EDUCATION
Smith College, Northampton, MA, B.A. 1991
Columbia University, New York, NY. M.A. 1994
University of Washington, Seattle, WA, Ph.D. 2004
LECTURING
In addition to presenting at professional conferences, I enjoy delivering lectures to the community on a variety of subjects. I have presented on topics including Adolescence, Promoting Resilience, Internet Safety for Youth, Moral Development, Domestic Violence, and The Dramas of Middle Childhood. Recently, I have given talks at Highlands School, Indian Springs School and Auburn University.
BACKGROUND
I grew up in Birmingham, AL, attending Birmingham City Schools, before spending my high school years at Indian Springs School. I attended Smith College, where I received a BA in Philosophy. I became interested in Psychology, while studying Philosophy of Mind in graduate school at Columbia University. I began working at Bellevue Hospital while pursuing my M.A., and I found clinical psychology to be fascinating. I made the decision to change the course of my education and attended graduate school at the University of Washington in Child and Adolescent Clinical Psychology, where I received my M.S. and Ph.D. As part of the requirements of the doctorate in Psychology, I completed my Clinical Internship at The James Haley V.A. in Tampa, Florida, working with adolescent, adult and couple therapy clients.
My research experience in clinical psychology has focused on resilience, adolescence, maternal depression, marital communication, and LGBT mental health. My dissertation examined what we mean by ‘resilience’ and what factors promote its development. If you would like to see a list of peer reviewed articles and professional presentations on these topics, the list is available in my Curriculum Vitae. I have worked extensively with LGBTQ individuals and served as the Co-Vice Chair of the board of The Trevor Project, the leading national suicide hotline for LGBTQ youth. I am a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Alabama in Birmingham.
Before establishing a practice in Birmingham, I was a psychologist with Carter Psychology Center in Bradenton FL for just over 6 years. Carter Psychology is a practice setting focusing on family, adolescent and adult psychotherapy. At Carter I worked with multidisciplinary teams including attorneys, physicians, educators, and nutritionists to promote client well-being. In addition, I was actively engaged with the 12th Circuit Family Court Collaborative Group to advance the courts understanding of issues related to mental health and family functioning. I became a Certified Parenting Coordinator, and received training in Custody Evaluation.