Elizabeth Walsh, PhD
Pronouns: she/her
Osher Team Member Since: November 2017
Patient Services Offered:
Mind-body Counseling, Group Therapy, Hypnosis
Education:
PhD, Educational Psychology, University of Texas at Austin
Bio:
Elizabeth Walsh, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Walsh is a licensed psychologist who practices clinical health psychology at The Osher Center for Integrative Health, where she also serves as the Director of Education and Director of Health Psychology. Dr. Walsh received her PhD from the University of Texas at Austin, where she received extensive training in integrated healthcare and motivational interviewing. She completed her doctoral internship in clinical psychology at Aurora Mental Health Center in Aurora, CO, and her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Texas at Austin.
Dr. Walsh specializes in treating adolescents and adults with chronic medical conditions and has a special interest in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). In addition to foundational practice in cognitive-behavioral and interpersonal process therapy, she has training in EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), mindfulness-based therapies, and clinical hypnosis. In addition to clinical work, Dr. Walsh oversees and supervises the Osher Center’s health psychology training programs, which include postdoctoral fellowship, doctoral internship, and master’s counseling internships. Additionally, Dr. Walsh contributes to research in the areas of psychosocial treatments for chronic bladder/pelvic pain, patient perspectives among those with POTS, and hypnosis training and practice.
Personal Statement & Approach:
I have a background in family and systems psychology and have worked on interprofessional teams my entire professional career. As a person who lives with chronic pain and chronic illness, I understand the challenge of navigating one's own healthcare, and I am passionate about supporting people in their process of figuring out how to live well with chronic illness. I am particularly passionate about treating co-occurring trauma and chronic illness/chronic pain, as well as the commonly co-occurring conditions of Ehlers Danlos syndrome (EDS), postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), and other related conditions. In my clinical work, I integrate CBT, ACT, interpersonal process therapy, and psychodynamic approaches to individualize and tailor treatment for each person, their concerns, and their goals. I also practice clinical hypnosis and EMDR.