Dr. Bracken holds a PSYPACT credential and as such can provide telehealth to clients in most states. Check to see if your state has enacted PSYPACT.
Specialties and Therapeutic Approach
Dr. Bracken is a licensed psychologist and Health Service Provider in the state of North Carolina who throughout her career has focused on working with clients from a trauma-informed standpoint. Her therapeutic approach is largely grounded in Third-Wave Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Motivational Interviewing (MI), with additional focus on interpersonal processes. Dr. Bracken prioritizes meeting clients where they are, helping foster motivation to change, and offering skills to make positive changes in their lives using evidence-based approaches, all while building a strong therapeutic relationship. Dr. Bracken is trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), DBT for Children, Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Motivational Interviewing, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Her passion for these therapeutic approaches is reflected in the outstanding clinical outcomes she achieves with her clients, assisting them in reaching their goals and building confidence in their ability to change.
What it’s like to work with Dr. Bracken: “I believe it is essential to simultaneously work toward the seemingly opposite goals of acceptance of what is and changing what is possible.”
Individual and Couples Therapy
Dr. Bracken offers both individual and couples therapy. She enjoys working with with individuals who have experienced trauma and PTSD, adjustment disorders, mood disorders (e.g., depression, bipolar disorder) or anxiety concerns (e.g., panic, generalized anxiety/worry/stress, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety, phobias), behavioral management of health and medical issues (e.g., chronic medical conditions, weight/dietary issues, chronic pain), impulse control problems, disruptive behavior problems, and anger management issues. Dr. Bracken is interested in helping couples explore ways in which these same issues can impact relationship dynamics. She helps couples build skills to enhance and heal their partnership. She also works with parents of children who have experienced trauma in helping them support their child more effectively. She is knowledgeable of and an advocate for intuitive eating and body neutrality. She has significant experience working with gender non-conforming individuals and the LGTBQIA2S+ community.
Group Therapy
Groups currently offered by Dr. Bracken include:
Her expertise in evidence-based psychotherapies includes:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Motivational Interviewing (MI)
- Solution Focused Brief Therapy
In addition, Dr. Bracken has a true love for group therapy. She has extensive experience in leading a wide variety of groups including adult DBT, multi-family adolescent DBT, assertiveness, substance use management, mindfulness, depression management, PTSD education, Wellness and Recovery, existential, and processing groups. Like her approach to individual therapy, as a group leader she focuses on balancing acceptance and change, processing, and skill development. She prioritizes creating an environment where all clients feel safe and supported, as this is often a necessary foundation for clients to be vulnerable with others and to increase willingness to implement strategies learned in the group setting.
Education and Experience
Dr. Bracken received her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2006. She then earned her Master of Science degree in Psychology in 2010, as well as her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology in 2013, from the University of Memphis. Over the course of graduate training, pre-doctoral internship, postdoctoral training, and early career, Dr. Bracken gained experience with a range of populations in a variety of settings, including community mental health, corrections, and US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). She worked on several practicum rotations and research projects through the VA, which included providing therapy services for OIF and OEF Veterans with co-occurring PTSD and other related issues.
She was selected for a pre-doctoral internship with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) in Butner, NC, where she completed rotations in forensic, general psychology, behavioral medicine, and residential treatment program (RDAP). During her early career, she worked for a non-profit organization where she was a part of a forensic treatment team. She conducted court-ordered psychological assessments, offered opinions regarding treatment interventions for various disorders, and conducted forensic screening evaluations when the issue of competency to stand trial was raised. She provided outpatient therapy services to individuals in the community who were engaged in the criminal justice system, and juveniles and adults who were incarcerated in the Wake County jail system.
Subsequently, as a staff psychologist for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, she provided individual and group therapy, crisis management, suicide risk management, and assessment services to individuals with a wide variety of presenting problems, ranging from adjustment issues to severe personality disorders and psychosis. She worked as part of an integrated treatment team in a residential therapeutic-community treatment program for inmates with severe mental illness. She also served as the coordinator for the care and management of transgender inmates, which involved providing individual and group treatment to transgender inmates, coordinating with other departments such as health services, monitoring safety concerns, and helping clients find creative ways to affirm gender identity while staying within the bounds of institutional rules. It continues to be a priority for Dr. Bracken to work with and be an advocate for minority and marginalized individuals while in private practice.
In 2018 Dr. Bracken changed career paths and left corrections to work in private practice, where she has since provided assessment and therapy services to adolescents and adults. She was a member of a DBT team from 2018-2022 and provided care that is compliant with the standardized model of DBT. Dr. Bracken continues to utilize that modality in her therapy approach, which she believes is a valuable background and skill set that benefits all clients in therapy, particularly those working on trauma-related issues. Dr. Bracken also has experience as an internship and postdoctoral supervisor.
Additional Trainings
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy Foundational Training
- Cognitive Processing Therapy provider training
- DBT for Children: Training for Experienced DBT Clinicians
