Specialists in the Public Service

• Tell us about your current professional roles (one paragraph): 

I am a clinical psychologist in an intensive outpatient Substance Use Disorders (SUD) treatment program at the Atlanta VA Health Care System. I specialize in treating Veterans with SUD and/or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) while serving as the facility’s SUD/PTSD Specialist. Additionally, I am one of the Atlanta VA’s mHealth Specialist charged with connecting local staff with the latest resources and products from the National Center for PTSD’s Mobile Apps and Tech into Care teams. At the national level, I work closely with two VA National Evidence-Based Psychotherapy Training Programs; as a consultant for the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for SUD (CBT-SUD) program and a consultant trainer for the Cognitive Behavioral Coping Skills Group for Substance Use Disorder (CSG-SUD) program. Training the next generation of psychologists is a personal passion and I serve as a core member of the Atlanta VA’s Psychology Internship Training Committee and provide supervision to psychology trainees. Outside of my VA role, I am an Assistant Professor at Emory School of Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, serve as a member of the department’s Faculty Development Committee, and provide supervision and instruction within the Emory Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship Program.

• What are you most proud of or excited about in your service as a VA psychologist in public service?

As the daughter of a Vietnam Veteran, my mission to serve Veterans is a personal and professional commitment. I truly enjoy being a part of a collaborative and supportive interdisciplinary team within a comprehensive healthcare system. I treasure the opportunities to join people on their recovery journeys; the unique experience of helping people navigate through some of the most difficult and challenging moments in their lives. I commit to creating a therapeutic space that encourages growth, cultivates compassion, and nurtures resilience for every Veteran I have the honor of treating. I feel inspired and invigorated in my work with Veterans. I am especially proud of helping facilitate the recent implementation of a Contingency Management (CM) program that incentivizes abstinence for Veterans with Stimulant Use Disorders. 

• What would you like other psychologists to understand about your role and how it has fostered your growth as a professional?

My work as a VA psychologist allows me to engage in treatment, training, and research all with a focus on positively impacting the care and support of Veterans. On any given day, you can find me providing evidence-based psychotherapy to a group of Veterans, using measurement-based care to inform individualized treatment planning, conducting virtual consultation with a group of VA providers across the country, supervising a psychology intern, co-facilitating a supervision didactic with a colleague, or participating in a community event to get Veterans connected to VA care. I love the variety of ways in which I engage, elevate, and advocate for the human condition as a psychologist in public service; there’s never a dull day. I genuinely feel invigorated to return to work each day to be afforded another opportunity to help a Veteran in need.  

• What advice do you have for other VA psychologists who may be interested in seeking board certification through ABPP?

I encourage you to find a group of interested, ABPP-curious folks and create an ABPP Accountability group.  Whether people are ready to seek board certification or aren’t sure they even know what ABPP stands for, an accountability group is an invaluable resource. It can serve as an opportunity to get more information about the ABPP process, establish a supportive community, and aid in keeping people motivated and on track. Being a part of an ABPP Accountability group was critical to my own success in becoming board certified and I hope others consider this as an option for jumpstarting their own process.