Heather Ulrich

Dr. Ulrich grew up in Maryland surrounded by a large multi generational family. She had an interest in working with children since a young age and she worked at child care facilities and domestic violence shelter children's programs prior to attending college.

Dr. Ulrich earned her B.S. in psychology from York College of Pennsylvania. She was awarded a prestigious scholarship allotted to 5 incoming students which provided full tuition for the duration of her undergraduate education. While at York College, Dr. Ulrich focused her research interests on emotional intelligence and sexual abuse and she focused her clinical training on working with domestic violence shelters and at risk youth in residential treatment.

Dr. Ulrich then earned her Masters degree in clinical psychology from Western Carolina University. Dr. Ulrich continued to focus her training and education on the topics of trauma, child abuse and child clinical psychology. Dr. Ulrich was able to publish her master's thesis on the topic of child sexual abuse while also earning a cumulative 4.0 for the duration of her master's level education.

Dr. Ulrich completed her education earning her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Montana. In thanks to entering the program with a masters degree, Dr. Ulrich was able to focus a significant amount of her doctorate education on developmental psychology topics and courses which further enhanced her training as a clinical psychologist and parenting specialist. She was also provided experience in teaching a course on psychology of family violence which further enhanced her knowledge and education in child abuse, domestic violence, trauma and other community violence related topics. Dr. Ulrich completed her doctoral training at the Milton Hershey School working with at risk youth and adolescents in a residential educational setting.

Upon officially earning her Ph.D. in clincal psychology, Dr. Ulrich returned to the western North Carolina area. She was fortunate to return to work with her former supervisor at a large community mental health agency serving children, adolescents and families in WNC. She began working within school based mental health before quickly moving up to Co-Clinical Director of the agency. As the Co-Clinical Director, Dr. Ulrich helped to oversee the care of over 2,000 children in WNC, provide supervision and training to more than 50 mental health professionals, and attend local and state level meetings regarding the functioning and services of our Medicaid system. Dr. Ulrich also established a birth to five program at the agency as well as establishing the psychological assessment and testing program. in addition, Dr. Ulrich worked on establishing a state wide nonprofit called the North Carolina Infant and Young Child Mental Health Association as well as joined the planning committee for the WNC Infant Mental Health Conference.

It was also during this time that Dr. Ulrich gave birth to her two daughters and her passion for child psychology and parenting was solidified. Fueled with her knowledge from her extensive training and experience, Dr. Ulrich was able to apply those skills directly in her own family. She experienced the difficulty in being a parent, the joys of being a parent, as well as the need for education and support to understand her children and their needs and behaviors. Armed with this knowledge, Dr. Ulrich realized that parenting confidence can increase, parent child relationships can improve, and children's ability to gain the skills needed to navigate life successfully flourish.

Dr. Ulrich was granted the opportunity to join the faculty of the psychology department of the University of North Carolina Asheville in 2013 first as a Lecturer and then as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Ulrich jumped at the opportunity to return to academia as it also allowed her the ability to be an active mother in raising her daughters. She remained here for 5 years as an Assistant Professor teaching courses focused on abnormal psychology, family violence, and applied clinical experience. Dr. Ulrich focused her research on the areas of childhood trauma, adverse childhood experiences (ACES), and sexual assault.

Dr. Ulrich's passion and drive for working directly with children and families called her back to the clinical field. She opened a private practice in Asheville, NC where she provided parent coaching and support in addition to mental health treatment for a wide array of diagnoses, court ordered testimony and assessment, and parenting coordination.

Dr. Ulrich has now refocused her practice to provide the opportunity to support families anywhere in reaching their true potential- parents who are confident and armed with the knowledge to understand their children and support them appropriately and children who develop the needed skills to navigate this world succesfully!