Heather Gilliam, PsyD

Heather Gilliam, PsyD

License, Credentials, & Position

Licensed Health Service Psychologist – OSBEP: Oklahoma State Board of Examiners of Psychologists

E.Passport – Issued by ASPPB: Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards

APIT: Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional TelePsychology – PsyPACT Commission

Owner: Talk. Eat. Live. Heal. – Psychological Health Services (Trademark of Heather Gilliam, PsyD, PLLC)

Verification of Licensure is available to the public via the OSBEP website’s Psychologists License Search

Education

Regent University

PsyD – Doctor of Psychology

Internship/Residency – NOPIP: Northeastern Oklahoma Psychology Internship Program

Practicum – Regent University Psychological Services Center; Langley Air Force Base Medical Group; Chesapeake Juvenile Detention Center; Rawles & Associates PLC

MA – Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology

Southwestern Assemblies of God University

BS – Bachelor of Science in Church Ministries with a specialization in Counseling & Psychology

Memberships & Affiliations

International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals

Dr. Gilliam is a member of the following:

American Psychological Association
Christian Association for Psychological Studies
International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals
Oklahoma Eating Disorders Association


History of Training & Experience

Dr. Gilliam’s experience of interfacing with children & parents was early in the making, well before the onset of her clinical career. Back in the last century ;-D at 17, she began teaching in the Kindergarten Sunday School class, where her dad pastored. This was a 2-week plan that extended to 17-months, and came to a close when she graduated high school and left for college. . .to Southwestern Assemblies of God University, in Waxahachie, Texas. Through her college years, she worked with young people and in early childhood programming in her church while earning a bachelor’s degree in Church Ministries, with a specialization in Counseling Psychology.

Dr. Gilliam earned her master’s degree and doctorate at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia. During, and between these years, she directed children’s ministry programs in Madison, Alabama, and outer Williamsburg, Virginia. As she matriculated through her doctoral training, she developed programming through training sites for treatment facilities, as well as outreach for a number of mental health advocacy initiatives in the areas where she served. She spent a year of training rotating through a health clinic at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia where members of all branches of the military, and their families could receive care. This was a year of particular value to her, especially given the number of veterans in her family of origin and her extended family.

Dr. Gilliam completed her doctoral training with resident internship through NOPIP: Northeastern Oklahoma Psychology Internship Program. Her primary rotation was at Laureate Psychiatric Clinic & Hospital, with a secondary rotation at the University of Tulsa, Alexander Student Health Center. She gained additional clinical experience at Brookhaven Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, rounding out an early career of clinical experience with children and adults across the life span. At Brookhaven, Dr. Gilliam worked in acute and residential care with patients who were struggling with substance use disorders, eating disorders, and a wide range of other developmental or mental health related conditions. While finishing her doctoral research and dissertation on God Image (the term describing an individual’s unique emotional experience with God), she returned to a position at Laureate in the Adolescent Eating Disorders Program in 2012.

Her tenure in the eating disorders program at Laureate was uniquely suited to a culmination of her experiences with program development, as well as treatment with young people and their parents or families. Through this position, she participated in training and media interviews for local and national programs on eating disorders, self and body image and religious and spiritual concerns for optimal health and relationship development. Organizational psychology, program development and the culture of care were of particular interest and focus in her work within the eating disorders program. While this was not the onset of her clinical experience with eating disorder treatment, these years solidified areas of specialized expertise in treatment for eating disorders and in working with families. Supporting families while their loved one was hospitalized was an area of particular joy in her work, and one that strengthened the impact of her patients’ experience of care. She served in program operations in the eating disorders program, and as clinical supervisor for pre- and post-doctoral trainees.

2020 became the year of the COVID-19 pandemic, broadening the practice of telehealth at a rapid pace. Prior to this development, PsyPACT legislation was already years in the making. The task force and collaborators around PsyPACT designed a pathway for ongoing access to TelePsychology, specifically with Psychologists meeting APA (American Psychological Association) training requirements. They did so with patients, their benefit, and well-being in mind. . .ensuring that the PsyPACT providers met standards of education and competency that are not universally met by all licensed providers. Dr. Gilliam was credentialed with PsyPACT in July of 2020.

In addition to her practice with TELH-PHS, Dr. Gilliam provides reduced fee services to covid-19 essential workers through the Therapy Aid Coalition, Coronavirus Essential Workers Initiative (TherapyAid.org). She is a credentialed provider for trauma evaluations for Veterans of the United States Armed Forces as well. She also continues to provide annual, specialized training on eating disorders for the Northeastern Oklahoma Psychology Internship Program (NOPIP) cohort. She remains invested in training and patient care addressing eating disorders, identity development, and recovery in the family. Dr. Gilliam operates from a trauma-informed perspective in her work with patients and families. Integration of religious and spiritual concerns in treatment, when appropriate and applicable, focuses on the individual’s subjective, emotional experience of God. Her published works are focused on God images in children, as well as the integration of religion and spirituality in treatment.

Dr. Gilliam’s practice is conducted via TelePsychology in PsyPACT participating states across the United States.

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