Dr. Abbott has been providing mental health care for over 35 years. Prior to joining the partnership at Heritage mental health clinic, she provided services at New  Beginnings Health Care from 1992 until August 2024 when the clinic closed.

Her belief in the resilience of the human spirit has guided her psychodynamic work, and helping patients find their voices through their healing process. The focus of her work has been helping her patients integrate one’s sense of self, find purpose and meaning in their lives and integrate personal spirituality in daily living in order to create healthy relationships and a sense of belonging in the world.

Areas of interest and expertise include helping survivors of traumatic experiences and people suffering from mood disorders, such as depression, anxiety, and bipolar illness. She also addresses problems of disordered eating patterns and provides preoperative psychological consultations for bariatric surgery. Relationship issues, life stage changes and women’s issues are also a focus of psycho therapy. In short, helping people to create a healthy sense of self so they can live and emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually balanced life is her primary purpose.

PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS

9/92-5/01 Faculty member, Karl Menninger, school of psychiatry. Taught group dynamics and group psychotherapy.

9/91-8/92 Staff Psychologist, the Menninger Clinic, Topeka, Kansas. Crisis admissions  and special evaluation unit. Eating disorders unit.

POST DOCTORAL TRAINING

9/88-8/91 The Menninger Clinic , Topeka, Kansas

 EDUCATION

8/88 PSYD Clinical psychology

          Oregon Graduate School of 

          Professional  Psychology at Pacific

          University 

3/78 M.A.  Counseling and guidance

           University of Denver

           Denver, Colorado

5/76 B.A.   Sociology and Education

           Gonzaga University

           Spokane, Washington

Training and Experience 

 9/87-8/88 Pre-doctoral intern

                       Elmcrest Psychiatric Institute

                       Portland, Connecticut

10/80-2/85   Senior mental health therapist

                          Providence, Medical Center

                          Portland, Oregon

10/83-10/84 Intern

                           Portland Family Institute

                           Portland, Oregon

Collectively, the above positions provided experience in inpatient case management and disposition planning, psychological assessment of adults, adolescence, and children, systemic, family therapy, conjoint therapy, individual therapy, psychoeducational and process group therapy and consultation.

Licensure November 18, 1991 Clinical Psychology, #770, Kansas

Past and present membership and professional and honorary societies

• National Honor Society
• Kappa Delta Pi
• American Psychological Association 
• American Group Psychotherapy Association 
• Kansas Psychological Association
• Society for Personality Assessment