BIO: Dr. Zachary is originally from San Antonio, Texas but has lived up and down the East Coast since 2008. She moved to the Triangle in 2015 to pursue her PhD in Clinical Psychology at UNC-Chapel Hill. Dr. Zachary, her husband, daughter and dog, Huckleberry, are thrilled to call Durham home. Outside of work, Dr. Zachary loves any opportunity to be outside, be it biking, running, hiking or attempting to master her garden.

 

TRAINING: Dr. Zachary completed her undergraduate degree with Honors in Psychology from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. She received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  While in graduate school, Dr. Zachary obtained expertise in Behavioral Parent Training (BPT) and conducted extensive research on the role of parental emotion on child behavior.  Throughout graduate school, Dr. Zachary received clinical training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for children, adolescents, adults and couples, including training in Exposure with Response Prevention by Dr. Jon Abramowitz, an internationally renowned expert in the research and treatment of OCD. As a practicum student, Dr. Zachary was intensively trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) by Drs. Byars and Ritschel and received advanced training in DBT + Prolonged Exposure (DBT-PE) for individuals with significant emotion regulation difficulties and PTSD. During her predoctoral internship at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, Dr. Zachary worked with trauma survivors across the lifespan using Cognitive Processing Therapy, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Given her interest in supporting individual youth, adults and families impacted by emotion and behavioral dysregulation, Dr. Zachary completed her two-year Postdoctoral Fellowship in DBT at the Triangle Area Psychology (TAP) Clinic.

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EXPERTISE: Dr. Zachary treats youth and adults with obsessive compulsive disorders,  anxiety and stress, mood disturbance,  traumatic experiences, suicidality and self-injury, and borderline personality disorder. Dr. Zachary has obtained individual certification in DBT by the Linehan Board of Certification (LBC). Furthermore, Dr. Zachary has expertise in coaching caregivers to more effectively respond to challenging behaviors in youth, including anxiety-based avoidance and compulsive behaviors, misophonia, suicidality, emotion dysregulation and child anxiety.

 

​Dr. Zachary also provides formal psychological assessments with youth and adults to help answer simple to more complex questions. These may range from “Does my child qualify for early-kindergarten?” to “Do I have a form of neurodivergence such as ADHD or Autism?” to “Why am I not seeing the gains I want from all the treatment I’ve been doing? Is there a diagnosis being missed and not addressed?” With regards to autism assessment, she specializes in the assessment of individuals 8+, who are fully verbal, and typically have much subtler presentations of ASD. Often, these are folks who have been diagnosed with anxiety, depression, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), etc and it’s not clear whether neurodivergence may be present. 

 

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Dr. Zachary's CV:

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EVIDENCE-BASED THERAPIES OFFERED: Exposure and Response Prevention, DBT, CBT, Behavioral Parent Training (BPT), Family Therapies, Trauma Therapies, Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE)

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POPULATIONS SERVED: Dr. Zachary works with children (3-12), adolescents (13-17), and adults.​ She also provides parent coaching and support for caregivers and families. Dr. Zachary also provides DBT ​skills group treatment for adults and adolescents. ​

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LEARN More: You can learn more about Dr. Zachary's expertise and therapeutic style by reading her blog posts​ on Behavioral Parent Training and SPACE.

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