Kathryn Byars, PhD

Bio:

I was born and raised in a small town in Georgia that was full of lots of family, nature, and delicious Southern food. At 18, I moved to North Carolina for college. Once here, I fell in love with the state and hoped to return one day. My doctoral training took me to New York City for 5 years, followed by 2 years of further training in Ontario, Canada before I was able to return to North Carolina to put down roots. 

When not in the office, I enjoy being in nature, traveling, trying new creativity-focused hobbies (current hobbies include painting and crafting), and spending time with my husband, daughter, and our pets.

Training:

I completed my undergraduate degree with honors in Psychology at Davidson College here in North Carolina. I then received my PhD in Clinical Psychology from CUNY’s Graduate Center. During my time in graduate school, I was particularly drawn to young adults struggling with mood difficulties that impacted the various elements of the transition to young adulthood. As a result, I sought out training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), particularly with young adults (18-30). I completed my pre-doctoral internship in a large, public hospital system (St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton, ON) where I received dual specializations in mood concerns and unshared experiences (e.g., hallucinatory experiences). During my postdoctoral training, I continued my training in DBT and also received specialized training and supervision in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) with individuals with traumatic experiences and PTSD. Beginning in my post-doctoral training and continuing into early career, I received training in mindful self-compassion approaches to address perfectionism, anxiety, and shame. I have extensive training and experience in conceptualizing and addressing difficulties related to shame, particularly where shame prevents individuals from engaging with or completing empirically supported treatments such as DBT, CBT, or trauma treatments. 

Expertise:

I have a particular passion for working with individuals struggling with perfectionism, self-criticism, and shame. I have extensive training in self-compassion and mindfulness approaches to shame and integrate this throughout my work with clients. I enjoy working with my clients to compassionately understand their own emotions, communicate their emotions effectively to others, and develop skills to increase their emotional resilience. As part of my passion to cultivate emotional resilience, I have developed our Emotional Resiliency program (and group) to support skills-based learning in resilience and help clients feel confident rather than crippled by how they experience their own emotions. 

I have additional expertise in emotion regulation difficulties, with particular interest in both emotion dysregulation (emotions that are intense and shift quickly) and over-control (difficulty experiencing vulnerable emotions and attempts to avoid them instead). As part of this expertise, I often work with individuals who also struggle with self-injury, suicidality, and the effects of trauma. Though I am a Linehan Board Certified Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) therapist, I am not currently accepting new DBT clients. 

Supervision & Training:

Supervision and training of the next generation of therapists is something that I deeply value and enjoy. I have spent the past 10 years supervising early career psychologists (prac students and post-doctoral fellows) and served as TAP’s training director for 5 years. 

In addition to internal training roles, I also train mental health professionals in the community in the Emotional Resiliency model, Stage 2 & 3 DBT, and in adapting empirically supported treatments with shame in mind. I also currently spearhead TAP’s Lunch & Learn program as part of our continuing education program. 

Evidence-Based Therapies Offered:

Self-compassion Informed Therapy, Emotional Resiliency, CBT, Trauma Therapies