  • University of Pennsylvania

Board Certifications

  • Psychiatry
  • Geriatric Psychiatry
  • Psychosomatic Medicine

Insurance Information

Understanding your insurance options is an important part of managing your cancer care. We have relationships with many common healthcare providers and plans.

Aetna

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS, Transplant

Aetna Medicare Advantage (MTA and NYC retirees only)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Anthem BCBS and other BCBS licensee plans

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

See updates

Anthem BCBS Health Plus

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

See updates

Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

See updates

Blue Cross Blue Shield states outside of NY/NJ

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS

See updates

Carrum Health

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

Cigna

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Connecticare

In Network Coverage Type
POS, EPO, HMO

First Health

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Straight NJ Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Straight NY Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Emblem

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Emblem to learn more.

Emblem Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Emblem Medicare Advantage (Medicare Choice PPO Network and VIP Prime Network Only)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

Empire Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Empire Plan / NYSHIP (Blue Cross/UnitedHealthcare split plan)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

See updates

Fidelis

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Fidelis to learn more.

Fidelis Managed Medicaid & HARP

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Fidelis Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Healthfirst

In Network Coverage Type
EPO, HMO, PPO, POS

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Healthfirst to learn more.

Healthfirst Managed Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Healthfirst Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

Healthsmart

In Network Coverage Type
PPO EPO

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (HMO)

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (PPO)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier I (EPO)

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier II (EPO)

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

See updates

Horizon Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

Husky CT Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Magnacare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO

Medicare Part A&B (traditional Medicare)

In Network Coverage Type
Federal Government

Metroplus

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

City Employee Health Plans (Gold and Gold Care)

Multiplan/Beech Street/PHCS

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

MVP

In Network Coverage Type
PPO/OAP

Non-Participating Plans with Out of Network Benefits

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

NYC Medicare Advantage Plus for City Employees

In Network Coverage Type
TBD

Oscar

In Network Coverage Type
HMO/EPO

Oxford

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, EPO

World Trade Center Health Program (WTC)

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Qualcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Tricare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

UMR

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS

United Healthcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Don't see your carrier or plan? We can help you understand your coverage.

If you don't have health insurance or are worried that your care may not be fully covered, our financial assistance programs may be able to help.

If you have questions about insurance, call us at 646-497-9176.

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Contact and Location

Dr. Alici sees patients at one location.

Office Phone
Location
New York, NY
Rockefeller Outpatient Pavilion
160 East 53rd Street New York NY 10022
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Colleagues

Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering work as teams, with specialists from all different areas. This allows us to consider all your needs together, and to give you the best possible care.

See all Attending Staff doctors

See all Psychiatry Service doctors

Clinical Trials

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Find a Clinical Trial for You

Memorial Sloan Kettering's doctors and scientists are constantly developing new treatments for cancer. MSK is typically running hundreds of clinical trials at a given time.

You may be able to participate in a clinical trial even if you are new to MSK. Search our online directory to find trial information and see more about who can participate.

Search clinical trials

Research and Publications

Publications on PubMed

Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Alici’s journal articles. Pubmed is an online index of research papers and other articles from the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

See all on PubMed

Patient Reviews

Your trust is our main concern

We strive to keep reviews trustworthy, honest and fair. Learn more about our patient experience reviews.

4.9 65 reviews

  • 4.9 Provider's Explanations Easy to Understand
  • 4.9 Trusts Provider with Care
  • 5.0 Provider Listened Carefully
  • 4.9 Likelihood of Recommending Provider
Jan 31, 2025

Dr.Yesne is an excellent psychiatrist that genuinely cares about my well being and emotional state of mind.

Jan 30, 2025

Lost video connection early so continued on phone

Jan 28, 2025

Dr. Alici is an incredible doctor that can help anyone with their questions, listening, and perspective. They provide an incredibly positive outlook, no matter the topic, that can help anyone in their life. Telemedicine is also a successful means of making such appointments more accessible for patients that cannot be physically present

Jan 28, 2025

Dr. Yesne Alici is an exceptional practitioner. She listens with an acute ear for details and provides support in a most caring and compassionate manner. I feel extremely fortunate to have Dr. Alici on my support team helping me to navigate the waters of uncertainty with recurring cancer. She provides a touchstone for the emotional ups and downs and a safe haven to discuss the most feared or anxiety provoking topics. She also relishes in the successes of my own self care. Again, how fortunate are MSKCC and I to have such a skilled practitioner to help us patients endure such uncertainty!

Jan 24, 2025

Always a pleasure.

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Disclosures

Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.

MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.

Yesne Alici discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

No disclosures meeting criteria for time period


If you’re a patient at MSK and would like more information about your doctor’s external relationships, please talk with your doctor.

The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.

This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2023 through disclosure submission in spring 2024). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at ecoi@mskcc.org.


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