About Dr. B
Katie Brazaitis, PhD (she/her)
How it all Began
In her first course on Abnormal Psychology at New York University, Dr. B (then of course, just Katie) became enamored with learning about the different parts of the brain; its pathways and structures, how personality and illness develop, and what happens when injuries occur.
To expand her learning in this field, Dr. B sought a summer internship with the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC) at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) in the District of Columbia (DC). After graduation, she was hired as a psychometrist and research coordinator with this team.
In these roles she interacted with service members recently injured in the OIF/OEF conflicts in inpatient and outpatient settings. She quickly learned she had an ability to put others at ease and was adept at observing the subtleties of human behavior.
And she loved the work. And she wanted to do more. She wanted to be able to do more than put people at ease, she wanted to help them understand and heal from their traumas, to process their losses and develop a connection to a life worth living.
Graduate Training
MA/PhD
Dr. B earned her MA/Phd in Clinical Psychology at the Catholic University of America (CUA) in Washington DC under the mentorship of David Jobes, PhD, the creator of the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicide (CAMS). She completed her pre-doctoral clinical internship at the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System (SAVAHCS).
Suicide
Through her work with Dr. Jobes and her concurrent employment with the Labratory for the Treatment of Suicide-Related Ideation and Behavior at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, she learned that suicide must be faced head-on versus being treated as a symptom of another condition.
She also learned the importance of true, genuine collaboration between the clinician and client; that the clinician may be the expert of how treatment works but it is the client who is the expert of their own lived experience.
Military/Veteran Mental Health
Dr. B completed a two-year externship at the Washington DC VA Medical Center in the polytrauma clinic. She also did a year-long externship at the Maryland VA HealthCare System in the Family Integration Team and Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Center.
Professional Life
Inpatient Mental Health:
After graduating, she was hired to be the psychologist for the SAVAHCS’ Acute Psychiatry Inpatient Unit. There she developed and maintained recovery-oriented programming. She also worked with Veterans admitted for suicidal ideation and related behaviors, often in the context of personality disorders, directly assessing and treating their suicide while suporting effective engagement in post-discharge outpatient therapies.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT):
While working on the inpatient unit she joined the DBT team. The more she learned about DBT, the more she incorporated it into her clinical orientation and framework for care.
She became well known for her ability to set limits with challenging clients while effectively engaging them towards meaningful change.
Outpatient Mental Health:
After transitioning to outpatient care, Dr. B continued her work with Veterans diagnosed with personality disorders and struggling with suicide and self-harm. She continued her participation in the DBT team and provided individual therapy for DBT participants and ran an abridged DBT-skills group.
Private Practice in Tucson, Arizona
Dr. B now has a private practice in Tucson, AZ. She continues to specialize in the treatment of borderline personality disorder, suicidal ideations and related behaviors, and traumas across the lifespan.
Love for Animals
Dr. B’s goals of supporting sustainability extends to those in the field of Veterinary medicine. She is an avid animal lover and has volunteered at animal shelters and rescue groups and nurtured her own pets through special needs, illness, and aging. Upon learning the challenges veterinarians’ face, Dr. B is collaborating with the Arizona Veterinary Medical Association and University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine to provide lectures on the importance of attending to their mental health early in their careers.
What else?
Dr. Br is an avid fan of the theater. She strongly believes in the power of representation and art’s unique ability to capture the experiences we struggle to articulate. To that end, whenever possible Dr. B incorporates pop culture and the arts into both her clinical work and training models.